CBS pilot: Three Rivers -- links, articles and discussion

[moonlitmuse]

Hey MLM, this is slightly but what IS the Duquesne incline? Is it some kind of train?

And now back on topic... I actually hope they don't turn Alex's role into a bed-hopping caricature. He's so much better than that--he deserves a role where he can show what a fabulous actor he is, not just push the "handsome hunk" angle. He's so handsome that in some ways I really think it's a handicap to his being taken seriously as an actor, and he's so d@mn good that he deserves the respect he's truly worthy of.

I don't mean to rain on your fun, but it makes me a little sad when the ga-ga factor outweighs the appreciation of his talent. Because he's so incredibly talented!

The incline is basically a cable car attached to a pulley system that just goes up and back down the hill. There's inclines all around the Pittsburgh area (and I'd assume other places too) but the Duquesne Incline is probably the most popular. It's ranked the 3rd most romantic spot in America because it overlooks The Point (where the 3 rivers meet) and gives you a beautiful view of the city, so it's pretty popular with the tourist set as well as the locals. Hmm, maybe we should stake it out to see if Alex shows.

And no worries, allegrita, we ogle because we love. I agree tho, Alex is a phenomenal actor and I'd love to see him get taken completely seriously instead of being just another pretty face. There are a lot of good looking guys in Hollywood but not one has ever impressed me enough to hunt down all his films, even those where the plot didn't appeal to me at all. And I'm almost ashamed to admit this now but at first I didn't think Alex was all that hot. It was his skill that blew me away and first drew me in.

He's the complete package and I'm really hoping that the network and producers realize that and capitalize on it. But at the same time I guess I'm kinda selfish because I hate the thought of being denied the glorious view of him without a shirt. I don't really want the bed-hopping though. I'd prefer he get his serious role with the occasional work out scene or shower shot for his growing female fan base. Okay, so maybe I'd want more than the occasional shirtless shot, but that doesn't make me a bad person...does it?

[librarian_7]

Oh I think we were all just kidding around, Allegrita. I think we all more than appreciate his talent. The man's got ability to spare. No doubt about that. All you have to do is look at his body of work to see it. I think we just mentioned the sexy stuff, because we know that he can bring that too and didn't get too much of a chance to show that while doing ML. Heck, Mick might as well have been a monk because he sure behaved that way most of the time. A remoreseful, guilt-ridden sometimes lustful monk, but a monk just the same.

This is interesting to me, because I always thought Alex was incredibly sexy as Mick...I mean, what could be sexier than that lingering hand coming away from the door that separated them at the end of "Fever"? Or the smoldering looks he gave Beth at the end of "Sonata"? Alex/Mick oozed sexy. And if his character didn't choose to act on it, that restraint was just another part of his incredible appeal.



Lucky

[allegrita]

He's the complete package and I'm really hoping that the network and producers realize that and capitalize on it. But at the same time I guess I'm kinda selfish because I hate the thought of being denied the glorious view of him without a shirt. I don't really want the bed-hopping though. I'd prefer he get his serious role with the occasional work out scene or shower shot for his growing female fan base. Okay, so maybe I'd want more than the occasional shirtless shot, but that doesn't make me a bad person...does it?

Uh... MLM, have you read my Odes of Homage?

No, I cannot tell a lie...I do love that man's physique. I just start to feel guilty sometimes when the physique becomes the be-all and the end-all. Not just here but in the media. Alex deserves better from the media than to be classified as a pretty body with a pretty face on top.

[SirenSong]

Oh I think we were all just kidding around, Allegrita. I think we all more than appreciate his talent. The man's got ability to spare. No doubt about that. All you have to do is look at his body of work to see it. I think we just mentioned the sexy stuff, because we know that he can bring that too and didn't get too much of a chance to show that while doing ML. Heck, Mick might as well have been a monk because he sure behaved that way most of the time. A remoreseful, guilt-ridden sometimes lustful monk, but a monk just the same.

This is interesting to me, because I always thought Alex was incredibly sexy as Mick...I mean, what could be sexier than that lingering hand coming away from the door that separated them at the end of "Fever"? Or the smoldering looks he gave Beth at the end of "Sonata"? Alex/Mick oozed sexy. And if his character didn't choose to act on it, that restraint was just another part of his incredible appeal.



