Marsters wins Syfy Portal Award - Cast&Crew

Not sure "steal" sets the right tone, even if it was meant in jest . . . thus, changed.

SoddingNancyTribe | August 24, 17:24 CET

James was up against some very formidable competition. But his interpretation of Captain John Hart was mesmerizing. It is amazing how he can be on a show for only 3 episodes and already be bringing "layers" to his role. Do we root for the guy or boo and hiss??
Well, one thing we know for sure, is that when we get to see James with a role he can throw himself into, we see an actor who knows his craft. Congratulations to him for this win.

Berry | August 24, 17:49 CET

Yes I remember thinking that although James was fabulous, there were so many heavy hitters in his category I didn't think he had a chance.
Yay James!

Too bad about Whedonesque though. As it's the only one of the sites nominated I have ever visited, I can't judge whether the winner was deserving or not.

But I definitely have to disagree with the J.K. Rowling win. Just on the basis that she's too darn young!

[ edited by Xane on 2008-08-24 18:04 ]

Xane | August 24, 18:02 CET

I have a feeling next year that Dr. Horrible will win Best Web Production. Anyhow congrats to all those who won.

Simon | August 24, 18:07 CET

That's great! Considering the competition, and the size of the fandoms for that competition , I wasn't expecting James to win!

Fantastic, and let's hope it paves the way for more of Captain John... and poodles.

Sorry that Whedonesque didn't win this year though.

debw | August 24, 18:08 CET

Congrats to James. Can someone please explain to me why this guy doesn't have a series of his own?

baxter | August 24, 18:25 CET

Sorry that Whedonesque didn't win this year though.

Its just because everyone was all voted out from the superhero polls :).

zeitgeist | August 24, 18:43 CET

I don't even remember the voting thread for this ;). Anyway, strange to see that us whedonesquers can also lose a poll. Makes ones world all askew.

GVH | August 24, 18:46 CET

Ah, I loved James on Torchwood (that kiss was totally hot!) and he deserved that award! They should make him a series regular now that they've killed off half the cast. Could you imagine the sexual tension if it was just Ianto, Gwen, Jack, and John in the Hub? Meow!

Linnea1928 | August 24, 19:18 CET

Waa. I actually thought Whedonesque would win and James - well, would too ;) Now I might have to check out that Supernatural site and see what they have going on.

All this talk about Capt. John makes me want to rewatch those episodes -- a serious matter to undertake seeing as I keep walking around with a wide grin on my face for days after.

Mirage | August 24, 19:57 CET

My brother said Marsters out-Spiked Spike in his Torchwood episodes. Hee.

[ edited by electricspacegirl on 2008-08-24 21:25 ]

electricspacegirl | August 24, 20:36 CET

I couldn't get past his first very boring appearance.

b!X | August 24, 20:38 CET

Well, then you really missed something. In just 3 episodes, James made a character with contradictions and depths. It left a lot of people wanting to see more. The backstory of Captain Jack and Captain John has tons of potential for flashbacks. And I even think a "redeemed" Captain John could be very useful to Torchwood.

Berry | August 24, 21:10 CET

There are a lot of things I would call his first appearance, boring is definitely not one of them. Perhaps that word does not mean what you think it means.(Said with an Inigo Montoya accent.)

Xane | August 24, 21:36 CET

Kinetic is the word I would have used. I thought his entrance was pure rock and roll.

Simon | August 24, 21:43 CET

See I can entirely see why someone might not like the Captain John character or James' performance . Some said they found it OTT, theatrical, panto , camp, whatever ( personally I loved it)

But boring ?

Oh well , if we all thought the same they'd flip us on our backs once a year and shear us :)

[ edited by debw on 2008-08-24 22:38 ]

debw | August 24, 21:57 CET

No, I know what the word boring means. The character's introduction did absolutely nothing for me. But then again that's been my experience of Torchwood in general, so I wasn't particularly surprised.

b!X | August 24, 22:25 CET

I get that maybe Torchwood doesn't mesh with some people, and that's ok b!x. But a lot of the Torchwood fandom totally dug Marsters' appearance and the depth he brought his character, (not to mention the incredible sexiness he brought with him)!

Linnea1928 | August 25, 00:22 CET

Whedonesque won the award in 2006, then lost in 2007 to Gateworld, and both lost to Supernatural.tv this year. SyFy genre award voters appear to be wanting to spread the love around a bit. Can't say that's entirely a bad thing.

jclemens | August 25, 00:38 CET

It was quite an honor for James to win this award. He got more votes than Derek Jacobi and John Simm, George Takei and Michelle Forbes. They turned in some outstanding performances this year and yet, more people voted for James. I'm impressed...that was very good company to be in. I do agree with the majority of the voters that James performance was deserving of the win.

