Double Crossword
THE TV landscape is populated by a wonderful slate of liveaction shows inspired by comic books á la The Flash, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, Lucifer, Legion, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and countless others.
In fact, there are myriad more in the pipeline. Some are in the pilot phase while others are in preproduction.
This brings us to Riverdale. Comic book fans are au fait with legendary characters like Archie, Veronica, Betty, Jughead, Reggie, Moose and Ethel. However, while those comingof-age stories were more wholesome in context, developer Roberto AguirreSacasa takes them into darker territory.
At a recent press junket, he revealed: “Jon (Goldwater) and I had been working on comic book projects, and during one of our meetings we both talked about wanting to do something in the live-action realm. Our first thought had been to do a movie – an Archie movie. So we partnered with some producers.
“I’m really good friends with director Jason Moore, who did Pitch Perfect, and we had gone to see The Perks of 1 After crossing them, people hiss like the devil (14) 10 Six-stitcher made grasshopper dance (7,4) 11 Yard behind special spot (3) 12 Reportedly uncultivated area (4) 13 Breaking ranks and coming to blows (7,3) 15 Vocal rule beloved of Arctic livestock (8) 16 Quick and always following the first two in class (6) 19 Soap left in overturned dish of leaves (6) 20 Broke law to inject equipment with some power (8) 23 Fatherly concern of Radical Party chair (10) 25 Writer at computer terminal, engrossed in the story of one’s life (4) 27 Go for work at last (3) 28 Pounding ingredients? (11) 29 Quite a rebuff for a fishing boat at the centre of a cyclone (1,5,2,3,3) 2 Leader led a trio astray, taking one in (9) 3 Fish head removed from jar (4) 4 Placed where it’s due, at random (8) 5 Hide boat after heading off infallible source (6) 6 Hold fan on shell game (4-6) 7 Girl is over love with a cow catcher (5) 8 Reserved grim dock for crooked lawyer (7) 9 One recording the runs five fours and and another four in the end (6) 14 Italicised letters for the starry-eyed (10) 17 Capacity to work through, lit by flashes around unit (9) 18 Most suspect he is ready to be taken in hand (8) 19 Sink half the loot made into degree (7) 21 Hard to accept star ending up in the gutter (6) 22 Burn off, every so often, epic parts of Borneo (6) 24 Carry man’s head as symbol of one’s people (5) 26 Vein throbbing in me (4) being a Wallflower, which I love. We had come out of that movie and I said: ‘Jason, if we could do that with the Archie characters, it would really be incredible’. And we put together a pitch – a slice-of-life, coming-of-age movie.
“A lot of the studios really loved the pitch, really loved the characters but they didn’t know exactly how to make and market the film.”
He continued: “One place that did show interest was Warner Bros, where Sarah Schechter, who was working there, bought the pitch in the room. We were so excited. Sarah’s a huge fan of Archie. She loves teen movies. So Jason and I were ecstatic.”
However, one of the vice-presidents 1 Evisceration (14) 10 Translator (11) 11 Merriment (3) 12 Cripple, mutilate (4) 13 Manner or system of administration (10) 15 Superficial (4-4) 16 Forget where something has been placed (6) 19 Codswallop (6) 20 Deriving pleasure from inflicting pain (8) 23 Philanthropic, beneficent (10) 25 Perfumed powder (4) 27 Carry with great effort (3) 28 In consequence, as a result (11) 29 Exchange of letters (14) Across: - 1 Featherbedding. 10 Histrionics. 11 Sob. 12 Pink. 13 Immaculate. 15 Eventful. 16 Clutch. 19 Thrice. 21 Seafarer. 24 Atmosphere. 25 Oven. 27 Ova. 28 Incredulous. 29 Intelligentsia. at Warner Bros, who wasn’t present at the pitch, wanted them to take the movie in a different direction and, in so doing, put the kybosh on the project.
A while later, he learned that Schechter had joined forces with Greg Berlanti (Everwood, Brothers & Sisters, Dirty Sexy Money, Eli Stone, Political Animals, Blindspot, Supergirl and a slew of others), and hope for the project was renewed as a TV series.
Aguirre-Sacasa recalled: “Greg said, ‘You’re going to need a dead body, though’. I remember thinking, ‘No, no, no…’
But they eventually came around, more so after Fox suggested they make the show edgier. 2 Hunch, gut feeling (9) 3 Count (4) 4 Recipient of a loan (8) 5 Shrivel (6) 6 Inflammation of the vocal cords (10) 7 Small and delicate in stature (5) 8 Leather factory (7) 9 Acid test (6) 14 Pronounce, determine (10) 17 Sluggish, apathetic (9) 18 Large cooking pot (8) 19 Pastoral, rustic (7) 21 Tail bone (6) 22 Zany (6) 24 Roman religious figure who interpreted omens (5) 26 Magnitude (4) Down: - 2 Essence. 3 Turf. 4 Enormous. 5 Bridal. 6 Disqualify. 7 Instant. 8 Gable. 9 Shipment. 14 Stock-still. 17 Hardness. 18 Retrieve. 20 Rampant. 22 Ravioli. 23 Chichi. 24 Aioli. 26 Just.
He added, “Several months after what Greg said to me, I was like, ‘We need a dead body’. And that’s when the show crystallised artistically.”
Luke Perry is cast as the father of Archibald “Archie” Andrews (played by KJ Apa).
Perry noted: “I play a single parent to a son – and that’s a real hard thing to do. There are a lot of them out there in the real world. I think about that a lot as I play this character. And the thing for me about Fred Andrews is he is a simple guy. He doesn’t have anything to hide. He’s not always brooding about something… He wears his heart on his sleeve. The only thing he cares about is this boy right here. I love that. There’s a real integrity and truth to that.”
Meanwhile, Marison Nichols, who plays Hermione Lodge (Veronica’s mother) is the opposite. Oh, and she’s also Perry’s love interest in the show.
Then there is Mädchen Amick as Betty’s mother.
Amick said: “Alice Cooper is probably one of the most fun characters I’ve gotten to play. She’s a little twisted. I’m so excited to open up the script. Every time I get one I’m like, ‘What is Alice going to do in this episode?’ She strives for perfection. She’s so obsessed with it that she’s absolutely out of control behind the facade.”
As for Apa bagging this iconic role, he said: “I knew coming into this that it was going to be a big responsibility. And that’s how I see it. I see playing Archie as a responsibility to create a new version and to create the best version of Archie. And, yeah, it was a little bit nervewracking coming in because I’m from New Zealand, coming into the States and playing such an iconic character. I wasn’t sure what people would think. Most of the feedback (so far) was really great. I’m going to keep doing my best to play this character.”
Lili Reinhart (Elizabeth “Betty” Cooper), Cole Sprouse (Jughead Jones) and Camila Mendes (Veronica Lodge) are the other actors in the series.
By the way, Apa also stars in the big screen release, A Dog’s Purpose.
Riverdale airs on M-Net (DStv Channel 101) on Fridays at 9.30pm.