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The Routine Stuff™ was a little surprising in its volume today, weighing in at around 3,000 words by the time I got to a stopping point. The rest of the day went by in a blur, finishing with watching tonight's NCIS, albeit recorded while I was at tai chi. The utter absence of Colin Hanks during the first ten minutes of the show pretty much whittled the field of bad guys to one, but there were plently of other things to wonder about.

Strangely enough, Cote de Pablo's departure from NCIS caused me to consider the careers of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson after The X Files went off the air. While Duchovny might arguably be said to have been more successful in landing post-Mulder roles than Anderson has in landing post-Scully roles (of course, this assumes a stereotyped set of goals common to all actors), I think it may be safely said that they have not replicated the success they enjoyed on The X Files.

That, in turn, reminded me of something I overheard at a "Silicon Northwest" reception I attended as a member of the computer press at a COMDEX back in the day. (Silicon Northwest was, if memory serves, a promotional consortium of mostly Seattle-and-surrounding-region high-tech companies that hosted very nice press receptions, with many of the edibles and drinkables "imported" from the northwest as well.) The speaker was a woman who worked for a company in Vancouver, and she was in full name-dropping mode with regard to The X Files—Duchovny, Anderson, Chris Carter, and various other behind-the-scenes folks—and she made a remark I found curious at the time.

In response to someone asking what Duchovny was like "in real life," the woman said David was "very sweet," but that alas, "the poor boy cannot act his way out of a paper bag." At the time, I rejected her assessment as simply an attention-getting ruse, but years later, after the show went off the air, I got to thinking about what she had said, especially when seeing a less-than-impressive Duchovny in yet another dud role.

So as I watched a tearful Ziva watch Tony get on the plane home this evening, I found myself rooting for de Pablo, and I guess the point of this ramble is to say I hope she's not a "one-hit wonder," and that regardless of where her personal interests lie and what she seeks in the future, I hope she enjoys every success.

(Returning to the show someday would also not hurt, IMO.)

Date: 2013-10-02 09:04 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] agirlnamedluna.livejournal.com
As much as I loved The X-Files, I've been less than impressed with Duchovny's acting elsewhere (although I admit I didn't like the few episodes of Californication I saw, f.e.). I think that was his role, the one that was made for Duchovny as he was, and the whole myth of the X-Files made him much bigger than he was.

Similarly, I was pretty much outraged when watching the last X-Files movie, it seemed to kill a lot of X-Files myth and trying to reverse roles between Mulder and Scully did not work because the only thing that works for Mulder is being Mulder.

Anderson however has - afaik - taken a break and is now acting in two acclaimed series (The Fall and Hannibal, neither of which I have seen). From the little I have seen her since the X-Files, she did strike me as an actual actress. I am looking forward to watching The Fall if I get a chance (although I think I'll skip on Hannibal, I tend to dislike series where a criminal/bad person gets excused/glorified, genre Dexter e.a.)

Date: 2013-10-03 12:45 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] alexpgp.livejournal.com
I agree with much of what you say. I saw no value in Californication at all, and don't really understand the trend of making heroes out of serial killers.

I did nod slightly in the direction of actors not necessarily always pursuing their careers, and thought that might be the case for Anderson, but my recollection of her PR appearances and a rather unfortunate role in a movie where I think she played a witch (or dressed like one) aided me in lumping her in with Duchovny.

Of course, it may just be that Duchovny (just as, in my mind, Jim Carrey) became too much associated with Mulder for an audience to successfully suspend disbelief. The first role of Duchovny's where this happened for me was the movie he did with Minnie Driver where he plays the role of a man who received a heart transplant from what turns out to be Driver's late sister.

(I try not to think too much about the last X Files movie; the memory is too painful. :^)

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