X-FILES Reunion! David Duchovny & Gillian Anderson Take The Paley Center Stage in NYC!

They have adjacent autograph tables all this weekend at New York Comic Con, and the big X-Files 20th Anniversary panel in the main hall doesn't take place until tomorrow afternoon, but David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson shared the stage tonight at the New York Paley Center For Media's The Truth Is Here: David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson on The X-Files to reminisce about their groundbreaking Fox sci-fi show .

The 90-minute event, streamed live via the Paley Center website, was full of fun moments courtesy of Duchovny's constant sarcasm. The duo shared some set stories from their days playing agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully on the small and big screen from 1996-2002, and their final appearance in 2008's theatrical swan song I Want To Believe.

Duchovny and Anderson, who arrived together right from New York Comic Con and after red carpet interviews, took the stage for the eager (and predominantly female) audience who snatched up tickets to the event in less than five minutes after they were made available online. Moderated by Time Out New York's Keith Uhlich, there were many light hearted moments from the panel when the both host's and audience's encyclopedic knowledge of the show went head to head with the stars' at-times sketchy memories from their long days and nights working on the set.

During the panel and the audience Q&A, the actors recalled their audition process, shared some memorable clips, went through their favorite episodes and wouldn't rule out the possibility of working together again in the future (though it won't be because of cheap stunt casting Duchovny assured us).

For fans who patiently waited outside the Paley doors, the dynamic duo signed autographs as they exited on the way to their car, capping off a great night from start to finish.

IMAGES: Paley Center, Nerdy Rotten Scoundrel

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INTERVIEW: Bruce Timm and Andrea Romano Talk 'Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2'

DC and Warner Bros. Animation's highly anticipated conclusion to the two-part adaptation of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns will be available on Blu-ray and DVD at the end of the month.

I caught up with veteran animation producer Bruce Timm and Voice Casting Director Andrea Romano at New York Comic Con last fall where they talked about Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and taking from page to screen the iconic 1986 graphic novel that forever re-defined Batman.

Timm, the Executive Producer on the project whose history with Gotham's Dark Knight goes back to 1992 with Batman: The Animated Series, revealed how long he had been looking forward to bringing this particular story to life.

"Right out of the gate when we first started doing these direct-to-video movies," he told me shortly before taking the stage at a NYCC screening and Q&A panel.

"We did the first one, Superman: Doomsday [in 1997] and we were throwing out ideas about which comics we could adapt. The Dark Knight Returns was at the top my list back then. I don't remember exactly why we didn't do it back then. I know there were some hesitation on somebody's part and then," he said.

"About three or four years ago when Christopher Nolan was between his second and third Batman movies, I brought the idea up again. At that point DC was saying 'Well we don't know because we think Christopher Nolan might be using some of The Dark Knight Returns material in The Dark Knight Rises, so we need to kind of stay away from that.' Then some time passed and they got a little more concrete idea about what he was planning for The Dark Knight Rises. They said 'It's different enough, so go ahead and do it.' At that point we jumped on it."

Of course one of the aspects in translating a work from one medium to another is deciding which aspects are included, and which ones need to be left behind. Timm was happy to admit that particular task was for the most part out of his hands.

 

"Fortunately I left that pretty much up to the writer Bob Goodman, who so many people have worked with over so many years. He took his first pass of breaking down the comic into an outline of two movies. So we went through his outline and went 'That, that, that. Oh yeah he's got it all there.'

"He basically kind of hit the high points. There were maybe little things here and there that we went back and said 'You have to put this one bit from the comic in.' Maybe a line of dialogue here and there, but for the most part I think his first pass was pretty dead on and we kind of just went from there," he recalled.

Peter Weller, best know for his portrayal of RoboCop, is the latest actor to lend his voice to Batman. Casting Director Andrea Romano told me what he brought to this aged, long retired version of the Caped Crusader.

"He has the perfect voice for it," she said. "He's a wonderful actor and it was kind of a no-brainer. Is he available? Does he want to do it? I didn't even know what a comic book fan he is. So it worked out beautifully. We really lucked into getting him. As I listened to his performance, he sounds as the character looks. It has all those little layers of history of a man who has lived a long life and has seen good and bad. It all comes through just in his voice. Then you add his performance on top of that and you get really something special."