Lucky

Perhaps I shoudl rephrase, Lucky. There were definitely aspects of ML that were sexy, but for the most part it was that forbidden thing, thus the monk reference. But in this role, unless his character remains married and sets his sights on someone else, there won't be any barriers to the occasional horizontal hula. I'm not talking about sex for the sake of gratuitousness (although I wouldn't object to a bit of that from time to time), but a nice mature adult bit of physical connectiveness would be more than welcome. Romance is good too. Just not seasons upon seasons of UST, please.

[mwj01]

I was just having fun too. Of course I take Alex very seriously as an actor, as I've expressed many times.

[wpgrace]

This is interesting to me, because I always thought Alex was incredibly sexy as Mick...I mean, what could be sexier than that lingering hand coming away from the door that separated them at the end of "Fever"? Or the smoldering looks he gave Beth at the end of "Sonata"? Alex/Mick oozed sexy. And if his character didn't choose to act on it, that restraint was just another part of his incredible appeal.



Lucky

He was...That was kinda both the brilliance AND the frustration AND the irony of ML within Alex's career. He always has played a gorgeous guy...his looks are sufficiently overwhelming that they can't cast him without paying some homage to that... Look at, for example, in Oyster Farmer, how the OTHER oystermen refer to Jack as the "pretty boy." Or how, in The Shield, the rough and tough cops automatically critiqued Kevin's looks as proof that he was "cast" in the role of head-cop but undeserving of his rank. The chunky Feed lady often referenced Michael's hotness...And even with Alex acting in rags in Mary Bryant, Jack Davenport wasn't worried about losing Mary to Will Bryant's brilliant astronomical observations...

And, in fact, in almost all his roles, TPTB not only reference Alex's looks thru references made about his characters' looks, but they have USED those looks to advantage in a love scene or other nude kind of scene. Moonlight, the role that brought him to most of our attention, also used his looks with frequent shirtless shots but other than that, was chaste in its presentation of both Alex and Mick. Mick was, as SS has said, monk-like, tho we knew he had feelings unbecoming a monk...and of course it was a network tv show, unlike his other roles, so there were limits, but they could have shown Mick in a love scene, and they chose not to... a little kissing, but nothing more.

The brilliance of it is, we nonetheless got what they wanted us to... that Mick, AND Alex, were beyond gorgeous...he was handsome and seductive enough to attract a dangerous vampire who killed him in order to keep him. The frustration was the unrequited nature of gorgeous Mick's passions during the interval of his life in which we got to see him. And the irony is, that while this was his most chaste starring role (his characters were so little on screen in August Rush and The Invisible, but even in The Invisible we saw Marcus and Annie in bed after likely NOT spending the night just sleeping...) it was as Mick that he received snarky comments regarding his acting, that he was only a pretty face and bod. Mick never had sex that we saw... most of his other characters did, and memorably so... yet it was as Mick that aspersions were cast about his acting. His sexier, flashier, far more exposed performances all brought him acting kudos... so go figure.

I think that many fans are hoping, however, that Dr. Andy is not so much the monk... because let's face it... as wonderful as Mick was, it was frustrating to see HIM so often frustrated... and realistically speaking, people who look like that get offers. Mick had developed the control of a saint. Andy's gonna be mortal.

Also, I think we often concentrate on his gorgeousness here because we only have still-shots to comment on these days. In the ep discussions, while I for one always DO notice which henley he's wearing, myself and others also always DO note in which parts of the story his acting blew us away... cause in the end, it was his acting as Mick that got to us all. We can look at pretty guys on any channel... they're all over tv... but I've never given a tinker's d@m about a single one of them...

[HotMicks]

Well put, Grace. And I agree that we will be back to discussing the acting WHEN THERE IS SOME ACTING to discuss...


Also, I think it was probably humorous for Alex to see what isn't allowed on American TV. I find it funny and I grew up here. We tend to be much more reserved than most of Western Europe and Down Under.

Finally, I am fully ready for the assault because I know how popular it is, but I actually was kinda turned off by the infamous open-shirted beach scene. Don't get me wrong, the low riders were certainly sexy, but I felt like the network and/or producers sort of tried to use him like some meat to bait us. It felt a little gratuitous, and I found that insulting to Alex. So, Allegrita, I do understand your concerns because it was so obvious how they were trying to play us and they obviously wouldn't have if we didn't make it so obvious how sexy we find him.... but.... can I just say.... low riders



ETA: Oh mighty Bob, please help me... the mind... the body... the mind... the body...

