The Daily Star - Stay Tuned
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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, December 2, 2011 2 coverstory Peter and the pirates Miniseries details epic tale of Pan and Hook By Christina Davies TV Media T he story of Peter Pan is a classic -- one that has been retold countless times in countless forms. De- spite the dozens of reincarna- tions, it seems we can't get enough of hearing the trans- fixing tale of the boy who never grows up, his rag-tag band of misfit boys, his nefari- ous nemesis Captain Hook and his fairy friend Tinker Bell. On Sunday, Dec. 4, Syfy will bring the story to life yet again with an interesting twist. "Neverland," the net- work's original two-part mini- series, will give viewers the backstory behind Peter and Hook, telling how both char- acters came to be in Never- land in the first place and how they became mortal ene- mies. The two-parter will con- clude the following night, on Monday, Dec. 5. "Neverland" puts a unique spin on the 100-year-old story in several ways, starting with the original relationship be- tween Pan and Hook. Peter and his soon-to-be Lost Boys are pickpockets under the care of James Hook, a dis- graced London socialite who now runs a fencing school and serves as the mind be- hind the crime ring that he and the orphans have formed. Many of "Neverland's" characters are recognizable, including the good-natured, if slow-witted pirate Mr. Smee, and Gentleman Starkey, who, although not appearing in many adaptations of the sto- ry, was in fact an original character. Others received a slight makeover for this ver- sion, like Aaya, princess of the Kaw tribe - whose name means "tiger lily" in her na- tive tongue. But some brand new char- acters will pop up in this ver- sion, including Captain Eliza- beth Bonny, who we discover was captain of the Jolly Roger prior to Hook's arrival in Nev- erland. Bonny may or may not be a simple name reference to Anne Bonny, one of the few well-known female pirates, but the character was sup- posedly transported to Never- land in 1726, putting her at the right age to perhaps be the daughter or another close relative of the real-life Bonny. Playing Peter is relative newcomer Charlie Rowe, who got his start on the London stage scene, and whom view- ers may recognize from 2007's "The Golden Com- pass," in which he appeared alongside Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, and from 2009's "Pirate Radio." Fifteen-year- old Rowe is a little older than how Peter Pan is usually por- trayed -- in the 1953 Disney version, Peter was drawn to look about 10 and in the 2003 reincarnation, Peter was 13. Bob Hoskins stars in "Neverland" (The exception to this, of course, is "Hook, wherein Pe- ter had left Neverland and aged to his mid-forties.) Rhys Ifans, who plays James Hook, is a prolific stage and screen actor, having ap- peared in more than 20 films, including 1999's "Notting Hill" and 2010's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" as Xenophilius Lovegood. He is set to appear as Dr. Curt Connors -- aka The Lizard -- in 2012's "The Amazing Spider- Man." Bob Hoskins will reprise his role as Smee from Stephen Spielberg's popular Peter Pan sequel "Hook," which starred the likes of Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman and Julia Roberts. Hoskins is a big name in his own right, how- ever, as viewers will remem- ber him from such roles as Det. Eddie Valiant in 1988's "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and as Lou Landsky in 1990's "Mermaids" with Cher. A/Auto Boutique B/The Green Giraffe 2 x 2 Voicing Tinker Bell is Keira Knightley, probably most pop- ular for her appearances as Elizabeth Swann in the long- running "Pirates of the Carib- bean" franchise, but who's also appeared in 2004's "King Arthur," 2005's "Pride and Prejudice" and 2007's "Atone- ment." That last role earned her a British Academy of Film and Television Arts nomina- tion for Best Leading Actress. "Neverland" writer/direc- tor/producer Nick Willing is no stranger to tweaking clas- sic tales for television. His first foray into fairy tale re-imagin- ing was as director of the 1999 TV movie "Alice in Won- derland," which, while not straying drastically from the original concepts, combined the two Wonderland books into one three-hour special. Next came 2007's "Tin Man," for which Willing was back in the director's chair. "Tin Man" was another Syfy miniseries with a bizarre- ly modern take -- based on the L. Frank Baum classic "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" -- casting Zooey Deschanel into the Dorothy-esque role of D.G., a waitress who must travel through the O.Z. -- the Outer Zone. He most recently visited Wonderland yet again, this time writing as well as di- recting, in the 2009 miniseries "Alice," which takes place 150 years after Alice's first visit to the alternate reality, and de- scribes the changes that have taken place in the magical land since. Chirstopher's Coins 2 x 2 hollywoodQ&A By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Why is the NBC logo green? Is it St. Patrick's Day somewhere in the world? Is it just my TV that's bro- ken? A: Don't throw out your TV just yet, and put down that green beer. NBC just changed the feathers on its classic pea- cock logo green in honor of its annual Green Week event. Since 2007, for one week every November and one week in April (the more broadly observed Earth Week), NBC rolls out a list of environmentalist programming and initiatives. "It identifies ways to 'walk the talk' and integrate sus- tainability across our span of businesses, in front of the camera as well as behind it," NBC Universal explained in a release. Previous Green Week programming events have included an Al Gore guest spot on "30 Rock," eco-cooking tips on Bravo's "Top Chef" and Dwight Schrute's (Rainn Wilson) transformation into Recyclops in the hit sitcom "The Office." The company also uses the event to showcase its behind- the-scenes green initiatives, including its use of sustainable materials such as organic cotton and bamboo in its TV and film sets and reduced packaging for its DVDs. You can be forgiven for being confused, though. The net- work also runs a green logo for St. Patrick's Day, as well as a pink version for Valentine's Day and an orange-and-black one for Halloween. A/Crazy Tom's B/Allstar Auto Wash 2 x 3 Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com.