Timm had this to add regarding Weller's casting. "The very first time I saw Peter Weller as RoboCop in the theater, there was one shot at him when he's got the mask on and does this weird turn thing and I said 'Wow, he looks like Batman.' So even back in the day I was equating Peter Weller with Batman, so it's kinda neat to bring it all to fruition here."

Lost and Person of Interest star Michael Emerson brings life to the Joker, who appears in Part 2.

"He's terrific. Very different from Mark Hamill or any other Joker you've heard before," Timm assures us.

Romano admitted she had been determined to find something special for Emerson for years. "I met Michael Emerson at Comic Con in San Diego many years ago after Lost had been out. I thought I must find something for this man. He was so pleasant to meet and chat with, so open and available as far as being a person. I will find something."

"It's not the typical voice for the Joker. You wouldn't really think of him as far as the timber of his voice. He's such a great actor, he did such a beautiful job. After I worked with him I saw him a couple of months later and I said 'Well how was the experience for you?' And he said it was the hardest work he'd ever done. Which I found fascinating because it was something he just wasn't familiar with, but he does a beautiful job. You have to wait until Part 2 to see that but it's a remarkable performance I think."

I had to ask both of them when it comes to the decision of casting actors other than Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill as Batman and the Joker. For a growing number of fans, they have provided the definitive voices for the characters over the past two decades.

"My first questions whenever I'm getting a project like this is: Can I use Kevin Conroy? Can I use Mark Hamill?' Romano told me. 

"And the powers that be, the people who sign my checks, tell me whether I can or not. I always petition for them. I do believe Kevin Conroy would have given a beautiful performance in this role, as would Mark Hamill. But they just wanted something different. It's a different look, it's a different project. We wanted new voices," she said.

"Any time we cast anybody other than Kevin or Mark we get crap for it," Timm laughed. "So I'm just used to it."

Romano also revealed which actor has so far unfortunately eluded her casting call. "I've been trying for years to hire Jon Hamm. It's not because I don't think he doesn't want to do it. I think it's just that his availability is just so dreadful. He's such a lovely actor. He can do comedy, he can do drama and everything in between. So that hasn't worked out yet, but I'm not done with my career so I'm still trying to get him," she promised.

"Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 picks up where the first left off with Batman having returned to Gotham with an all new Robin, however not everyone is welcoming him back to the streets. Gotham City's police are on a manhunt for the Batman as is the newly released Joker. As Batman attempts to stop the Joker one last time, the United States government teams up with Superman to bring the Dark Knight down for good."

In addition to Weller and Emerson, The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 features Mark Valley (Human Target, Fringe) as Superman, David Selby (The Social Network, Dark Shadows) as Commissioner Gordon, Ariel Winter (Modern Family) as Carrie/Robin and Michael McKean (This is Spinal Tap) as Dr. Bartholomew Wolper.

It arrives on Blu-ray and DVD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on January 29, 2013.

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INTERVIEW: 'An Unearthly Child' Director Waris Hussein Recalls The Earliest Days of 'Doctor Who'

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to talk with Waris Hussein, the director of the initial ten episodes of Doctor Who, shortly before a special screening of An Unearthly Child, the very first episode of the series. Doctor Who debuted in black and white on the BBC on November 23, 1963 in the direct shadow of President John F. Kennedy's assassination. The episode introduced the world to the mysterious grandfatherly Time Lord known only as the Doctor, played by William Hartnell, and his iconic time machine the TARDIS.

In my one-on-one interview, Hussein revealed what was involved for Doctor Who to make its mark at a time when televised sci-fi was unheard of in the UK, as both a science fiction series that not only preceded Star Trek to the airwaves by nearly three years, but was also intended to educate children.

We discussed William Hartnell, the first actor to portray the one of the eleven incarnations of the Doctor on TV, whose initial take was that of a sinister Time Lord who also happened to have a granddaughter. Hussein was forthcoming on Hartnell's initial reluctance to take on the role, the hurdles they had to overcome in 1963, and gladly shared his thoughts on the still standing legacy of the show.