Berry | August 25, 00:38 CET

Yeah James!! He was wonderful as Capt John in Torchwood and totally deserves the award and I hope to see much more of him in the upcoming season. Also congrats to Supernatural, currently my favorite show.

luvspike | August 25, 01:28 CET

Wait -- "Sweeney Todd" is a sci-fi movie?

And congratulations to James. Well done!

ActualSize | August 25, 02:50 CET

But I definitely have to disagree with the J.K. Rowling win. Just on the basis that she's too darn young!

Joss won the award when he was younger than J.K. Rowling, because so many of us we so enthusiastic about his work. She won, because she got the most votes. Also, because she wrote the most popular book series of all time. (She's also the first woman to win this award.)

Nebula1400 | August 25, 03:43 CET

Yay! Congrats to James! :)

Astoria_Potter | August 25, 06:28 CET

Congratulations to James!

Ameer | August 25, 07:09 CET

Yay James, and yay Capt John, who with the greatest will in the world I could never see as boring either. *g*

sueworld2003 | August 25, 11:39 CET

Capt. (not actually a Capt. in any way) John's first appearance was the first episode of Torchwood that I had seen so I wasn't really knowing what to expect from either the character or the show. With the exception of Jack I had no idea who any of the characters were so it was a case of getting to know the entire cast whilst also enjoying James' first appearance, which truthfully was the only reason I had bothered to watch it anyway.

Given the fact that I've now seen all episodes from both seasons and am very much looking forward to the third (far too short) season I'd have to say that whatever else I would describe the episode as, boring would not be on the list. Very good 45 minutes of television.

Nice to see Supernatural.tv getting the spotlight this time around. Well deserved.

Highlander | August 25, 11:56 CET

Yay James ! and well deserved. I've never seen a more entertaining segment on any series ever, than the segment beginning with his entrance and ending with the two "Captain's" drinking at the bar.

I don't think the entire list was there, but Mary McDonnell winning best Lead Actress for BSG, totally made my day. :-)

Shey | August 25, 13:57 CET

Capt. (not actually a Capt. in any way) John's first appearance was the first episode of Torchwood that I had seen ...

Yeah, it's funny the way that's spread cos in the episode he does it as an ironic poke at "Captain" Jack (also not a captain, or, probably, a Jack ;).

No huge insanities on there IMO though most weren't my choices - I didn't vote for JM but he's not undeserving, he didn't really have much time (in series 2 anyway ;) to flesh the character out but managed to give him a fair bit of depth (and was, as always, entertaining to watch).

Saje | August 25, 14:11 CET

Congrats. He did a great job with that. Totally deserved.

Vinity | August 25, 15:37 CET

He got more votes than Derek Jacobi and John Simm, George Takei and Michelle Forbes.

Could it be possible that James won because he has fans who tend to vote for him many, Many, MANY times over? I don't know, do other fans vote for their favorites the same way?

Yoga Lady | August 25, 19:47 CET

"do other fans vote for their favorites the same way?"

Yes they do. Passion is not at all limited to the Whedonverse.

IrrationaliTV | August 25, 20:08 CET

If I remember rightly you had to register to vote for this and could only vote once.

Could it be possible that James won because he turned in an excellent and much praised performance and gained himself new fans in the process ?

[ edited by debw on 2008-08-25 20:12 ]

debw | August 25, 20:10 CET

If I remember rightly you had to register to vote for this and could only vote once.

If this was the case, then I'm truly impressed, and good on James! While I always think James gives a great performance, I found Capt. John to be too much like Spike. Not that I didn't love Spike, but, it's a "been there, done that" kind of thing.

Yoga Lady | August 25, 20:33 CET

Actually you could vote, and were encouraged to vote, once a day for the whole voting period. To vote an email address had to be entered and votes weren't counted until a confirmation email was replied to.

helcat | August 25, 20:35 CET

I thought there was quite a difference between Spike and Captain John. I think the similarity was in the accent, not the character. Also thought the award was well deserved, but from the way JM has talked about Derek Jacobi, he'll probably end up mailing the award to him. Hate it that whenever someone wins an award (and JM particularly) the excuse is multiple voting. I think it's a cop-out, and the effect is to tarnish the win. Not fair! A win is a win, issues aside.

cmbackshane | August 25, 20:46 CET

Could it be possible that James won because he has fans who tend to vote for him many, Many, MANY times over? I don't know, do other fans vote for their favorites the same way?

So you're saying that James really didn't deserve the award, and was only able to win because he has some fans who might vote more than once, but nobody outside of the JM fanbase liked him in Torchwood? And since Whedonesque didn't win, it shows that the rest of Whedonesque members never tend to vote in any sort of online poll more than once (hee), and I guess every single JM fan was, what, voting for the Supernatural site instead? And you don't know of any dedicated Doctor Who or Star Trek fans existing, either, or else Jacobi, Simms, Takei or Forbes would have won instead of James, as they apparently should have, but only Marsters fans are ever rabid? Ooookay. If you say so. That's one theory.

