Allison Mack for Constantine "Zed" Role? (was Re: "Constantine" loses Lucy Griffiths, adds character from comics)

[KalElFan]

"Ian J. Ball" wrote in message
news:a12d263b-9ee8-45c7...@googlegroups.com...

> This guarantees that I won't even sample it - there is nothing I
> hate more than "post-pilot recastings"... >:|

Of the three new DC series, The Flash and Gotham are more
interesting to me but I'll still watch this. I saw the Constantine
movie with Keanu Reeves, and Constantine is on after one of my
favorite shows Grimm, so that and the genre and DC angle make
it a no-brainer for me to at least check it out. I don't know the
actors, and so without knowing why they made this change I
wouldn't assume they made a mistake.

This was going to be a post about other pre-premiere casting
changes, which led to my thinking Smallville. A young Lois Lane
was originally announced as a character, but then Warner Bros.
decided against it after fans pointed out that Lois Lane wasn't
supposed to be in Smallville. Mea culpa because I said that too
at the time, in 2000 or so a year before the series premiered.

They ended up casting a character named Chloe Sullivan, who
was their proto-Lois, i.e. what a young Lois would be like if
she had been in Smallville and had Lana Lang as her rival for
Clark's affections. Here's Chloe in episode 2-14 "Rush", as
she and Clark are both Not Themselves, yet also very much
themselves in a way. You'll probably need to turn up the
volume after the brief ad (which you can skip):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2R1s4la7fE

That episode had 8.1 million viewers. In the second half of
Season 2, only the second guest appearance by Christopher
Reeve had higher numbers, 8.7 million.

Season 3 never broke 7 million, season 4 and 5 never broke
6.3 million. The season six high was 5.26 million, while the
second-to last season 6 episode fell to 3.43 million, an all-
time low to that point. Season 8 broke that with a low of
3.1 million, and season 9 trumped that with a new all-time
low of 1.56 million.

So except for the second Reeve appearance, that clip up
there is from the last time Smallville was riding high in the
ratings. Allison Mack would have been 20 years old when
she filmed that. She'll be 32 later this month, which is
about four years older than Griffiths.

Here's the only depiction I could immediately find of this
new "Zed" character Constantine is looking to cast:

http://hellblazer.wikia.com/wiki/Zed

Blue hair with white or platinum streaks, so kind of
a freaky look. Note the Wikia link above says very
first thing:

"Zed is a former lover of Constantine..."

So one presumes that's the angle they'll be going for.

I think Mack could play that role, and her Rush episode
from 12 years ago is just one example of how well she
was able to play the romantic interest. It's a DC show
in both cases, and I think the genre audience out there
would find Mack much more a draw than the unknown
Griffiths. Grimm doesn't get more than about 5 million
on Fridays, neither did Dracula, max, last season. So
the 8+ million viewers buzzing about Chloe a decade
ago shoudn't be dismissed.

Mack had a supporting role in Wilfred, which I watched
for a few eps after she was cast but I found the show too
odd. I think Constantine is a much better genre match.
It's why Vandervoort, for example, was popular when she
went on to V and has also helped Bitten get renewed,
after her Smallville stint. Genre fans won't follow an
actor to just anything in large numbers. Patrick Stewart
in X-Men, yes, because again it's a good genre fit.

So I suggest Mack. I'll check out Constantine anyway no
matter who they cast, but I'd be likely to stick with it for
its full run if they cast Mack. I also think it'd have a
better chance of having a full run with her in it.

Naysaying nitwits out there, also feel free to roll in
and suggest better alternatives for Warner Bros, and
DC Entertainment, and their Constantine show runners
and casting folk. :-)

Here was the scene where Chloe found out the secret
for real in season 4 episode 12. It was a tribute to the
first Superman comic book cover as well, with Clark
catching the car. Very cool scene, but TURN THE VOLUME
DOWN compared to the earlier link because it'll be louder
if you don't.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUMoAVk51qI