Fuddland
I’ve been following with — well, not exactly “interest” … let’s just say I’ve noticed the progress of the “…and” person in the credits of E.R.
Do you know who I mean? The member of the cast whose name appears last in the opening title sequence, with an “and” before their name. It’s used a great deal in television and films to indicate that this member of the cast is somehow significant — more important than those cast members who preceded the “and”. But what I’m not sure about is if we are being told that the “…and” person is more important than the actor whose name appears first [or possibly the second person billed].
In films I think the distinction is quite clear: the “and” is as if to say, “You thought that cast list was impressive? Wait until you see who we’ve been saving until last!”, and there is usually an implied, whispered, “Okay so they don’t have many scenes and we spent half the budget getting them to agree to be in our movie, but they’re really famous so remember to pay special attention when they’re on screen”. The Clumsy Critic suggests that, in movies, the “…and” person will almost certainly be killed off:
Any movie whose opening credits include the tag “And (insert name of moderately well-known person here)” is just telling you that the “and” person is going to bite it. Go watch Mission to Mars or even Star Wars, and tell me if I’m wrong: “And Alec Guinness.” That’s a death sentence, right there. You get an “and” before your credit, and you’re either dead, or in the movie for one scene.
In television though, I think it has a different meaning. When I first started watching E.R. I think George Clooney was first billing, and I’m fairly sure Eriq La Salle was the “…and” actor. At some point Clooney left and Anthony Edwards was moved up to first billing — Eriq La Salle kept his “…and” status. Then La Salle left, and Edwards still got first billing, but I’m slightly hazy as to who replaced La Salle in the “…and” position.
Noah Wyle has been first billed on E.R. for a while now, and up to a few weeks ago Paul McCrane was the “…and” actor, until Romano got squished under a helicoptor [apologies for the spoiler if this episode hasn’t aired on Channel Four yet, I lose track of where we are]. The very next week, Laura Innes was in the “…and” position. Innes has been in E.R. as long as Wyle — I think they’re the only two original cast members left — and she seems to be becoming something of a heavyweight behind the scenes: she has directed episodes of E.R. and The West Wing, so I wonder if becoming the “…and” person was another step up the ladder; if she is ranked as high as Wyle; if they could ever swap positions without either leaving the show.
Innes’s rise in billing status has mirrored her rise within the hospital staff — she’s in a much more senior position than the other main cast members, and perhaps that has something to do with being the “…and” person: the importance of the character rather than the actor. It’s “…and Martin Sheen” in The West Wing, but then he is the biggest star as well as playing the President, so that doesn’t really tell us much either way. However, Paul Guilfoyle is the “…and” person for CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and whilst he’s not really a major star [as far as I am aware], his character is pretty high-ranking.
In summary, the open questions are:
Which is better: first or “…and”?
If first is the best, is “…and” better than second billing?
Is it determined by the actor’s status or the character’s?
Can someone be bumped from their “…and” position and placed elsewhere in the cast list, if they haven’t left the show? And if one were bumped, would that be a slap in the face?
Can an actor have it written into the contract that they will be listed as “…and”? Is it a deal-breaker?
How much are some of you willing to pay to be the “…and” weblog on my blogroll if I decide to sort it non-alphabetically?
Comments
Lyle | 2004 / 03 / 08 – 13:58
Oddly enough I was looking at one of the first series of ER last week, and there are quite a few characters still in from the original series. However, most of them are support cast - most of the nurses are still there (or were til recently when Romano tried firing them all), and Sherry Stringfield (Susan Lewis) is back in it again after a break for a couple of seasons.
Other than that, not a clue re. the “..and..” links. Sorry. *grin*
Daisy | 2004 / 03 / 08 – 16:06
Veering slightly off topic, it was disconcerting to see Sherry Stringfield play John Kelly’s ex-wife in early episodes of NYPD Blue and then minutes later as Susan Lewis in ER (minutes later because they were always back to back on the tape). Does that answer all your questions? Good, my work here is done.
David | 2004 / 03 / 08 – 16:33
Re #1 & #2: Excellent work people, that’s cleared a lot of it up. Only six of those six questions remain unanswered. ;)
mrtn | 2004 / 03 / 08 – 19:04
oooh, sherry springfield….
*ahem*, sorry, seem to have stopped caring about the questions…
Phil | 2004 / 03 / 08 – 23:02
I used to think she was really cute. Mind you, the new indian/english (or wherever) chick they’ve got on the show, now she is cute! More of her please. Mmmmmm.
David | 2004 / 03 / 08 – 23:17
Re #5: That’ll be Parminder Nagra, from my own university town of Leicester, via Indian descent. Not sure she’d be particularly charmed by the “or wherever” line Phil, you may want to work on that. ;)
Phil | 2004 / 03 / 08 – 23:52
Well, there’s where she’s really from, and where the character in the show is from. The “wherever” referred to the latter. The two aren’t necessarily the same thing. :o)
Lyle | 2004 / 03 / 09 – 07:37
And if you want more of her, the ineffable Bend it Like Beckham (which surprisingly isn’t bad) - her career to date is also listed here.
/pat IMDB
David | 2004 / 03 / 09 – 09:38
Re #8: I also enjoyed BiLB [and was equally surprised by this].
If anyone wants Ms Nagra’s career-to-date, you can also find it linked-to in Comment #6. /pat Own Back ;)
mrtn | 2004 / 03 / 09 – 09:46
re #8: personally i thought BiLB rocked (in a minor way). obviously not a patch on either Mike Bassett England Manager or indeed the ultimate, never to be bettered movie featuring the beautiful game, Fever Pitch; but then maybe I’m biased in that area…
Phil | 2004 / 03 / 09 – 19:16
Seeing as I find football interminably dull I find it hard to drum up any enthusiasm for a film with a title like “Bend it Like Brain Dead Shithead”, but there you go. I’ll try and give it a go if I happen to see it in the TV listings. :o)
Phil | 2004 / 03 / 09 – 19:17
RE: #6. and besides, she’s hardly likely yo be reading this and so therefore won’t know that she should be in any way “not charmed” by my “wherever”! :o)
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