Mutants band together in ‘The Gifted’ Cover Story this

from The Brainerd Dispatch TV Week October 22nd 2017

by Brainerd Dispatch and Echo Journal

Food facts: Cooking Channel favorite separates food truths from myths

By Kyla Brewer

TV Media

Television fans have long been fascinated with superheroes. Superman (George Reeves) flew onto the small screen in the 1950s, and Adam West’s Batman “batusied” in the campy TV series of the same name in 1966. Lynda Carter ruled the airwaves as Wonder Woman in the 1970s, and the fun has continued since then.

A new kind of super-powered TV character emerges as Natalie Alyn Lind (“The Goldbergs”) and Percy Hynes White (“Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb,” 2014) star as Lauren and Andy Strucker, teenage siblings with special abilities, in the latest comic book-themed series to hit the airwaves: “The Gifted,” airing Monday, Oct. 23, on Fox. Set in Marvel’s comic and cinematic X-Men universe, the series follows the sister and brother who, along with their parents, struggle to evade nefarious forces.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, creator Matt Nix (“Burn Notice”) explained why he chose to focus the series on a single family:

“We really get to see the development of powers and perspectives,” Nix said, “and we give audiences who maybe aren’t really familiar with the X-Men a window into this world.”

The Struckers’ adventure began when parents Reed (Stephen Moyer, “True Blood”) and Caitlin (Amy Acker, “Person of Interest”) discovered that their children possess mutant powers. This was especially shocking considering the fact that Reed worked as a district attorney who specialized in prosecuting much-maligned mutants. Desperate to protect their children and keep their family together, Reed and Caitlin seek help from an underground network of mutants as they go on the run from a hostile government.

The mutants in the new Fox drama include characters from the comics and films, as well as brand-new mutants. For those familiar with the 2014 movie “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” Blink needs no introduction. Also known as Clarice Fong, teleporting mutant Blink is portrayed by Fan Bingbing in the big-screen hit, but the role is played by Jamie Chung (“Once Upon a Time”) in “The Gifted.”

Emma Dumont (“Aquarius”) stars as Polaris/Lorna Dane, a loyal mutant with the ability to control magnetism. In the X-Men comic universe, Polaris is Magneto’s daughter, and Nix recently confirmed in an interview with CBR.com that would be the case in “The Gifted.”

Nix also pulled Thunderbird/John Proudstar from the comics, and he’s played by Blair Redford (“The Young perhuman athletic ability, the character serves as the leader of the mutant resistance.

In contrast, Eclipse/Marcos Diaz was created specifically for “The Gifted.” British actor Sean Teale (“Reign”) tackles the role of the rebellious mutant who can absorb and manipulate photons. Likewise, Special Agent Jace Turner is original to the Fox series, not the Marvel X-Men universe. Coby Bell (“Third Watch”) stars as Turner, a human who has worked for Sentinel Services ever since his daughter died during a mutant-related incident.

Produced by 20th Century Fox in association with Marvel Television, the show about super-powered mutants features some heavy hitters behind the scenes, beginning with Nix as showrunner and executive producer. Other executive producers include Bryan Singer, Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg, who all worked on at least one of the X-Men franchise movies. Marvel’s Jeph Loeb (“Lost”) and Jim Chory (“Daredevil”) are also on board as executive producers.

Loeb and Chory share a connection to a similarly themed series: NBC’s now defunct “Heroes,” which also featured a storyline with a superpowered teenage girl whose father works for an organization dedicated to keeping people like her in line. Like

Late Laughs

Conan

as different are seen as dangerous, leading to them being marginalized. Interestingly, “The Gifted” can also be compared to many other popular current shows as well. Superheroes abound in prime time right now, with CW’s “Supergirl, “The Flash,” “Arrow” and “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” as well as “Marvel’s Inhumans” and “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” on ABC. Meanwhile, villains steal the spotlight in Fox’s “Gotham.” Streaming services have also gotten in on the act with Netflix’s “Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones” and “Luke Cage” among others, and Hulu’s upcoming “Marvel’s Runaways” is about to drop in November. All of this indicates there’s a big market for comic book-inspired television, which bodes well for “The Gifted.”

With so much competition out there, Fox has done its best to put the series at the forefront of people’s minds. The network created a buzz in September by installing a vending machine at The Grove in Los Angeles, Calif., that invited consumers to “Unleash [Their] Power” by using “telekinesis” to lift the vending machine. Fans were treated to a special screening in L.A. in September as well, and the Fox.com/thegifted website features a number of Mutant Profiles so viewers could familiarize themselves with the characters. Thanks to the success of such Mar-

It’s been revealed that a tweet President Trump sent out yesterday about Iran testing a ballistic missile was based on old news footage. Even worse, most of Trump’s complaints about the NFL were based on the movie “Rudy.”

Today, the nominations for the Latin Grammys were announced. The two contenders for Song of the Year are “Despacito” and the song that will lose to “Despacito.”

The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon

There’s growing speculation that Mark Zuckerberg will run for president. He’s already got a great slogan: “Vote for me or I’ll retag you in every photo you’ve ever untagged.”

Anthony Weiner was sentenced to 21 months in prison for his sexting scandal. Weiner can get out in eight months with good behavior. So he’ll be serving 21 months.

The Late Show With James Corden

The American territory of Puerto Rico is in dire need of humanitarian aid, tensions with North Korea have never been higher, so of course President Trump spent this weekend tackling the biggest issue of all: football players. Once Trump got the NFL tweets out of his system, he moved on to more important issues, like climate change, health care ... I’m kidding! He started ranting at the NBA.

Jimmy Kimmel Live

“The Gifted,” airing Monday, Oct. 23, on Fox.

Stephen Moyer stars in “The Gifted”

So just to recap: Trump got in a Twitter feud with the NFL, North Korea and Steph Curry over the weekend — but not a single word about 3.5 million American citizens in Puerto Rico currently without power. Although, in fairness to him, he probably doesn’t know Puerto Rico is part of the United States.

Late Night With Seth Meyers

Melania Trump this weekend took her first solo trip abroad as first lady. And everything was going great until Secret Service found her and brought her back.

Today was President Trump’s 250th day in office. Or, as he put it, “longer than any president in history.”

Weekend Update With Colin Jost and Michael Che

Rapper Pitbull has loaned out his private jet to help rescue people in Puerto Rico. Wow. If only Donald Trump knew someone with a private jet. How is the president of the United States worse at humanitarian aid than Pitbull?

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