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April 30, 2016

The Daily Star - Stay Tuned

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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, April 29, 2016 2 By Jacqueline Spendlove TV Media W hat do an acclaimed British fiction writer and an unparalleled American escape artist have in common? Aside from fame and 20th-century icon status, it also seems they share a knack for solving crimes. Forget your cops and detec- tives. "Houdini & Doyle" sees a rather unconventional crime- solving team take to the streets to crack some otherwise un- crackable cases. The 10-epi- sode British-Canadian minise- ries premieres Monday, May 2, on Fox. On paper, Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle have little in common. The former gained international fame as an escape artist and master il- lusionist, going on to become one of the highest-paid enter- tainers of his time for his ability to free himself from all manner of handcuffs, strait jackets, locked boxes filled with water and more. The latter created Sherlock Holmes, one of litera- ture's greatest detectives and most enduring figures, and his stories have become staples of crime fiction. What they did have in com- mon was a keen interest in spirituality, although their opinions on the subject were at opposite ends of the spectrum. Houdini was as skeptical as they come, spurning belief in anything he couldn't see, while Doyle was a passionate believ- er in the supernatural, which Houdini saw as mere gimmick- ry. "Houdini & Doyle" plays off the real-life friendship the two men enjoyed, which, in the end, couldn't survive their strongly conflicting viewpoints. "I've long been intrigued by both Houdini & Doyle: men who were ahead of their time, each fascinating in [his] own right," said executive producer David Shore, creator of the Em- my-winning series "House." "But the idea that these two, seemingly so different, could have been friends is almost too perfect." That discord-within-friend- ship evidently makes for good TV, or so showrunners hope. The mystery drama stars Mi- chael Weston ("Six Feet Un- der") as Houdini and Stephen Mangan ("Rush," 2013) as Doyle. The two grudgingly join forces with Scotland Yard to in- vestigate unsolved crimes that bear whispers — and some- times more than whispers — of the supernatural, and other- wise unexplainable. Houdini, with his wealth of magical training and illusionist know-how, is highly aware of how fraud is accomplished, making him the ultimate skep- tic when it comes to the un- provable. With an ability to ex- tricate himself from seemingly any situation, he's a natural problem-solver, and should therefore be able to see some- thing in these mysterious cases that others have missed. Doyle, by contrast, is a strong believer in the unseen and things that may not inhab- it our mortal plain. Despite dreaming up the ultimate ra- tionalist Sherlock Holmes, the writer is also a paranormal afi- cionado, and his firm belief in the supernatural puts him con- stantly at odds with his coun- terpart as the two hunt down clues and follow enigmatic leads. Caught in the middle is Ade- laide (Rebecca Liddiard, "Ms- Labelled"), the third member of their offbeat team and the first female constable of the London Metropolitan Police Force. She joins Houdini & Doyle on cases that appear to involve ghosts, monsters, vam- pires and more — or perhaps these forces are just coverups for nefarious activities. "The fundamental concept of the show is about belief — what we believe and why," se- ries creator David Hoselton told reporters at L.A.'s Wonder Con in March, maintaining that belief in the supernatural is every bit as prevalent today as it was during Houdini & Doyle's time. "We're constantly asking ourselves: 'What's the limit of what's possible?'" Shore add- ed. While the real Houdini & Doyle didn't actually form a crime-fighting duo (unfortu- nately), the friendship and contention around which the series is formed comes from a real place. Doyle became a fervent believer in life after death following the death of his son Kingsley just before the end of the First World War. He found great solace in spiritualism and the belief that he could still communi- cate with lost loved ones, and his writing career gave way to extensive lecturing on the subject. Houdini, by contrast, be- came a loud opponent of the spiritualist movement in the 1920s, expending great time and effort into debunking psy- chics and mediums and expos- ing them as frauds. Doyle actu- ally believed that Houdini him- self was a powerful medium, and that his incredible stunts were performed by means of paranormal abilities. He flat- out refused to believe his friend's insistence that it was mere trickery, and rejected Houdini's exposés. In the end, the friendship couldn't with- stand the difference in beliefs, and the two eventually came to view one another with out- right animosity. Those views are a driving force in the miniseries, making it a challenge for the two men to work together. While there's a season-long arc expanding on the two men's backstories and the growth of their rela- tionship, each episode will serve as a one-off procedural in which a crime is solved — so they obviously work well enough together to get the job done. A/Bulls Head Inn B/Laura Reyda 2 x 2 coverstory Great minds Two 20th-century icons team up to solve crimes By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Why are there so many uncredited roles in films? It's not like it involves extra work to put someone's name on the credits list. A: Because film sets are unionized and make frequent use of non-unionized extras for crowd scenes and the like, there are a lot of rules around getting an on-screen credit for a role. The big division seems to be between speaking and non- speaking roles — that's the line between being an extra and being an actor, and often between being credited and not. Of course, a lot of famous actors go uncredited for signifi- cant roles in films, a phenomenon also known as a cameo. This is where it gets more complicated, but also a lot nicer. DenOfGeek.com writer Nick Horton got almost poetic in discussing the cameo in modern film. "It serves many functions. Sometimes to surprise and de- light the audience by bringing in a well-known face in an un- expected way. Other times it serves to hide the true nature of a role and set up a reveal. Other times it serves as a short- hand for characterization. And other times it's a funny in-joke or the actor owed his friend a favor." Some of the more famous examples include Sean Connery showing up to play King Richard at the end of "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (1991) and Johnny Depp doing a cameo in the 2012 "21 Jump Street" movie. The latter was particularly cute since the film was based on the late-'80s TV series that made Depp a star. Q: What ever happened to the guy who played TC in "Magnum, P.I."? A: Roger E. Mosley never quite caught as a screen star. That said, he's had a surprisingly long career as a bit player, starting in 1971 with an uncredited role in the mystery series "Longstreet" and continuing long after he was cast as Theo- dore "TC" Calvin in "Magnum, P.I." in 1980. The TC role proved to be by far his biggest — he appeared in every episode of the show's eight-season run. He's kept at it since the show left the air in 1988, but he's never found a role nearly as good, or as permanent. His big- gest roles were on TV, such as a full season of the syndicated sitcom "Rude Awakening" from 1999 to 2000 and a 10-epi- sode run in the early-'90s sitcom "Hangin' With Mr. Cooper" (he played Coach Ricketts in the show's first season). Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A Losie's Gun Shop 1 x 4 312084 Serving Oneonta and the Surrounding Community Since 1981

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