Or, it could just be because most every SF fan who watched Torchwood really loved James in it?

I really liked George Takei in Heroes and Derek Jacobi in Doctor Who, but I don't think those would have been award-winning, stand-out parts if not for the fact that we know those actors from other famous roles. But even if you had no idea who James Marsters is, Captain John certainly stood out.

deanna b | August 25, 20:50 CET

Thanks for the clarification Helcat

I confess that I obviously wasn't paying attention and only voted the once! Rats, I could have boosted Whedonesque a bit more even if JM was home and dry :)

And cmbkshane. Well said.

debw | August 25, 20:50 CET

*snort* Well I voted for Whedonesque more then once....:0

sueworld2003 | August 25, 20:58 CET

Yoga Lady wrote:

While I always think James gives a great performance, I found Capt. John to be too much like Spike. Not that I didn't love Spike, but, it's a "been there, done that" kind of thing.

Hang on, that's not what you wrote in your review of the episode

http://www.morethanspike.com/index.php?topic=4345.340

If I may quote:

Yoga Lady wrote:

I didn't see Spike, nor did he sound like Spike to me. Capt. John comes across as a VERY interesting character with lots of possibilities, insofar as, things he may or may not do, is he truly evil, is there a touch of morality there, hiding deep inside? I enjoyed the character very much.

So what happened that made you change your mind?

deanna b | August 25, 23:36 CET

I didn't realize there were any other websites besides Whedonesque. Seems a bit odd to me...

korkster | August 25, 23:59 CET

Enjoyed James Marsters in Torchwood. Maybe Supernatural will get some attention and new viewers with the wins for portal and for Jensen Ackles' portrayal of Dean Winchester? Supernatural is a wonderful show that too many are missing out on (maybe because it's on the wrong network?). I had never even heard of the show despite it having so many Whedonverse alums and X-Files folks involved, until a friend recommended it to me last fall. The show really has me hooked now.

rosewood | August 26, 01:26 CET

Other than Ben Edlund, who are the Whedonverse alumni in Supernatural, rosewood?

As for JM's award, I remain of the view that online polls aren't worth a whole heap - but recognition and support is a good thing and, although I've never seen Torchwood, I've no doubt that he did a bang-up job since he's a rather fine actor. :-)

SoddingNancyTribe | August 26, 04:27 CET

Amber Benson and Julie Benz that I know of.

zeitgeist | August 26, 04:33 CET

Amy Acker and Mercedes McNab have been on Supernatural as well. It's always a kick seeing someone from the Whedonverse pop up on the show. I'm glad Jensen Ackles, and the show, got some SyFy love. They really deserve it.

And congrats to James Marsters for the Best Guest Actor win! He's so much fun to watch as Captain John.

pindara | August 26, 08:44 CET

A win is a win, issues aside.

Sure, a "win is a win," there's no disputing the winner, however, how valid is that win when people are allowed to vote multiple times? And this isn't just with regards to James, but, any celebrity or fandom. I think the "win" is much more significant when the voter is only allowed to vote once.

In any case, I don't put any value or import on on-line, fan voting polls. The results are usually skewed towards the celebrity with the more zealous fans, not necessarily the one who did the best job.

[ edited by Yoga Lady on 2008-08-26 12:10 ]

Yoga Lady | August 26, 12:01 CET

OH please. If everyone's fans were allowed to vote more than once, it's all even. And like someone else pointed out there are no more rabid fans than Dr. Who fans. And Heroes and Star Trek fans together should have made George Takei win. Legions!

I love George Takai, and Star Trek but looking at the performances you can't even begin to compare. James win is well-deserved.

Xane | August 26, 14:13 CET

SoddingNancyTribe said:

Other than Ben Edlund, who are the Whedonverse alumni in Supernatural, rosewood?

I think others captured all the actors who have been on Supernatural, but here's the ones I recall - Amy Acker and Julie Benz appeared in Season 1 episodes; Amber Benson in Season 2; Mercedes McNab in Season 3. Ben Edlund is one of the exec producers and has written some very funny episodes. And Kim Manners (of the X-Files and I believe the brother of Kelly A. Manners) regularly directs many of Supernatural's best episodes (imho).

And X-Files alums have been in SPN too. I'm forgetting some, but I recall William B. Davis (Cig Smoking Man) in S1, and Steven Williams (Mr X) in S3 and he'll be back in S4. Mitch Pileggi is also a planned guest for season 4. I'd love to see Alex Krycek appear sometime too. :D

rosewood | August 26, 16:26 CET

August 24 2008