[lafluffy]

I want Dr Andy to be a virgin. Now that would be interesting.

Barring that, I'm with allegrita. I also think Alex varies in hotness depending on the role, not necessarily the state of undress. And frankly, most sex scenes aren't that hot and add nothing to an actor's qualifications.

The last thing I want to watch is a character acting like a dog. It's so cynical and unsympathetic. If I wanted that, I'd watch Nip/Tuck.

Besides, someday Alex will be old. What happens then?

[lafluffy]

Finally, I am fully ready for the assault because I know how popular it is, but I actually was kinda turned off by the infamous open-shirted beach scene. Don't get me wrong, the low riders were certainly sexy, but I felt like the network and/or producers sort of tried to use him like some meat to bait us. It felt a little gratuitous, and I found that insulting to Alex. .

Oh heck! The first time I saw the Mick and Beth shower scene I thought it was gratuitous! And ITA with the above.

[lafluffy]

I think that many fans are hoping, however, that Dr. Andy is not so much the monk... because let's face it... as wonderful as Mick was, it was frustrating to see HIM so often frustrated... and realistically speaking, people who look like that get offers. Mick had developed the control of a saint. Andy's gonna be mortal.

The thought never crossed this fan's mind about Dr Andy's sex life. Why is that, do you think?

I was not frustrated seeing MIck frustrated. In fact, it didn't seem that Mick was frustrated at all. To me he seemed like the rarest of creatures, a truly mature man in control of his appetites.

[allegrita]

Y'know... I didn't have my mod hat on when I made that remark. It's the way I actually feel. I'm the last one to cast aspersions (or asparagus) on people who drool over Alex's many beauties. I've got a shelf full of sonnets dedicated to them. But at this point in his career I do worry for him, because the network to which he has hitched his career seems hell-bent on exploiting his beauty to the detriment of his tremendous talent. And that's just a crying shame, in my opinion.

And yeah--at some point, he's going to lose some of that beautiful hair, and his perfect skin will become less perfect, and that jawline will develop a bit of a jowl. It happens to the best of them. So now's the time for him to have his true beauty recognized...the beauty that will last far beyond the ephemeral beauty of his face or his torso. And Oh, I love both of those very much. But they won't last.

What will last is his soul, his talent, the pure shining passion for his craft, and (OK I can't resist) his bone structure. And those eyelashes. And his brows... and the shape of his lips.

Oh, geez... I'm just as shallow as the next girl. But I fight it...because he's got to establish himself as more than a hunk. And as a true fan of Alex, I think it's my duty to keep that in mind, and to remind his network of choice from time to time that I love him for his talent much more than I love him for his beauty.

[MoonMad]

Hi ladies, nice to see the forum back up and running. I've been reading all your thoughts with interest.

Personally, I have no qualms about Alex being seen as 'eye-candy'. There is absolutely nothing wrong with tempting people in through your front door with the pretty. The key is having something to keep them engaged when the sparkle has worn off. Alex is someone who actually gets better as time goes by. Someone else mentioned on this thread (sorry can't remember who) that they didn't find him THAT appealing to start with and I was exactly the same. He actually seemed quite ordinary, although certainly pleasant to look at, in the beginning of Moonlight and I didn't sit up and take notice until that rivetting "I'm a vampire" scene at the end of OotP. That was nothing to do with his looks I'm sure you'll agree.

I imagine there will be others like us who will be drawn into his web of gorgeousness by his sheer talent as the shows goes along. People will be happily watching, thinking "oh yeah, that Andy is okay, but so and so is much hotter", then BAM! there's a 'look' over the top of the surgical mask, or a quietly dazzling smile, or a brow furrow...and the next thing you know they're feverishly googling his backlog. (Ewww, that sounds nasty! )

I expect there will be less opportunity to show off his bod in surgical scrubs, but they'd be dumber than a box of hair not to have a scene or two in the change room where the audience can be titillated with a glimpse of tatt on a finely muscled bicep. That's not gratuitous - that's just smart. This is network TV - not HBO where there's more skin shown than clothing. They have to be way more subtle than that.

