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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, October 20, 2017 4 By Kyla Brewer TV Media T elevision fans have long been fascinated with su- perheroes. Superman (George Reeves) flew onto the small screen in the 1950s, and Adam West's Batman "batus- ied" in the campy TV series of the same name in 1966. Lynda Carter ruled the airwaves as Wonder Woman in the 1970s, and the fun has continued since then. A new kind of super-pow- ered TV character emerges as Natalie Alyn Lind ("The Gold- bergs") and Percy Hynes White ("Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb," 2014) star as Lauren and Andy Strucker, teenage siblings with special abilities, in the latest comic book-themed series to hit the airwaves: "The Gifted," airing Monday, Oct. 23, on Fox. Set in Marvel's comic and cin- ematic X-Men universe, the series follows the sister and brother who, along with their parents, struggle to evade ne- farious forces. In an interview with Enter- tainment Weekly, creator Matt Nix ("Burn Notice") explained why he chose to focus the se- ries on a single family: "We really get to see the development of powers and perspectives," Nix said, "and we give audiences who maybe aren't really familiar with the X-Men a window into this world." The Struckers' adventure began when parents Reed (Stephen Moyer, "True Blood") and Caitlin (Amy Ack- er, "Person of Interest") dis- covered that their children possess mutant powers. This was especially shocking con- sidering the fact that Reed worked as a district attorney who specialized in prosecut- ing much-maligned mutants. Desperate to protect their children and keep their family together, Reed and Caitlin seek help from an under- ground network of mutants as they go on the run from a hostile government. The mutants in the new Fox drama include characters from the comics and films, as well as brand-new mutants. For those familiar with the 2014 movie "X-Men: Days of Future Past," Blink needs no intro- duction. Also known as Clarice Fong, teleporting mutant Blink is portrayed by Fan Bingbing in the big-screen hit, but the role is played by Jamie Chung ("Once Upon a Time") in "The Gifted." Emma Dumont ("Aquari- us") stars as Polaris/Lorna Dane, a loyal mutant with the ability to control magnetism. In the X-Men comic universe, Polaris is Magneto's daughter, and Nix recently confirmed in an interview with CBR.com that would be the case in "The Gifted." Nix also pulled Thunder- bird/John Proudstar from the comics, and he's played by Blair Redford ("The Young and the Restless") in Fox's ac- tion adventure. A Native American with superhuman athletic ability, the character serves as the leader of the mutant resistance. In contrast, Eclipse/Marcos Diaz was created specifically for "The Gifted." British actor Sean Teale ("Reign") tackles the role of the rebellious mu- tant who can absorb and ma- nipulate photons. Likewise, Special Agent Jace Turner is original to the Fox series, not the Marvel X-Men universe. Coby Bell ("Third Watch") stars as Turner, a human who has worked for Sentinel Ser- vices ever since his daughter died during a mutant-related incident. Produced by 20th Century Fox in association with Mar- vel Television, the show about super-powered mutants fea- tures some heavy hitters be- hind the scenes, beginning with Nix as showrunner and executive producer. Other ex- ecutive producers include Bry- an Singer, Lauren Shuler Don- ner and Simon Kinberg, who all worked on at least one of the X-Men franchise movies. Marvel's Jeph Loeb ("Lost") and Jim Chory ("Daredevil") are also on board as executive producers. Loeb and Chory share a connection to a similarly themed series: NBC's now de- funct "Heroes," which also featured a storyline with a su- per-powered teenage girl whose father works for an or- ganization dedicated to keep- ing people like her in line. Like many other superhero series, including "The Gifted," those who are seen as different are seen as dangerous, leading to them being marginalized. Interestingly, "The Gifted" can also be compared to many other popular current shows as well. Superheroes abound in prime time right now, with CW's "Supergirl, "The Flash," "Arrow" and "DC's Legends of Tomorrow," as well as "Mar- vel's Inhumans" and "Mar- vel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." on ABC. Meanwhile, villains steal the spotlight in Fox's "Gotham." Streaming servic- es have also gotten in on the act with Netflix's "Daredevil," "Jessica Jones" and "Luke Cage" among others, and Hu- lu's upcoming "Marvel's Run- aways" is about to drop in No- vember. All of this indicates there's a big market for comic book-inspired television, which bodes well for "The Gifted." With so much competition out there, Fox has done its best to put the series at the forefront of people's minds. The network created a buzz in September by installing a vending machine at The Grove in Los Angeles, Calif., that in- vited consumers to "Unleash [Their] Power" by using "tele- kinesis" to lift the vending machine. Fans were treated to a special screening in L.A. in September as well, and the Fox.com/thegifted website features a number of Mutant Profiles so viewers could fa- miliarize themselves with the characters. Thanks to the success of such Marvel franchises as X- Men, Iron Man, The Avengers and Spider-Man on the big screen, the entertainment gi- ant is having a big moment right now. Find out if produc- ers can bring that excitement to its latest family adventure as Reed and Caitlin Strucker fight to keep their mutant chil- dren Lauren and Andy safe in a new episode of "The Gifted," airing Monday, Oct. 23, on Fox. coverstory Stephen Moyer stars in "The Gifted" Family of heroes: Mutants band together in 'The Gifted' By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: As a longtime watcher of "The Andy Griffith Show," I'm wondering why they don't show the episode where Andy gets married. I caught the tail end several years ago but haven't seen it since. A: That's a great question, but if you had caught the episode from the beginning, you'd already know the answer: It was from a different show. The episode, aptly titled "Andy and Helen Get Married," was actually the first episode of "Mayberry R.F.D.," a spinoff of "The Andy Griffith Show." The confusion is easy. "Mayberry R.F.D." retained a number of characters from "The Andy Griffith Show" as regulars in the new series, such as Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier), Goober (George Lindsey) and Howard Sprague (Jack Dodson). However, its pi- lot episode also featured original-show characters Barney Fife (Don Knotts) and, of course, Andy (Andy Griffith) and Helen (Aneta Corsaut) — essentially, it looked more like an "Andy Griffith Show" episode than a "Mayberry R.F.D." one (Ken Ber- ry's Sam Jones, who was in fact the lead character of the new show, played a relatively minor role in the pilot). And sadly, "Mayberry R.F.D." didn't have anything like the success of "The Andy Griffith Show." It aired for just three sea- sons from 1968 to 1971, falling victim to CBS's now-infamous "rural purge," when the network canceled a number of coun- try-themed shows (among the other victims were "The Beverly Hillbillies," "Lassie" and "Green Acres"). That early cancellation meant the show only produced 78 episodes, compared to "The Andy Griffith Show's" more syndi- cation-friendly 249. The rule of thumb is that shows don't get picked up for reruns unless they produce at least 100 episodes. There are, of course, exceptions to the 100 rule, and "May- berry R.F.D.," with its great pedigree and already-beloved characters, is one of them. But it doesn't get rerun nearly as of- ten as its originator. Q: I'm trying to find the movie in which a mentally challenged woman and man fall in love, but both their families oppose the relationship. I think it had Diane Keaton. A: You're looking for "The Other Sister" (1999), in which the great Diane Keaton plays the mother of the girl in love (played by Juliette Lewis). The title of the film refers to the fact that Lewis's character, Carla, generally feels like the less-favored child in her family. In the film, Carla's whole story arc, in which she seeks indepen- dence and eventually finds love, plays out while her family (es- pecially her somewhat distant mother) is wrapped up in plan- ning her older sister's wedding. This all sounds a little heavy, but it was actually a romantic comedy, helped along by the legendarily light touch of rom- com director Garry Marshall, who also wrote the script. Mar- shall is probably best known for a little movie he did in 1990 called "Pretty Woman" (or maybe for 1988's "Beaches," or for the TV show "Happy Days" — the list goes on). It was further helped by a pretty stellar cast, which also in- cludes Tom Skerritt, Giovanni Ribisi and Poppy Montgomery. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A

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