[spoilers] Richard Armitage

[Quill]

North & South is a very intriguing novel, but if English is not your mother tongue, the author's representation of the workers speech will take some patience and quite a bit of guesswork. The ending seems a bit rushed, which probably was, since it was originally published in installments on Charles Dickens paper. I enjoyed the novel, but the BBC adaptation was better, in my opinion.

Strike Back... it was an action, guns blazing series. Check your brain at the door, because it's no Spooks. Enjoy it for what it is. I read the book while waiting for the series to come out and almost puked. It is that bad. The TV series was a marked improvement and fixed a lot of plot holes. I can see why RA changed his mind after he read the script. He initially rejected the role.

Thorin will be a great supporting role, but if anyone is expecting it to be what Aragorn was to Viggo Mortensen, they are setting themselves up for disappointment. Look at John Rhys-Davies, who was the dwarf Gimli on LOTR. (I think Gimli is Thorin's son, if memory serves me right.) Not exactly a heartthrob character. Heroic, yes. It will be interesting to see how much of his performance will shine through all the make-up.

So far, I think RA's best roles were:
1. North & South
2. Spooks
3. The Impressionists
4. Vicar of Dibley
5. Sparkhouse

(Nope, I'm not a Robin Hood fan.)