Return of the "Relevant" Hero

Starting with Superman #700, noted writer J Michael Straczynski is sending The Man of Steel on a walking tour across America.
The reason given is that Superman has lost touch with the average American and that he'll be able to "re-connect" with the people if he "walks among them".

A similar concept was done (by DC) in 1970, when conservative Green Lantern and liberal Green Arrow tried to "reconnect" with the "common man" in Green Lantern/Green Arrow #76-89.
(Interestingly, the comic book was canceled before the plotline ended.)

I'm wondering if the Superman series will be a "feel-good" story that glosses over the imperfections of the country, or, will it deal with social and environmental issues like the GL/GA series did. (NOTE: to be fair,  GL/GA sometimes did so in a very heavy-handed way. But, give them credit, they tried!)

We'll be watching to see how this develops...

Trent, Kelly Robinson, Bill Maxwell...they were ALL Robert Culp!

One of the underappreciated talents of the genre, actor / writer / director Robert Culp, passed away.

Best known for his genre work, he made three appearances (more than any other lead actor) on the original Outer Limits, "Architects of Fear", "Demon with a Glass Hand"*, and  "Corpus Earthling".
He even played the villain in the 1st season Man From U.N.C.L.E. ep "The Shark Affair"!


His greatest success came on the tv series I Spy, one of the many secret agent shows of the 1960s, but one with a distinctive twist...it co-starred a Black actor as an equal part of the lead duo!
Bill Cosby's Alexander Scott posed as "trainer" to Culp's "pro tennis player" Kelly Robinson, but the pair were equals in every way, including fighting abilities and opportunities for romantic entaglements, though Scott was the better-educated of the two, and Robinson was more experienced at espionage work.
Both Culp and Cosby liked improvising their wise-cracking dialogue, and, after doing a couple of takes as scripted, usually did one or two off the tops of their heads, with the resulting episode being a combination of takes.
Culp and Cosby were both nominated for Emmys as Lead Actor in all three years, with Cosby winning each time.
Culp was also Emmy-nominated for one of the seven episodes he wrote. (Culp insisted on no improv when filming those episodes!)
Like most 60s shows, there was both a reunion tv-movie I Spy Returns, and an awful updated movie version I Spy with Eddie Murphy as Kelly Robinson.
There were eight original novels (no novelizations of episodes like Star Trek) and a comic book. (Remember, there were no videotape or dvds of the show!)

After  I Spy, Culp did various tv guest-star roles as well as both starring and supporting roles in feature films, most notably Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice.

He was the first choice for Commander John Koenig on Space: 1999, but when he insisted on the opportunity to write and direct as well, producer Gerry Anderson went with Martin Landau.

He returned to genre tv in the early 1980s as old-style FBI agent Bill Maxwell in The Greatest American Hero (which,like I Spy, ran three years), and it's spin-off pilot The Greatest American Heroine.

Robert Martin Culp

August 16, 1930 – March 24, 2010

A special tribute treat: The pop-culture spy blog Mister 8 provides the I Spy comic story "The Missing Man", while the Gold Key Comics blog samples the I Spy comic "A Deadly Friend".

*There were plans by "Demon with a Glass Hand" writer Harlan Ellison to use Trent (again played by Culp) in an episode of Babylon 5 (which Ellison was serving as a creative consultant on), but they never came to fruition.

Fantastic Femmes--Shari Belafonte

Note: this page has been updated with NEW info HERE!

Shari actually began behind the camera (believe it or not) as a freelance production assistant, moving on to a job as Assistant to the Publicist at Hanna-Barbera, the animation studio!
She moonlighted as a fashion model, then dropped her day job altogether to appear in Calvin Klein commercials which led to offers for film and tv work!
Besides tv guest-star and featured film roles, Shari was a regular on the Hotel tv series as Julie Gilette. as well as co-hosting the series Lifestyles with Robin Leach.

With her devotion to personal fitness (including endorsing only diet and nutrition products she personally uses), Shari posed for Playboy magazine at the age of 45, displaying a superbly-toned body many twenty-somethings would be proud to have!
But don't think she's just a pretty face (and amazing body)!
She donates much time and energy to worthy causes including as interantional spokesperson for the Starlight Children's Foundation!

