Jump to content

Type keyword(s) to search

James Cole: Testy Time Traveler

Trini

By Trini
in 12 Monkeys [V]

Recommended Posts

Trini

Trini

http://www.syfy.com/12monkeys/cast/cole

After surviving the plague and living for years as a scavenger during the apocalypse, James Cole can kick ass when he needs to, but his wits are his primary tool. While Jones' injections allow him both mental and physical superiority, Cole is not without flaws. He's impulsive, bold and brave beyond common sense. Though coming of age in a time when the basic tenets of society have unraveled, Cole has somehow retained a conscience. As a Scav, he did what he needed to survive, but now is haunted by his actions. Cole seeks to fix the past, not only to save billions of lives, but also to earn redemption.

I anyone has a good idea for a thread subtitle, feel free to post it/report to a mod.

Link to comment
Trini

Trini

  • Author

I've only seen Aaron Stanford in a couple of things, but I like him. His acting seems really "real"(natural?); I'm never thinking that he's acting. I only recently found out he was a regular on Nikita, so that gives me a second reason to check out that show.

  • Love 1
Link to comment
teezy

teezy

On one hand, I'm glad they went for talent over looks, but on the other hand...I kinda wanted James Cole to be hot. Oh, well.

that means there will be no slash fanfiction

 

 

yesssssssssssss im happy  the female fans can't find any male characters to ship him with once there is even a hint of them pandering to that crowd im out

Link to comment
solea

solea

Someone said in another thread they were having trouble buying Aaron Stanford as Cole and wishing he were played by a more believably action hero type.  Personally, I'm buying the whole package!

I like that Cole isn't the cliched, chiseled jaw, overly muscled action hero.  I have no trouble believing he bests bigger men in a fight.  They do a great job with the fight choreography and Stanford sells it.  He's plenty gruff, jaded and world weary, and yet conveys vulnerability without it coming across as weakness.  I think he's doing a bang up job ;)

I'm hoping to see how Cole and Ramse came upon Jones and the others, were accepted, and how Cole was convinced to be the main tool for executing the mission.

  • Love 5
Link to comment
waving feather

waving feather

Cole is at his most endearing whenever he's with Ramse. Their talks and banter will literally light up his face.

I'm glad they are also showing a lighter side of Cole because Aaron Stanford has excellent comic timing (which he utilized brilliantly in Nikita as Birkhoff).

Link to comment
shapeshifter

shapeshifter

Someone said in another thread they were having trouble buying Aaron Stanford as Cole and wishing he were played by a more believably action hero type...

The initial post was mine, but I mainly meant it in the context of a particular scene in which the dialog between Cole and Aaron seemed as if Cole's lines had been written for Bruce Willis's macho-style delivery.

Anyway, right now I'm watching reruns of the first few episodes of Miami Vice on COZI TV, and I'm noticing how similar the physicality of 35-year-old Don Johnson is to Aaron Stanford here in 12 Monkeys.

Link to comment
cynic

cynic

As this show winds down, I just have to express my appreciation of Aaron Stanford and what he brings to this role. I love watching his face, his eyes. He manages to convey so much and give such depth and complexity to Cole. The guilt, regret, self-loathing, vulnerability, love, wonder, resolve, and so much more. Cole has done questionable things, even terrible things, which could have been a turnoff as a viewer, especially at the beginning, but Stanford shows the weight and cost of those things and it kept me with him on his journey. 

As for him being atypical physically for such a role like this, I don't have a problem buying him. I think he moves believably as a scrapper. And yeah, I think he's hot too. 

  • Love 4
Link to comment
dargosmydaddy

dargosmydaddy

Big YES! to everything cynic said.

I always chuckle over the initial PTV 12 Monkeys review, which implies that Stanford and Hampshire are the weakest links in the show, and they turned out to be the MVPs.

http://previously.tv/12-monkeys/should-you-save-the-world-from-12-monkeys/

Quote

If Low Winter Sun taught us anything, it's that just because your main character talks like Lego Batman, that alone does not make him a bad-ass. Who talks like that? No one ever outside of movie characters and dying mobsters talk like that. You know when you haven't physically spoken after a few days of a cold and you kind of forget how your voice works? That's the only time someone is allowed to talk like that. No more gruff voices! Ever!

But what's most worrisome about the episode happens at the very end, when a new character is introduced and revealed to be insane. The actress portrays her insanity pretty much exactly the same way as Jayden Michael Tyler, the crazy actor who did Christopher Walken and Martin Scorsese's voices on 30 Rock. Which is great for a sitcom, terrible for a serious science fiction show. Actors, please stop modeling your performances off of Batman: The Animated Series. That was twenty years ago; there are better ways to play crazy. I want to live in a world where Ginsberg from Mad Men is the go-to acting choice for insanity. Can I be zapped to that universe, please?

