The _ _ _ _ _ _ Show (S3 casting - or non-cast - spoilers)

[LostInTheMovies]

Was gonna be called "The Truman Show" until I realized that was spoiler-y haha. A thread for Ontkean/Forster-related grumblings... Or for explanations/defenses of the recast.

Here's my issue: Who is Truman? What defines him? Truman is Michael Ontkean. He is defined by the nature of Ontkean's performance.

I never found the character to have much depth or nuance as written, aside from the Josie arc which - let's be honest - was never Twin Peaks' strong suit. I loved the character and his place in this world but ONLY because of the quality Ontkean brought to it, especially with his interactions with Coop. Keeping the character while losing the actor (obviously due to a drop-out too late for a rewrite, hopefully not due to health issues) is pretty much throwing out the baby and keeping the bathwater.

Now that said, I have too much faith in Lynch to believe this aspect will be as disappointing as it appears on paper. So here are a few thoughts on why/how it could work:

- Like Betty/Diane, Fred/Pete, Renee/Alice, but likely without any explicit supernatural/dream explanation, the new/old Truman will be a way to comment on different aspects of the character on a meta-level. Rather than try to establish continuity they will underscore the difference between these two (very different) actors to highlight different stages in the character's life and how in a sense these are basically two different people before/after (losing Cooper and/or whatever happens onscreen). That was arguably the approach taken with Moira Kelly's Donna...the only precedent for a recast of this prominence.

- Perhaps there WILL be an explicit supernatural/dream/alternate reality component to Truman's appearance, as there seems to be with many other elements of the new series. This sounds cheesy in theory but I have no doubt Lynch could pull it off.

- Perhaps this will be part of a larger pattern of "changing appearances" which illustrates one or both of the above points. I hate the idea of Bob and the Little Man being recast but maybe there has just been some major shift in which many people and places look different. Perhaps Deer Meadow will play a role in this?

[Brad D]

Given what we know, this is the biggest possible disappointment, but I have come to terms with it and am confident Forster will do a great job. Truman is perhaps the most intriguing mystery to me after the finale. What happened to his psyche when (if?) he discovers the truth about Cooper. Also, as the dependable skeptic, he must have become a believer after witnessing Coop's disappearance. Very eager to see what happened to the sheriff... Just as much as Coop. All other characters and their fates are secondary to that, for me.

[Panapaok]

I feel like Forster will not try to channel Ontkean's work and instead he will approach the character in his own way and based on what's on the script. I'm fairly certain that it'll work because there is this 25 years passage and Truman can be a different person.

[N. Needleman]

I think Forster and Ontkean are very similar performers in their sort of mood and vibe, so I think it's a really, really good fit.

I don't think Harry is all about the actor, but I do think certain actors very handily embody his core traits - steadfast, true, good-hearted, attuned to the nature around him and his place in it, brave and sort of having quiet passions he keeps to himself (his Achilles heel for Josie). He may not necessarily be a puzzle box of a man but there's nothing wrong with the archetype, which the right actor fills in with a certain soulfulness and ease. Michael Ontkean absolutely did, and I think Robert Forster will do the same. So I think in this case a cigar is just a cigar as opposed to a meta-commentary on recasting. Both men work for the Harry on the page and the Harry Ontkean helped create.

[Gabriel]

I've always seen Mr Forster as someone who plays a somewhat tougher, 'crustier' character and, at times, Michael Ontkean's performance seemed almost to work against the writing of the show. Albert would roundly mock Truman for being a tough, country yokel-type of guy, yet I never got that vibe from the character as played by Mr Ontkean. To my mind, the blander, sidekick version of Truman might very well have been a consequence of a different actor being cast, so the new series might actually serve as a 'course correction' for the character.

[laughingpinecone]

I am going to miss Ontkean a lot, but as the weeks go by, I am increasingly pumped for Forster to step into the role. Watching Jackie Brown -the quintessential alternate universe Harry/Josie, with a more capable Josie and... Harry being Harry... - only cemented my hype.

Rather than try to establish continuity they will underscore the difference between these two (very different) actors to highlight different stages in the character's life and how in a sense these are basically two different people before/after (losing Cooper and/or whatever happens onscreen). That was arguably the approach taken with Moira Kelly's Donna...the only precedent for this a recast of this prominence.

This is my bet. Donna's situation accidentally paralleling Harry's is the cherry on top. Twin Peaks Coincidence (tm) dictated this parallel, so be it that's it that's the supernatural aspect, the fact that it's a coincidence beyond belief

And it's not just Coop, it's not just Josie. With Laura's death, Harry (of "mr Cooper, you didn't know Laura Palmer" fame) lost his faith in his town. And serving his town, understanding his town, being his town is a fundamental part of how he understands himself (from the cards, which imho do a great job of putting his faintest subtext into words). We are going to see if and how Twin Peaks healed from that terrible month. I need to know if and how Harry healed along with it.

[Snailhead]

I liked Ontkean's Harry, but this is a recasting that has actually increased my excitement of the show. He is terrific in Jackie Brown. Even his brief appearance in Mulholland Drive, he exudes a strong presence.

