Michelle Rowen
Friday, May 23, 2008
Well, hello there, handsome.
Don't tell my true love Hugh Jackman, but I've been cheating on him again with a tall, dark, handsome, humorless, sullen and miserable drink o' water.
I like 'em sullen and miserable. It's totally my type.
I got the DVD of North & South from the library (I love the library) and watched it over the course of two nights. I'd heard about this BBC miniseries for a couple of years, caught snippets here and there on TV, but hadn't been impressed enough to seek it out. I was told that the lead, Richard Armitage, was a ringer for Hugh Jackman, could be his brother, etc., but in pics he didn't do toooo much for me when I compared him to my Hugh. Not that he was trying, I'm sure.
Then I caught a couple of eps of the BBC's Robin Hood series where Armitage plays Sir Guy of Gisbourne, and yeah, he had great chemistry with Marion...but really. Where is this relationship going to go? Probably nowhere. After all, there's that Robin Hood guy who is supposed to get the girl. Guy is the bad guy in this story even though he seems to have moments of redemptability (is that even a word?). I can't commit unless I have some guarantee of a happy ending. I'm a sap that way.
But I was intrigued enough to rent North & South to further investigate this actor.
Okay, he's freaking hot.
I'd describe the miniseries as Pride & Prejudice if a lot of people died and things are very bleak and rather miserable. But it was gripping and incredibly romantic. I didn't hate the heroine, which really is half the battle for me. And the hero, John Thornton, as played by Richard Armitage is worth the price of admission. He's cruel, sullen and miserable, and obviously a bit broken inside, but it totally works. He needs the heroine to bring happiness to his life (even though she mostly fails, imo).
He is 100% Thierry de Bennicoeur, my vampire hero from my Immortality Bites series. I always had Hugh Jackman in mind, but sometimes I see tap dancing and broadway tunes, and that doesn't work for me. I don't think Armitage does jazz hands.
Anyhow, bottom line, if you haven't checked out Robin Hood or North & South, I highly recommend both of them... but you'll get the very satisfying HEA from N&S.
I love you Richard! Call me!!
