Jonathan Frakes/Kevin Sorbo: Good Superman or not?

[Metallo]

Valentines cool idea of Jeffrey Hunter as Superman got me thinking. When Frakes started on TNG i remember reading somewhere that he used to play this guy

at malls and appearances


Then I remembered when he did this


not very flattering but then again the show wasn't very flattering. To be cast in the hall of villainy with Shecky Long, Bronson Pinchot, and Delta Burke doesn't exactly conjure images of the Legion of Doom.

But it got me thinking: Could Frakes have done it for real?


I'm not talking about when he ended up looking like this



more like when he looked like this.


I lean towards no but I dunno. Thoughts?

Kevin Sorbo

He was up for the part in Lois & Clark but lost out to Dean Cain. Thoughts?

[Legsy]

He's tall enough and does have blue eyes, but something about him doesn't say Superman. I think he'd make a great Superman director, though.

[Metallo]

Yeah, the superhero type but not Superman. Not quite sure what it was thats missing.

[Jimbo]

I dunno. Back in the TNG season 1 times, probably. He has a good look.

As for Kevin Sorbo, heck no. He's essentially Schwarzenegger without the accent.

[crazy_asian_man]

He's tall enough and does have blue eyes, but something about him doesn't say Superman. I think he'd make a great Superman director, though.

Frakes turned out to be such a great suprise as an above average director- who knew?
(Pity he didn't direct "Nemesis"- that might have saved the movie series then...*sigh*)

About Sorbo as Superman- In front of the camera, Sorbo pulled off (suprisingly) a great performance as the captain of the Andromeda--- behind the scenes, Sorbo as producer sunk that series like a rock, because he wanted everything 'fun fun fun like Hercules'- after a pretty good first two seasons of that show. (The showrunner/developer - who also did many great episodes of ST: Deep Space Nine- got kicked off the show, but put his own outline of what SHOULD have happened for the rest of the series on his website--- was going to be amazing stuff that might have rivalved DS9, if Sorbo didn't pull a 'Shatner'. *sigh*)

Anyways- Sorbo as actor might have been ok for Lois & Clark, but I actually thought Dean Cain was a pretty good choice for that particular show. Neither one for the movies, though- not following Reeve.

[Metallo]

I forget the guy who ran Andromeda but it was a big mistake to let him go. That first season was pretty good. After that the series shifted its focus. Really reminded me of how Seaquest lost its way.

[crazy_asian_man]

Got his name again: Robert Hewitt Wolfe- his name is on a lot of great episodes of Deep Space Nine.

His outline for where the series SHOULD have went after he got booted at the end of season 2 (he tried to adapt to what the producers wanted in #2 and keep enough of what he wanted, but in the end, his approach was too intellectual for Sorbo and the producers who got headaches from having to think after watching episodes)- is under the 'coda' tab on this link:

www.roberthwolfe.com/Insider%20Info.htm

Coulda been cool. *sigh*

[Metallo]

Yeah I remember when he posted something online about how disappointed he was that he was forced out.

Earth: Final Conflict was another show that I don't feel lived up to its potential. Same with TekWar and Time Trax, two other shows that had involvement from Trek alums.

on of my teachers in Highschool was Greg Evigans cousin and he said they had high hopes for Tekwar when they started with it.

[Jimbo]

Robert Hewitt Wolfe, loved that guy. Too bad he didn't stay with DS9 until the end. (Not that it didn't soar without him)

[stargazer01]

Mar 19, 2009 0:09:18 GMT -5 Jimbo said:

As for Kevin Sorbo, heck no. He's essentially Schwarzenegger without the accent.

Agreed! Haha. I think he is not a good actor. He is pretty wooden, IMO. Just like Arnold.

I know Frakes in person, btw. He is very tall and was very good looking and all back in TNG days, but no, he doesn't look like Superman at all to me. But he is a solid actor and a solid director, IMO.

[Jimbo]

Schwarzenegger is great because of the accent, humor, and charisma. In that order.

[stargazer01]

Mar 19, 2009 13:30:45 GMT -5 Metallo said:

Yeah I remember when he posted something online about how disappointed he was that he was forced out.

Earth: Final Conflict was another show that I don't feel lived up to its potential. Same with TekWar and Time Trax, two other shows that had involvement from Trek alums.

on of my teachers in Highschool was Greg Evigans cousin and he said they had high hopes for Tekwar when they started with it.

You know, I LOVE Science Fiction, so it's very sad when tv series with potential disappoint or end up sucking.

[stargazer01]

Mar 19, 2009 14:59:57 GMT -5 Jimbo said:

Schwarzenegger is great because of the accent, humor, and charisma. In that order.

Sure, but he's never been a good actor. He is an icon.

[crazy_asian_man]

Schwarzenegger is great because of the accent, humor, and charisma. In that order.

Schwarzeneggar is great, because he IS a comic book character in his own right (in real life as well, apparently).

A friend once remarked that he thought for the longest time Keanu Reeves was a horrible actor--- but then came to think that Keanu was actually a good actor, but just that he never knew how to act anything remotely like a 'normal' (quote unquote) human being- similiar to William Shatner's acting (There's never "William Shatner acting- there's WILLIAM SHATNER ACTING!!!- a whole separate entity)-

Schwarzeneggar, in essence, is a buffed up, more intelligent version of Keanu. Just as one has to buy that a man can fly to enjoy a Superman film, one has to buy Schwarzeneggar (and all that comes with that) to enjoy a Schwarzeneggar film, which means lowering the brain power, and upping the popcorn and hot dog component to enjoying those films

[Metallo]

Arnold's got charisma and his physicality and "look took him a long way.

Shatner can act...just look at his early work. He's not doing his schtick as heavy as he later would. he just seems to have gotten comfortable being himself in roles.

Keanu's got talent but I'm not sure what it is. Some kind of magnetism but isn't not charisma in the traditional sense because he's pretty bland and monotone in many roles. I guess he has to find the right roles that click like Matrix or Bill and Ted.

[Jimbo]

Mar 19, 2009 18:10:29 GMT -5 Metallo said:

Shatner can act...just look at his early work. He's not doing his schtick as heavy as he later would. he just seems to have gotten comfortable being himself in roles.

And his fans love him for it. So he would have no need to change. People love Captain Kirk and they love Denny Crane.

[stargazer01]

Mar 19, 2009 18:10:29 GMT -5 Metallo said:

Keanu's got talent but I'm not sure what it is. Some kind of magnetism but isn't not charisma in the traditional sense because he's pretty bland and monotone in many roles. I guess he has to find the right roles that click like Matrix or Bill and Ted.

I think.

And I also think that Keanu was good in those movies cuz we didn't have to act much; he was practically playing himself: confused.


I also think Shatner can act... when he really wants to. But he aint on the level of Patrick Stewart. He is awesome any way.

[Valentine Smith]

I think Sorbo would have been a TERRIFIC small screen Superman. He's not a movie guy, but I think circa Lois & Clark he woulda been great. A bit more serious than Cain, perhaps. It's whether he could have pulled off CLARK that I'm not sure about.

Frakes...not so much. Don't know why, I just don't see it.

[fggafagas]

Frakes doesn't have the right face for it, I think. It could be that I'm too used to him as Riker.