Moira Kelly's Donna never bothered me, it actually enriched the character to see a "doppelganger" portraying her, and it worked narratively. Donna probably went through a massive change in the events of FWWM - after her harrowing night out with Laura she probably became almost like a new person.

I feel like this is a similar situation, in that Truman became a very changed man, thus the change of actor, while likely jarring at first, will fit really well.

[Harry S. Truman]

Nothing to say.

[N. Needleman]

While Harry undoubtedly was hurting from what happened to Josie, I didn't see the man in episodes 25-29 as traumatized or having his faith in the innate goodness of the town or his worldview shaken beyond repair. He seemed to be recovering remarkably well. Some of that was the function of the plot of course, but I didn't see him as in a bad place.

Could he go there depending on what happened following episode 29? Absolutely. But I didn't see it in the run-up very much.

[Clueless]

I've always seen Mr Forster as someone who plays a somewhat tougher, 'crustier' character and, at times, Michael Ontkean's performance seemed almost to work against the writing of the show. Albert would roundly mock Truman for being a tough, country yokel-type of guy, yet I never got that vibe from the character as played by Mr Ontkean. To my mind, the blander, sidekick version of Truman might very well have been a consequence of a different actor being cast, so the new series might actually serve as a 'course correction' for the character.

I agree with this whole handedly.

Theres also plenty of lines where Truman repremends people (Andy for crying, Cooper for concluding Laura is an addict/prostitute, even his threats of violence against Albert) that I imagine if Forrester played would have been delivered muvh with more vitriol and menace. Ontkean was kind of mild-mannered in that regard. Hawk, by sheer contrast, comes off as the tough cynic of the police force instead, even if he might have been written to be the quite introvert.

[FrightNight]

Having been booted off the spoilers thread for repeatedly voicing my discontent with Sheriff Truman recasting (and I would not dare to comment on it again, had this separate thread not been created to deal with this issue especially), I understand this is a very touchy-feely subject for TP fans; I guess saying anything that allows for some scepticism as to the way the next season is being handled is being taken as "negativity" and as such not welcome in the TP fandom.
Be that as it may, I can only repeat what I said about this recasting over there - that I feel a recasting of such an iconic, vitally important character as was/is Harry S. Truman (the proof that he was indeed interpeted as such by the creators is in the fact that Ontkean received top billing and his name appeared right after MacLachlan's in the original series' opening credits) is a mistake and should never be done, regardless of who's chosen as a replacement (and with this, I should stress strongly, I'm not saying anything negative about Robert Forster's acting abilities and achievements so far). I understand Ontkean's dropping out (about reasons for which I sincerely hope we'll get to know more one day) came very late in the game and as such brough a number of difficulties for the series' creators who have allready written the scripts, but I wish all the same that something could be worked out so the role of Sheriff Truman could "disappear", so to speak, from S 3 - perhaps having his character die, or move away, or whatever, and have him replaced by a new sheriff, whoever he might be, while the chemistry Truman had with Cooper could be perhaps recreated via another original character, such as Deputy Hawk. I fear nothing good will come out of this particular recasting ...

[cowwithfivelegs]

.

[Rami Airola]

To me, the Sheriff Department of Twin Peaks is a proof that you don't have to be a particularly good actor to be able to create a great character. I think Ontkean, Goaz and Horse in Twin Peaks all were somewhat wooden actors what came to the technical side of acting. The way they said some of their lines wasn't very good. Also, at times I felt the way Andy cried was a tad too comical. I would've liked to see real tears, a real breaking point of a man, kinda like what Way Wise did when Leland confessed killing Jacques.

However, whatever they lack in the technical side of acting, they really save with a certain type of charisma and chemistry. And I think the "average" quality of acting adds a quite bit to the feeling of them being just people from a small town, now trying to cooperate with big buffs from big cities.

I'm not sure I'd like to see a more stable and sturdy Truman, which Forster might bring to the character. If I could choose only two original people appearing in S3, they would be McLachlan as Cooper and Ontkean as Truman. I would even look at a recast Bob more gladly than a recast Truman. That's how huge the chemistry between them is.


In the end though, as I used to be fine with eating up all the fan fiction and every piece of Twin Peaks I could get, whether official or not, I'm totally ok with any recasting they might do. Hell, in the end I would even watch the show if they recast Cooper! Damn it, even if they would make Twin Peaks a reality television nightmare with some obnoxious hedonist wannabe-celebrities, I would still watch it

[FrightNight]

Don't be overdramatic.

Funny you find me being "overdramatic" ... I was accused of threatening the other forum members' sanity (or something to that effect) with insisting on my Truman recasting reservations over at the spoilers thread. If that doesn't sound "overdramatic" to you, I guess we're coming from different planets.

[FrightNight]

If I could choose only two original people appearing in S3, they would be McLachlan as Cooper and Ontkean as Truman. I would even look at a recast Bob more gladly than a recast Truman. That's how huge the chemistry between them is.

Darn tootin' ...