Shortly following our interview below, An Unearthly Child was screened for a packed audience at New York's Paley Center for Media, where he also provided live commentary and participated in a Q&A with the fans. He noted that the episode was a multi-camera live-to-tape shoot on the smallest set the BBC had to offer, a converted warehouse. With a mere single day shooting schedule and a budget of £2000, there was little time for elaborate blocking or retakes.

It's also worth noting that BBC announced in August production on An Adventure In Space and Time, a 90-minute TV movie that will chronicle the show's genesis and the various figures involved in Who throughout the years. As part of Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary, we will see many of the behind-the-scenes events spoken about here brought to life on the small screen.

Please set the scene for us when you were approached for Doctor Who. What was the state of televised science fiction like in 1963 Britain?

HUSSEIN: Very very little was known about science fiction apart from the films we actually got from America. I don’t think Britain had many approaches to the subject. I think Doctor Who was one of the very first. All the science fiction we saw were from movies that came out from here.

What was your first reaction to the driving concepts behind Doctor Who?

HUSSEIN: Never skepticism, some degree of intrigue and uncertainty. It’s a very eccentric idea if you think about it. What everyone says about it, and followed later I know by Star Trek, they were all set in ships and things that went into the universe and the outer regions. This is a telephone box which opens into a vast ship. How eccentric can you get? That itself was an intriguing subject matter, and then of course the characters. We should not forget that its not just science fiction, its an educational situation. We were trying to, through this medium and through this format, educate kids by doing one episode in the past and one episode in the future. That’s what the first one was: Fire. Looking for fire. That sort of thing. Then you enter the Daleks, and then you have the second lot which was about the travel across Europe getting to China (Cathay in those days), with Marco Polo. So one after the other, and that format still exists as we know, with much more embellishment.

So among other things, Doctor Who was conceived as televised history lesson for children?

HUSSEIN: Yes, but not to give them lectures, to give them stories with an adventure behind it as well. Marco Polo taught kids all about a civilization that they probably never would have herard about other than that. You know, China.

The backstory regarding the broken chameleon circuit of the TARDIS has given Doctor Who a unique  and now iconic association with the series. Was it from day one always the idea, budget contraints or not, to have the TARDIS permanently remain a police box?

HUSSEIN: This was Sydney Newman who created it, his original idea and was to my mind, genius. Who else would come up with something like this? I think it's brilliant. They are more or less diminished now. In fact it's become an iconic image.

Even at the show's inception, was the Doctor always referred to as only 'the Doctor'? Was there ever a name on even the earliest of the scripts you saw?

HUSSEIN: Never given a name, and that is still kept to this day.

The show in the last year has had many cryptic plot points teasing what the Doctor's actual name is, repeatedly playing with the question: "Doctor who?" Revealing the 'who' seems to spell catastrophic consequences for the universe.

HUSSEIN: Well I sincerely hope they don’t because there is a kind of mystery attached to this character. He’s been portrayed in many ways now, but I don’t think he’s a human being you see, and I don’t think they should make him totally human. He should be unpredictable, and that’s my feeling. That’s how it started anyway.

What was it like working with William Hartnell as the Doctor?

HUSSEIN: William was an eccentric actor as well as a character. He was very conservative in many ways in his approach to life. I think he was somewhat taken aback when he confronted a woman producer [Verity Lambert] because he was very much a male oriented person. And then a British Indian [director] for Heaven’s sakes! I was the very first Indian ever to be doing what I am doing. And I think it must have been a very unusual set of people that he confronted.  We had to woo him and persuade him to be a part of the team. I have to say I am happy he did become a part of it, we was a very good actor.

What was the reception to the show when it aired?

HUSSEIN: The first airdate was the same date when President Kennedy was assassinated, so there was a pall that descended on everything and the BBC had to repeat it. So I think as a result in an odd way we manged to pull ourselves out of this period and it was seen as an innovative show. I think a lot of people reflected this in their reaction. Thinking 'You know, maybe we are facing something unusual and there is a future in it.'

Do you have any particular favorite incarnations of the Doctor or Who moments from over the years?