Alex is no dummy either. For all his wide-eyed modesty in interviews etc., he knows very well what's expected of him. I doubt it bothers him one bit. This is a man who climbed into a freezer on the set absolutely starkers remember and then proceeded to do God knows how many takes with Jason. He'll get his chance to shine with his shirt on once he's established - for now he has a career to carve out anyway he can. The people who matter DO see his talent, or I should say his potential. Hollywood is littered with great actors - but how many are on network television that have true charisma to go along with the looks and the talent? We've heard Ed Bernero say recently that he's a good actor. We've heard Ron Koslow say it; the director of The Invisible (who's name escapes me). Lord knows, we KNOW what CBS thinks of him. I don't think we have to worry about Alex's career trajectory. Shirt on or off it's heading skyward.

For the record too; I don't think the unbuttoned shirt scene on the beach was gratuitous. Now if he'd been waltzing down the hallway of the morgue like that I'd say yes, definitely. But he was walking in the sun on a beach - doing it for the first time in 50 odd years. Heck, I'm surprised he wasn't in speedos! (Damn, why wasn't he in speedos?! ) You've got to give the writers credit; they always had a believable scenario for the shirtlessness.

[nayp]

I think some of the greatest actors in our lifetime has also been pushed as "sex symbols". A good actor should be able to make the male fans still like you, while female fans are . I think this character of Dr. Andy, the guys will like and woman are going to want to be sick , and as a actor Alex can and should be able to pull it off. I do hope the actor is taken seriously, but in Hollywood, and I know it's shallow, but being beautiful and sexy is the most important thing. How many actress and actors today complain that parts are few and far between when they reach their 40's or 50's. Still, even as a geeky serial killer you can't make this guy look bad, and I would have no problem with the man getting more action than he did in Moonlight. CBS is looking for a McDreamy here, but if this show is picked up, it's sounds much more emotional, gritty and not so much hospital romance, IMO I think it is a great part for Alex.

[Fleur de Lisa]

I thought the beach walking scene was gratuitous but I still looooooved it! Remember, this was when ML was struggling to rein in the necessary audience numbers, and trying to do what it could to stay on the air another season. Alex certainly isn't stupid, and would have been willing to do whatever it took to keep his show going. Hell, the basketball scene was gratuitous to a certain extent, too. But, da*n, didn't he look adorable?! The man can't help the way he looks, that's for sure, and aren't we glad?!

I guess my point is, you can have both: the looks and the talent, and both can be appreciated equally. Let's face it, if he was an average looking guy with a paunch and thinning hair, would we have fell in love with his character as much as we did? I don't care how talented he is, I can honestly say (for myself) that I wouldn't have been as drawn into the entire Mick aura. Maybe that makes me shallow. The entertainment business is shallow and it is fickle, and this man certainly is aware of that.

I began watching ML because it's premise intrigued me. I fell in love with it because of the storyline and the romantic aspect of it. I lusted over it because of how friggin' hot Alex was in it. And I bought and rented other Alex movies because of his portrayal of Mick St. John and all that implied----gorgeous looks and great acting skills--led me to further appreciate this man's talent and want to watch more of him.

Sooooooo, use whatever you've got, Alex, to get good roles, and we will continue to follow you anywhere.

[darlingcat]

I have enjoyed this thread, ladies!
Alex is the rare combination of gorgeous looks, charisma, and tremendous talent. We know it, the CBS brass knows it (that's why they did everything possible to keep him), the directors know it, his audience knows it.
Good looks do serve any actor but it is the talent that will be the vehicle for Alex's career. And he knows it; the man worked on his art at one of the best drama schools in the world.
I always thought Mick was at his sexiest in some of the fully-clothed scenes: the smoldering looks in BC, the scenes in FDL when Alex could convey the deepest feelings with the slighest motion, a look, the raise of an eyebrow. He knows how to use that gorgeous body of his as the perfect acting instrument.
Now as far TR is concerned, I truly believe that Alex has seen the potential for a serious drama; that's why he chose it.
Would I complain if Dr. Andy has some sex life? No! But I bet my salary his lovelife, frustrated or colorful, will not be the focus of the show. I would love to see Alex in some serious dramatic scenes.