The Daily Star - Stay Tuned
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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, November 4, 2011 2 coverstory Western makes a comeback in 'Hell on Wheels' Back in blazes By Dee Underwood TV Media or 35 years, "Gunsmoke" held the record for lon- gest-running series in television history before "Law & Order" tied it in 2002. In fact, if you ask some people, "Law & Order's" record doesn't count because it has almost 150 fewer episodes, but it had the same number of seasons. "Gunsmoke" was incredi- bly popular from the day of its first radio broadcast in 1952 to when the final episode of the television series aired in 1975, and it paved the way for other Western series to break into television. Series such as "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," "Walker, Texas Ranger, " and "Firefly" have maintained the pres- ence of Western shows on the small screen, but since HBO's "Deadwood" left the air in 2006, there has been a severe lack of horse-riding tough guys on television. Luckily, AMC has changed F that. "Hell on Wheels" pre- mieres Sunday, Nov. 6, and brings Westerns back to TV. Anson Mount stars as Cullen Bohannon, a gunslinger who is determined to get revenge on those responsible for kill- ing his wife. He joins the Hell on Wheels community, which is a mobile town of workers and vendors who move as the Transcontinental Railroad is being built. Set right after the Civil War and after the Emancipation Proclamation was passed, "Hell on Wheels" explores many aspects of life during the 1860s. Elam Ferguson (Common) is a newly freed slave trying to find work, but being mixed-race, he strug- gles to fit in with both white and black men. Lily Bell (Do- minique McElligott) is a re- cent widow trying to prove that women can be just as useful as men. Thomas Durant is a greedy business man and railroad investor, out to get all the profits he can. The series is quite histori- cally accurate with period costumes and weapons and even some characters who are based on real people. Du- rant really existed, and be- cause of a personal friendship with Abraham Lincoln before his presidency, Durant was able to get away with a lot of underhanded dealings and fi- nancial manipulation. Durant was given $16,000 in government grants for ev- ery mile of track that his workers built, so Durant in- sisted in making a winding track, resulting in more miles and more money in his pock- et. Actor Colm Meaney por- trays Durant in "Hell on Wheels," and it is Meaney's facial hair, but he also starred as the lead man in Britney Spears' film debut, "Cross- roads." Rap star Common steps into the role of Elam, who is unable to find friendship with anyone because of his mixed race. Common put a lot of time and effort into the role to make sure he got things just right. Dominique McElligott stars in "Hell on Wheels" first regular role on television since 1999 when "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" went off the air. He played Chief Miles O'Brien on both "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," and he also has a long film re- sume. He starred in "Die Hard 2" (1990), "The Commit- ments" (1991), "Mystery, Alaska" (1999) and, more re- cently, he starred as a major- general who tried and prose- cuted those behind Lincoln's assassination in "The Con- spirator". Main character Bohannon is played by Mount, whose experience pales in compari- son to a seasoned actor like Meaney, but that doesn't mean he's any less of an ac- tor. "Hell on Wheels" is Mount's first regular role on TV, having dabbled a bit in small parts in "Ally McBeal," "Lost" and "CSI: Miami." Some viewers may not recog- nize him under all of his new A/Auto Boutique B/The Green Giraffe 2 x 2 "I had to do massive re- search on what life was like around 1865," said the rap- per-actor in an interview with "The Chicago Tribune". "I had books and whatever I could get my hands on that would give me information. People living during that time couldn't always afford the simpler things in life like food and water – especially African Americans. I just decided to do due diligence." Widow Lily Bell is played by McElligott, who has done mostly independent work in her career. The Western genre may be new to several of her co-stars, but McElligott re- cently starred in "Black- thorn," which was an inde- pendent take on Butch Cassi- dy's life. "Hell on Wheels" has a lot of promise to be another home run for AMC. The cable network is relatively new to producing original scripted series, but the success of "Mad Men," "Breaking Bad" and "The Walking Dead" has paved the way for "Hell on Wheels" to knock it out of the park again. hollywoodQ&A By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: I thought Slimer had a speaking role in "Ghost- busters," but I rewatched it last night and he didn't say a word. Is that in the sequel? A: Slimer doesn't have actual lines in either Ghostbusters movie, and you've just touched on a hot-button issue in the surprisingly robust Ghostbusters online community. The problem is what came between. In 1986 the animated series "The Real Ghostbusters" premiered, two years after the first film but three years before the sequel. In the cartoon, Slim- er was given more personality, a name (he was never named in the first film), and actual lines. The debate is about whether or not the cartoon should be considered part of the canon -- that is, part of the "official" storyline depicted in the films. The second film uses the Slimer name and some of the (somewhat) friendlier attributes given to the character in the cartoon, but it does not grant him a speaking role. At least, not exactly. While he doesn't really say anything, he does make a sort of moan/growl in the two films, and interest- ingly, that voice is provided by the films' director, Ivan Reitman, who also provided the equally monstrous voice of Zuul (the ghost that possesses Sigourney Weaver's character). Chirstopher's Coins 2 x 2 A/Crazy Tom's B/Allstar Auto Wash 2 x 3 Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. P be provided. ersonal replies will not