HUSSEIN: I am reluctant to pinpoint things. I left it after the Marco Polo episodes, and I went on to do other things. So it was rather like giving birth, getting the kid adopted and moving on (laughs). Let someone else carry on the education. It's not easy to pinpoint and say 'Oh by the way I really like so and so,' because I think its unfair in many ways. Each story had its own embellishment and its own creativity. There have been incredible Doctor Who's subsequent, and also to my mind some that didn’t work out. As we know the show at some point was put to bed, and it was only revived by Russell T. Davies. So I do not like to pinpoint, I just think that it's great that it's still going.

What was it like shooting simultaneously with multiple cameras in a studio in addition to the limited visual effects of the time? Did that force you to be more creative?

HUSSEIN: We had none of the facilities of today. Forget computer generated stuff. We had to literally be inventive of what we did. Sand storms by interfering electronically on the monitor. The opening titles of Doctor Who were all shooting into monitors from one camera to another. That's why you get that strange wiggly effect. That's the kind of thing we had to be inventive of about. It was a whole different landscape that we worked in. We were pioneers, and what followed was the growth of something we planted.

Were two versions of the episode produced?

HUSSEIN: No. The pilot and then the main one. The first episode was the one after the pilot. Not two pilots, just the first. There were certain things we kept from the pilot. The script didn't change radically, but certain characteristics changed. We softened the Doctor, we did certain things like that. Dealt with Susan the granddaughter is a different way. Syndey Newman oversaw it and he was there as creator of the show. 

What do you expect from revisiting the episode all these years later tonight, plus providing live commentary to the audience? Is is hard to not rethink your work differently now in your head?

HUSSEIN: Absolutely. Gosh yes. I'm sure to be cringing tonight watching what I did. You know, it's bound to happen isn't it? I have not seen it for a very long time. In a funny way I have just not gone back to it. It's like revisiting something you have a pleasurable memory about. Well tonight we'll see it, and will see.

Are you looking forward to the the 50th Anniversary next year?

HUSSEIN: Absolutely. Yes, I hope they do something splendid with it.

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DOCTOR WHO INTERVIEW - Matt Smith Reveals How The Doctor Would Spend A Night Out In NYC

In part two of my selections from Saturday's roundtable interview with Matt Smith that preceded the U.S. Premiere screening of Asylum of the Daleks, the actor revealed what he thought The Doctor might do on a night of fun in New York City.

It seemed appropriate to me to maintain a line of NYC questioning given Smith's enthusiastic love for the Big Apple, and I thought it would be fun to hear about the possible things the 900 year-old Time Lord would do with a few hours to burn.

I asked that this was provided that the Weeping Angels, the eerie popular villains in the upcoming The Angels Take Manhattan, were not hot on his tail to spoil all of the Doctor's fun.

"His ideal night in New York?" Smith contemplated about the iconic character for a moment with a grin, before coming up with a bunch of ideas.

"I think maybe go and play some jazz with Woody Allen for a bit," he speculated, and assumed the Doctor might love to partake in an impromptu slow jam with one of New York City's most prominent film directors at a small time club.

"Perhaps grab a steak at Balthazar," having the insight that the Time Lord's palette has now moved beyond fish sticks and custard.

"Maybe go and stand on the top of the Statue of Liberty somehow."

"Take the TARDIS to the bottom of the Hudson see what's down there."

"I think he'd go back to the '40s or the '20s maybe, hang in Brooklyn and play baseball on the street."

But if there was one thing he was certain of regarding the Doctor's big night out, "He'd do it in a brilliant way," he said.

Doctor Who's seventh season premiere, Asylum of the Daleks, is set to air this Saturday at 9pm on BBC America. The Angels Take Manhattan, which took the cast and crew to shoot in NYC for the very first time in the show's near 50-year history, is the fifth episode and final episode of the first half of the season, and will air on September 29th. the Doctor Who Christmas Special picks up the story from there.

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DOCTOR WHO INTERVIEW - Matt Smith: "I Want To Shoot Every Episode of 'Doctor Who' In NYC"

Shortly before last Saturday's New York City screening of Doctor Who's fantastic seventh season premiere, Asylum of the Daleks, I was among the lucky select group invited to have an audience with Matt Smith and Karen Gillan for roundtable interviews at the headquarters of BBC America.

Since the Doctor makes few house calls in NYC, it was without question an incredibly exciting opportunity for a Who fan who also happens to run a website like this.

