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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, July 10, 2020 4 By Sarah Passingham TV Media I t can be hard to imagine a completely frozen-over Earth in the middle of a sweltering July, but that is the catapult of the story behind the new sci-fi series, "Snowpierc- er." A new episode airs Sunday, July 12, on TNT. The last surviving humans on the planet all boarded the 1,001-car-long, super-speed train, Snowpiercer, before the Earth became inhospitably cold after an ill-advised at- tempt to cool the effects of global warming went horribly wrong. At the final boarding call for passengers, people without tickets rushed the train, violence broke out be- tween those desperate for sur- vival and the guards of the Snowpiercer, and a handful of those desperate souls staked their claim on the final carriage of the train, becoming Snow- piercer's "Tailies." Subjected to abhorrent treatment under a strictly en- forced class system, the Tailies are given the bare minimum necessary to survive. They are fed disgusting, constantly shrinking rations and treated as less than human by those who enforce the status quo. Tailies with special skills are se- lectively chosen as needed to ascend through the train for whatever jobs need doing for the upper classes, and those that are returned to their home car bring with them intel about the rest of the train. Seven years into the train's never-ending journey, Tailies have banded together to orga- nize a revolution to force their oppressors to improve their liv- ing conditions. Andre Layton, portrayed by Daveed Diggs ("Black-ish"), is the leader of this revolution, and when he is unexpectedly plucked out of the last car to investigate mur- ders in the upper classes, the Tailies enact his planned take- over without him. As a former homicide detec- tive, Layton investigates a se- ries of murders that the First Class was wholly unprepared to handle. Layton is surveilled at a distance by the mysterious head of Hospitality, Melanie Cavill (Jennifer Connelly, "Lab- yrinth," 1986), and more di- rectly by Brakeman Till (Mickey Sumner, "Low Winter Sun"), a security enforcement officer who is saved from the bloody uprising by Layton. After watching him leave them, other Tailies involved with the revolution splinter over whether they believe Lay- ton will return to their car after his work in the upper classes, or if he will remain there, hav- ing had a taste of a better life and forgetting the bigger goal of creating equality among all classes of passengers aboard the Snowpiercer. Without much knowledge of the 1,000 cars beyond the one they call home, the Tailies are forced to push forward in the hopes of gaining ground in an essential carriage and holding resources hostage as a bargaining tactic. The Tailies aren't the only characters in "Snowpiercer" secretly constructing a strategy for change. Cavill is calm and stern whether she's dealing with the concerns of First Class passengers or explaining to Layton the intricate balance that must be maintained in or- der to grow a perfect strawber- ry onboard the Snowpiercer, obviously suggesting he read between the lines and recog- nize his place as a member of the lowest class of passengers. It is clear that Cavill has more up her sleeve than she is letting on while she has her Hospitali- ty jacket on; when she returns to her quarters at the end of her day to literally and figura- tively let her hair down, she is greeted by a poster of chess strategies. If "Snowpiercer" sounds fa- miliar to you, that may be be- cause the series is a reboot of the 2013 film of the same name that starred Chris Evans during a rare break from por- traying superhero Captain America in the Marvel Cine- matic Universe series of films. The movie takes place 17 years into the train's run and refer- ences past Tailie uprisings that may be the ones we see unfold in the series. That film was itself an ad- aptation of the 1982 graphic novel "Le Transperceneige," by Jacques Lob and Jean- Marc Rochette. The film's di- rector and screenplay writer, Bong Joon-ho, also wrote the screenplay for the 10-episode "Snowpiercer." Bong re- ceived three Academy Awards for his 2019 film "Parasite": Best Film, Best Di- rector and Best Original Screenplay. That film, like "Snowpiercer," is a sharp ex- amination of the classist structure of society and the violence and deception it of- ten takes to ascend beyond the class you happen to be born into. In "Parasite," being poor is a stink that you just can't wash off, and in "Snow- piercer," you'll always be sent back to where you came from when the upper classes have gotten what they want from you. coverstory Jennifer Connelly, Mike O'Malley and Daveed Diggs in "Snowpiercer" Train to nowhere: Sci-fi thriller series 'Snowpiercer' journeys through an artificially frozen wasteland By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Will there be another season of "Archer"? I feel like we've been waiting for a while now. A: I struggled to think of a reference to one of "Archer's" million running jokes to use here, but none were suitable for a respectable, family-friendly TV column. (I can't even use "I had something for this …" because that's usually prefaced by a swear word.) So I'll just say it outright: Yes, there will be anoth- er season, but it's been delayed. Season 11 of the consistently profane cartoon comedy was originally scheduled for release on May 6, but the coronavirus happened. The show's network, FX, announced at the beginning of April that it would "shift the premiere date to later this year." "Later this year" covers a lot of ground, of course, and there's been no news since. But at least we know it's coming. In the meantime, we just have to be patient. I mean, who are you, Samuel Watson — inventor of the stopwatch? (Ha! I found a reference I can use.) Q: Did the boy who played Charlie Bucket in the origi- nal "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" ever do any- thing else? A: Peter Ostrum didn't do any other screen work after "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" (1971), and that's fine with him. Ostrum was 12 years old and doing some small-town the- ater work, with no grander acting ambitions, when he was spotted by a talent agent scouring the country for an actor to play Charlie. He got the role, turned in a shockingly good per- formance for someone so inexperienced, and then left the business. He was offered a three-picture deal but turned it down. He has been incredibly publicity-shy ever since, and so his exact motivations aren't a matter of public record, but he has said that film stardom just wasn't a life he wanted, and that he's happy with his choice. These days he works as a large-animal veterinarian in New York state and he loves it. He avoids talking about his "Won- ka" role, except once a year to a grade-school class in his area. He indulges them in their questions about the chocolate river (not really chocolate) and the rest of the amazing things he did, briefly, for a living. He made an exception to his no-interviews rule recently when he appeared at a fan convention with some of his co- stars. There, in an interview with HollywoodChicago.com, he gave a hint of the sort of advice he gives the kids at his annual closed-door talks. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A Towne Floring 3 x 2

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