Why is that performance note so worrisome, you ask? Because the choice to show that character acted that way, when she plays a much bigger part in the series from here on out, tells me that the show doesn't care about its performances. Pair that with the vagueness of the mechanics of the story in the pilot and we have to assume that the show is probably going to rely on globs and globs of exposition to move the plot along, because the producers got a bulk discount hiring all of those Nikita actors and I'm betting they aren't the best at doing heavy dramatic lifting.

  • Love 1
Link to comment
cynic

cynic

"...because the producers got a bulk discount hiring all of those Nikita actors and I'm betting they aren't the best at doing heavy dramatic lifting."

Now, just wait a an everloving minute, Nikita was a great show and Aaron Stanford was one of the best things about it. I wonder if the writer ever even watched Nikita, especially the episode where Birkhoff is tortured. AS definitely showed off great dramatic chops in that. Now, Noah Bean isn't my favorite actor from the show, but I've loved seeing Xander Berkeley and Peter Outerbridge here in guest roles. I think overall, the casting of this show has been pretty stellar. 

Also, Emily Hampshire has been amazing. 

  • Love 2
Link to comment
CrystalMoon

CrystalMoon

(edited)
19 hours ago, cynic said:

As this show winds down, I just have to express my appreciation of Aaron Stanford and what he brings to this role. I love watching his face, his eyes. He manages to convey so much and give such depth and complexity to Cole. The guilt, regret, self-loathing, vulnerability, love, wonder, resolve, and so much more. Cole has done questionable things, even terrible things, which could have been a turnoff as a viewer, especially at the beginning, but Stanford shows the weight and cost of those things and it kept me with him on his journey. 

As for him being atypical physically for such a role like this, I don't have a problem buying him. I think he moves believably as a scrapper. And yeah, I think he's hot too. 

I totally agree with all that. I find it refreshing that he's not some big muscley guy. He is scrappy. Great way to describe him. He is very believable as someone who grew up as a scav and knows every trick in a fight. And he does have very expressive eyes. Otter eyes was a good nickname for Cole. LOL A lot of people online talk about Barbara or Emily and how good they are, and they are good. But I feel like Aaron doesn't get his due. 

And yes, he is extremely hot!

Edited by CrystalMoon
  • Love 1
Link to comment
CrystalMoon

CrystalMoon

(edited)
18 hours ago, dargosmydaddy said:

Big YES! to everything cynic said.

I always chuckle over the initial PTV 12 Monkeys review, which implies that Stanford and Hampshire are the weakest links in the show, and they turned out to be the MVPs.

http://previously.tv/12-monkeys/should-you-save-the-world-from-12-monkeys/

I never read reviews when the show first started, but you made me curious. So I did a search of reviews for the very first episode and what I found surprised me. Many of them were very negative. One said Aaron Stanford always looked constipated! Another said they hated time-travel shows. Then why were you reviewing this?! A lot of them compared it to the movie and didn't like how the TV show was different. Personally, I never liked the movie that much, so being different is a good thing.

But I found this New York Times review that is positive and reflects my views, so there's at least one intelligent reviewer out there. <grin> Here's a quote:

 

Quote

In contrast, Mr. Stanford’s Cole, besides being more roguishly handsome [than Bruce Willis], is more confident in his fate and purpose. The look of the show reflects this. The garish faces and bleached-out landscapes of the film are largely absent; no danger here that the whole thing is a hallucination.

Mr. Stanford and Ms. Schull pair nicely, and the surrounding cast is well chosen, with Kirk Acevedo as Ramse, Cole’s buddy; Barbara Sukowa as Jones, the disquieting physicist who works the time machine; and Tom Noonan as a menacing man who seems to be the key to stopping the virus. Most interesting is a sex change: Brad Pitt’s unhinged Jeffrey Goines has become Jennifer Goines, played by Emily Hampshire.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/16/arts/television/12-monkeys-and-james-cole-return-on-syfy.html

Edited by CrystalMoon
Link to comment
Aliferously

Aliferously

I never question casting. Or read reviews.

Were the first episodes manky? Yes. Did they improve over time, sure did. 

I read an interview the other day where AS apparently auditioned for the Ramse role, and I am so glad someone saw sense and cast him for Cole. Wouldn't have it any other way. :)

Link to comment
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...