In a roundtable interview, journalists are grouped at a table and take turns asking questions. My group was polite and cordial, and we each managed to get in a question or two in both the time slots we had with Smith and Gillan, who were extremely down to earth and forthcoming.

As a native New Yorker, I was very interested to know what Matt's impressions were of finally getting to shoot Britain's iconic Doctor Who in the Big Apple last April, which was the first time the show did so in its near 50 year history. So appropriately, that was the first question I asked him.

"First and foremost, I want to shoot every episode of Doctor Who in New York,' he said altogether with sincerity, enthusiasm, a big smile.

Shooting the episode. The Angels Take Manhattan, left a lasting impression on the actor. "I love this city. I love filming here. Everywhere you point the camera there is something brilliant to look at. I love this city, I just love it."

He also agreed when it was brought up that NYC can be considered a universe unto itself, "It really is."

Smith's answer on Saturday was a satisfying two years in the making response. I attended the event held at the Paley Center For Media in April of 2010, where Matt's debut episode as the Doctor was screened. Taking the stage in front of press and fans alike in a Q&A following that screening, he was at the time in awe of his very first NYC experience.

"I could live here. I love it here. What a city! You’ve got everything here man. So cool.”

Of course that response lead to the follow up of whether he would want to ever shoot across the pond. "I would love to do an episode here," he hoped. It should be noted that Executive Producer and Who showrunner Steven Moffat (on stage seated next to Smith and Gillan), had a simple more economic solution that night.

"It’s very easy to set us in New York. You know what will happen, you’ll be standing in front of a green cloth," he responded.

Thankfully the phenomenal success of Matt's run as the Doctor allowed them to finally do it, sans dreaded green cloth and all.

It was quite exciting to hear the rumors earlier this year (on the internet of course, where else do people like me get my hot geek gossip from?) that Doctor Who might be bringing production to New York City. Sure they have already been to the States, having filmed some of the sixth season premiere in Utah's Monument Valley, but The Doctor in NYC?  That was a whole 'nother thing altogether.

I heard my first real solid confirmation of this at an event in April that 'Alex Kingston's double had arrived in town,' so all the rumors seemed to be coming together. Sure enough, behind-the-scenes pictures surfaced online of the cast and crew shooting in Central Park and Times Square. In this day and age, it's impossible to shoot on location in New York City, or any exterior location for that matter, and not have pics turn up online.

But to see the Doctor actually standing in Times Square was quite exciting. Many additional images of Amy (Gillan), Rory (Arthur Darvill), and the Doctor in Central Park turned up online fairly quickly as well. They revealed very little conveying anything to do with the plot, but it didn't take long before the Weeping Angels had already been rumored/and or leaked as a the villains for the episode.

What also sets the NYC episode apart, scheduled to air in a few weeks, is that it marks the final appearance of the Ponds, the extremely popular husband and wife companions of the Doctor played by Gillan and Darvill. Their departure, from all accounts promises to be a true tear jerker of an episode, will make room for a new companion played by Jenna Louise Coleman, and introduced on the Doctor Who Christmas Special.

And after wishing us a good time at the screening at the Ziegfeld, Matt's thoughts on the season premiere set to air on Saturday at 9pm on BBC America?

"I think its a belter, I really do," he said.

Having seen it, don't miss it.

And to complete my Whovian experience, I was thrilled to shake the Doctor's hand on the way out of the room.

Check back here for what Matt had to say when I asked him what the Doctor would do on an ideal night of fun in New York City, in addition to Karen Gillan's Big Apple memories.  Plus I asked her to take us back to her final moments on the set of Doctor Who, shooting the last ever scene with the Doctor, Amy, and Rory in the TARDIS...

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INTERVIEW: Phil Morris Wanted To Go Full Martian For 'Smallville'

Phil Morris is no stranger to sci-fi and genre fans. Throughout his career, the versatile actor has appeared in Knight Rider, Babylon 5, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and numerous versions of Star Trek (TOS, The Search for Spock, Voyager, and Deep Space Nine).

One of his more recent popular recurring roles was on The CW's Smallville, playing Metropolis Homicide Detective John Jones. DC Comics fans knew him better as the human alter ego of the alien superhero J'onn J'onnz, the Martian Manhunter.

