Wonderful Wednesday: A Gallery of RA’s Memorable ChaRActers

It hasn’t been a wonderful winter for me (nor for many more of you–curse you, groundhog, why must we have six more weeks of this!?) But I am beginning to see glimpses of light at the end of this long, cold, wet and dreary tunnel.  I got my first column of this new year for the paper written; nothing fancy but a sense of accomplishment. I’ve been playing with ideas for that story I promised dear Guylty.  In spite of brain fog and a fibro flare (not helped by slamming into the wall on the way to the bathroom early this morning), I am feeling–hopeful. 😀

Here’s what it looked like a week ago outside my house. It’s mostly ice with a little snow mixed in. The ice paralyzed the Deep South for a couple of days.
I’ve been doing a lot of posting of words and images–some silly and some serious and some simply beautiful–on FB in recent days on my regular page, and lots of images and some of my vids of Mr. A and his characters at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Richard-Armitage-Effect/

Yes, I whipped up some new photo edits I premiered at FB and I thought I would share them with you all, in case you aren’t on FB. And even if you are–do we need an excuse to peruse Mr. A’s lovely, expressive features and admirable physique? I think not . . . have a wonderful Wednesday, my friends and fellow RA well-wishers!

Early RA roles: From Lifeguard Lothario to Edwardian Stagedoor Johnny

That shameless flirty-girty, fitness instructor and lifeguard, Lee Preston, in the final series of the popular comedy-drama “Cold Feet.” What this lad can do for a Speedo . . .

Philip Turner, sportsman, philanderer and possible murder suspect in the episode “In Divine Proportion”-Inspector Lynley Mysteries.

Another Philip, Philip Durant, and another  fellow with an eye for ladies to whom he isn’t married in “Ordeal by Innocence,” a Miss Marple Mystery.

RA plays the mustachioed Bill Chatford in the 30’s period piece “Malice Aforethought.” This time, he’s the one who gets cuckolded.  We do get to see him in a pair of handsome purple pajamas . . .

Watch out for that deceptively cherubic face of dashing man-about-town Percy Courtney in “Marie Lloyd.” Percy loves Marie, but he’s got a weakness for the good life and good-looking ladies–and quite a temper.

Sunday SmoRgAsbord: Armitage in earlier roles

Poor Benny has a sore back from helping his cousin move furniture from his late uncle’s apartment yesterday, so I volunteered my new heating pad. Gotta look out for my best beau. For some reason that Beatles song popped into my head: “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m 64?”

Definitely.

Had a short night’s sleep, dreaming about, amongst other things, snakes. *shudder* I made the mistake of watching Dominic Monaghan‘s Wild Things on BBCA. Dominic is charming and truly enthusiastic about “wild things,” and it’s an interesting nature adventure show.

But.

Have I ever mentioned I have a thing about snakes ever since my dad was bitten by a rattler when I was a little girl? Or the time in my childhood my sister and I spotted a snake in the house which we never found and I was afraid to go to sleep because it might wriggle up under my covers? Not to mention the bad-guy snakes in “The Jungle Book,” “Riki-Tiki-Tavi” and the Holy Bible?

Lizards, spiders, I don’t mind.Spiders remind me of “Charlotte’s Web,” although we could do without the black widow spider Benny found in the utility shed.

But Dom, you can keep the snakes, hon.

An RA intervention was needed to fill my mind with more pleasant prospects this morning.

Been playing with adding some images of said fair creature to Pinterest and Tweeting a few. And now to further cleanse my psyche of those deadly writhing creatures, may I present a second helping of our Sunday Smorgasbord. Take it away, Mr. Armitage’s earlier ChaRActers!

One of Richard’s earliest credited television roles was playing the love interest of one of the doctors on Casualty.

Richard was gorgeous as sportsman and possible murder suspect Philip Turner being investigated by Inspector Lynley in the episode, “In Divine Proportion.”

Epiphanes didn’t say a lot in the made-for-television production Cleopatra, but my, my, how he rocked the Roman haircut, toga and early Guyliner.

Paul Andrews, the probation officer accused of serious misconduct in Between the Sheets. One of his most controversial roles and one in which he keeps you guessing.

Richard looked spiffy in 30s period dress as the cuckolded husband in the entertaining mystery Malice Aforethought.

Richard as Captain Ian Macalwain in Ultimate Force. He doesn’t manage to build a lot of camaraderie with his regiment of misfits, but boy, does he look great in his rugby gear. Poetry in motion!

Final Call to Feast for Sunday

For some reason the Sir Mix-A-Lot song Baby Got Back popped into my head, hence the wording on the fan art.

(I believe the original was, “Oh. My. God. Becky, look at her butt.”) Of course, when referring to Mr. A, you would encourage Becky  and anyone else around to look at every inch of him. And listen to that chocolate voice. Then wait for the *thud.*

 

Having RA appear on an Inspector Lynley episode entitled In Divine Proportion was simply perfect, wasn’t it?

 

So mysterious, alluring . . .

 

 

A huge grin, a goofy giggle, a belly laugh. It’s all good.

 

 

Claude Monet may not have been able to afford more than cheap plonk for much of his career, but the talent of the man–and of the actor playing the artist–was rare and wonderful, indeed, the finest vintage. Thank goodness he was one artist who did achieve success and acclaim while still alive to enjoy it.

 

 

I couldn’t wait until Friday. Need I say more?

 

Bad Boys vs. Bad Guys: there IS a difference, ladies

Fedoralady would like to clarify something for readers. She does not equate bad boys and bad guys as being one and the same. Please note an earlier post was entitled And the Bad Boys, not the Bad Guys.

When I refer to someone as a bad boy, he isn’t necessarily involved in criminal activity. Maybe he just can’t keep it in his speedos (hello, Lee!) maybe his ethics are weak, his morals are a bit too fluid.  Maybe he’s an habitual liar and a cheat. Doesn’t have to be an ax murderer to qualify as a “bad boy.” Under that definition, Philip Turner does qualify as a bad boy, if not a bad guy. And an extremely attractive one, I might add.  Bad boys are often quite charming and disarming when they take the notion to be.

 

A “bad guy,” on the other hand, is how I would categorize Heinz Kruger. He’s a enemy spy responsible for the deaths of a number of people. If John Bateman actually existed, he would definitely have to be considered a bad guy.  Guy starts out a bad guy, killing and torturing for the sheriff, but we see a transformation take place as he becomes an anti-hero and redeems himself as a good guy.  Of course, to those of us who adore Guy, he was never really bad, just–misunderstood. 😉 Sometimes goodness or badness re a character  is in the mind of the beholder, I do believe.

 

 

Now, sometimes it’s just not easy to classify a character as a good guy or a bad guy or a bad boy. Sometimes they overlap because, as we know, Richard’ s characters have many shadings.  As would be the case in real life, no character is all bad or all good.. Paul Andrews is a character that fits into this area for me. He is a complex fellow with good intentions. He’s not a monster; he’s a loving dad and tries to discipline his partner’s brattish son.  But he has certain character flaws, weaknesses, vulnerabilities that lead him into foolish, irresponsible actions that result in a terrible tragedy.  You could consider him as a bad boy and/or a bad guy, depending on how you look at things

 

 

I hope this helps to sort things out. Sorry I didn’t define things more clearly for you all in terms of how I categorize the characters. Don’t want you worrying yourself into a frazzle about who’s good, bad or indifferent. 😉 I leave you with one of the undisputed good guys, Harry Jasper Kennedy.

Harry and Richard–definitely two of the good guys.