Letters from our readers
Plummer Parts
Thank you, EW, for your wonderful article on everyone's favorite
captain, Christopher Plummer (''Captain, Our Captain'')! I fell in love
with Mr. Plummer at the tender young age of 6 thanks to his brooding
(and sexy!) portrayal of the von Trapp family patriarch, but it has been
his consistently intelligent character work that has kept my admiration
at such heights. I recently had the privilege of seeing him perform the
title character in King Lear and I will never forget his amazing
intensity, focus, and sheer talent. I do hope he gets the chance to do
comic roles like Volpone in the future — this man has many facets, and
he's only begun to show us what he's capable of!
JULIE HAVERKATE
lilyseye@aol.com
Livonia, Mich.
Motherly Love
In ''Reiner's Reign,'' Rob Reiner quotes his mother, Estelle, as saying,
''I don't care if you cut it [her scene in When Harry Met Sally...] or
not. I just want to spend the day with you.'' And you thought her best
line was ''I'll have what she's having.''
KARL JOHAN LJUNGBERG
Rowland Heights, Calif.
A FRIEND in Need
Even though I am used to EW's bashing of Joey, you are really taking
your antipathy for this show to a new level by running a campaign for
its cancellation (News & Notes). I accept your right to an opinion, but
why sabotage a program that some of your readers may actually enjoy
watching? There certainly are worse, and lower-rated, shows that are
more deserving of your derision.
MIKE ZALOUDEK
Studio City, Calif.
Into the 'WEST'
Thanks for recognizing the superior quality of this season of The West Wing (News & Notes). The live debate was excellent, but you were correct
that the NBC News logo was misguided. It was impossible to coerce my
80-year-old grandmother to go to bed. She said she wanted to ''hear the
candidates address the issues.'' She'll be voting for Jimmy Smits.
JODY SMITH
Jobidiah87@aol.com
Piedmont, S.C.
Cornering 'Office'
Okay, i'll answer your question about The Office (The Must List): ''So,
tell us again why you're not watching?'' Um, because it's a pale
imitation of the brilliant British original? Because Steve Carell can't
hold a candle to Ricky Gervais? Because the writing stinks and there's
an air of artificiality to it that the original avoided?
NORA ARMSTRONG
Hope Mills, N.C.
Buffy's Backstory
As the WB executive who approved the cast of Buffy, I'm sorry to let you
know that we did it all live in the room (DVD & Video). Thus, no casting
tape. In fact, Sarah [Michelle Gellar] originally read for the Cordelia
part, and I asked Joss [Whedon] if we could have her read the Buffy part
as well. She went out into the hall, looked over the lines, and came
back in and won the part. As for the original pilot, it was a
presentation, not a pilot, done on a reduced-budget basis — a great
curiosity piece for fans, but not particularly indicative of the amazing
series that Joss eventually crafted.
GARTH ANCIER
Los Angeles