After several years away from national tv or film work, Shari recently appeared on Nip / Tuck.
Hopefully the first of many new roles for this femme fantastique!

Trivia: Shari is the daughter of legendary singer / actor Harry Belafonte.
She's recorded several albums, most of which were released only in Europe, and command high prices on eBay!

Genre appearances include...
Babylon 5: ThirdSpace (Elizabeth Trent)
Mars (Doc Halliday)
Real Adventures of Johnny Quest "Other Space"
Sonic the Hedgehog (Lupé the Wolf)
Beyond Reality (Laura Wingate)
Fire, Ice & Dynamite (Serena)
Velvet (Julie Rhodes)
Gravedale High (Blanche)
Midnight Hour (Melissa Cavender)
Matt Houston "New Orleans Nightmare"
TimeWalker aka Being from Another Planet (Linda Flores)
ABC Weekend Special "Big Hex of Little Lulu"

Check out...
There are NO sites devoted to this amazing woman!
Has the world gone mad?
If anyone knows of a site, please e-mail me and I'll update this entry!

Fantastic Femmes--Tamlyn Tomita

Note: this page has been updated with NEW info HERE!

Since we covered Babylon 5's First Officer in the previous Fantastic Femmes entry, it seemed only appropriate we present the actress who played her predecessor in the pilot episode...
Had she continued in the role of Laurel Takashima on Babylon 5, it would have been revealed that she was the Psi Corps "sleeper agent" responsible for the attempted assassination of Ambassador Kosh in the pilot. (Instead, the actual assassin was revealed as a guest-star character, and the idea of making a regular character a mind-controlled agent was transferred to Talia Winters.)

Fantastic Femmes--Claudia Christian

If you believe in yourself, you're willing to take risks.
Claudia started auditioning for film and tv roles right out of high school, working part-time jobs to pay the bills, but keep herself available.
Within two years she began doing guest-star roles on various tv series and small roles in feature films, as well as landing regular spots on several (unfortunately) short-lived series.
Her breakout role was as kick-ass second-in-command Susan Ivanova on Babylon 5.
Since then, she's expanded her acting to live stage as well as animation voice-over and advertising work. (She's the voice of the Jaguar auto commercials.)
She's now living in London, working on her music and guest-starring on British tv and radio.
Trivia:
Has released four solo albums as well as a group album with fellow Babylon 5 cast members entitled The Be Five.
Rumored to have auditioned for the role of Seven of Nine on Star Trek: Voyager.

Genre appearances include...
Star Hyke (Captain Belinda Blowhard)
Mars Shuttle Murders (Lindmeyer)
Geppetto's Secret (Blue Fairy)
Shrek 2 (Fairy GodMother)
Atlantis: the Lost Empire / Atlantis the Lost Empire: the Video Game / Atlantis the Lost Empire: Search for the Journal
(Lieutenant Helga Katrina Sinclair)
Earth & Beyond (Lady Katherine Isabella Olivia deWinter)
Summoner 2 aka Summoner: A Goddess Reborn
(Sangaril/Logosarch / Rosalind / Dama Heras)
Babylon 5 / Babylon 5: In the Beginning / Babylon 5: ThirdSpace
(Commander Susan Ivanova)
The Hidden (Brenda Lee Van Buren)
Maniac Cop 2 (Susan Riley)
Strays (Claire Lederer)
Arena (Quinn)
Hexed (Hexina)
Dot Man (Lieutenant Colonel Dunst)
Gnome Named Gnorm (Samantha)
Doctor Who "The Reaping" (Janine Foster)
Haunting of Hell House [1999] (Lucy)
Half Past Dead (EZ Williams)
Police Story "Monster Manor"
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (Elyse)
Lancelot: Guardian of Time (Katherine Shelley)
Blacke's Magic (Laurie Blacke)
Space Rangers "Death Before Dishonor"
A-Team "Trouble Brewing"
Relic Hunter "All Choked Up"
She Spies "Spy vs Spy"
Highlander "Two of Hearts"
Check out...
Her Official WebSite
Shrine to Claudia Christian (FanSite)
Feature on her departure from Babylon 5