Keeping to the Smallville tradition, Morris' earthly John Jones wardrobe was often reminiscent of the Martian Manhunter costume. Throughout the show's run, the writers were always keen on including clever nods to the comic book source material, some being more overt than others.

Morris appeared as a human on the show and never had the opportunity to go on camera in the character's full true alien form, which would have required extensive prosthetics and hours in the make-up chair.

While taking questions from the online press at the Justice League: Doom NYC premiere, I asked the actor if at any point he was approached by the show's producers to play a version that was visually closer to the character's comic book origins.

"I had one flash, in the two-parter ['Absolute Justice']. I get knocked into this canister and they flash to it," he revealed about a quick CGI glimpse of J'onzz in his alien form.

"I told them I would pull a Michael Dorn." he admitted in reference to the Star Trek: The Next Generation actor who endured hours of make-up each day to play the Klingon Worf.  "I’d do it," he affirmed. "If I could buy F-18’s like Michael does with his money," he added with a laugh.

"Just to legitimize the character into bringing him to the place that most of the fans know him as, I would have done it, and happy to do it. I've done a lot of Star Treks, I've been Jem'Hardar and Klingons, I don't mind that. I meditate through that stuff," Morris said.

"It would have been a wonderful place to go, but not my show."

He was then asked about possibly revisiting the character on the small screen, or having an interest in any of the upcoming television shows based on comics books. Morris revealed an anthology concept he would have been eager to pursue if given the opportunity.

"I would have loved to have seen J'onn J'onzz anthologized. I really thought we could have done J'onn J'onzz as a Rod Serling of the DC Universe, so we have him bookend the show. Every so often the episode would focus on J'onn, but then we bring out these characters in the DC Universe that aren’t in the movies and aren’t in the films right now," he said.

"You can do the same kind of due diligence they did with Smallville, but you feature them for a three episode arc. J'onn opens it like Rod Serling, then you see the thing, and then J'onn bookends it. That would have been awesome."


Morris can be heard as the voice of the villainous immortal Vandal Savage in Justice League: Doom, which hits Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD on February 28th. He joins an all star voice cast that includes Tim Daly (Superman), Kevin Conroy (Batman), Nathan Fillion (Green Lantern), Michael Rosenbaum (Flash), and Olivia d'Abo (Star Sapphire).

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INTERVIEW: Phil Morris Talks The Future of Jackie Chiles

At the NYC Premiere of Justice League: Doom, Phil Morris, who voices the villainous immortal Vandal Savage in the animated feature, walked the red carpet, talked to the press, and participated in a post screening fan Q&A with fellow cast member Kevin Conroy (Batman) and dialogue director Andrea Romano.

Nerdy Rotten Scoundrel will get to reporting all things Justice League: Doom soon enough when the February 28th release date gets closer. While fielding questions from online reporters at the Paley Center, I had the opportunity to ask Morris a few things not directly to do with Doom.

The versatile character actor was open to talking about the many aspects of his career. From his numerous appearances in the various incarnations of Star Trek, to his recurring role as J’onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter in Smallville, and of course perhaps his most famous character, the outrageous fast talking attorney Jackie Chiles from Seinfeld.

Morris smiled and didn’t miss a beat when asked who Jackie might be partial to representing from the Justice League feature, the heroes or the villains.

Phil Morris at the Paley Center for Justice League: Doom

“He has to represent  the villains. They never win. They need help,” he said.

Then going right into the character’s unmistakable cadence and lower voice, “And Jackie could help them,” he asserted.

Elaborating further, “A lawyer always wants somebody who is in trouble because it always billable hours,” he laughed. Needless to say, the Legion of Doom would need a lot of legal help.

Morris reprised the memorable role years after Seinfeld finished its run on NBC by appearing in several Funny or Die skits in 2010.

I followed up by asking him if we have seen the last of Childs, or will fans get the opportunity to see the lawyer in action again via future online videos.

“There could be,“ he revealed. “I wrote and produced all those."

"I was very fortunate because they ran them by Jerry (Seinfeld) and Larry (David). They didn’t change a word of dialogue and said ‘You go with yourself young man and God love ya.’”

“I was really honored that they did because they are very protective of their legacy. For them to allow me to do that was just incredible, so I hope so,“ he said in hopes of revisiting the character again.