Smackdown '87: A Fatal Attraction to Moonstruck

The Supporting Actress Smackdown series picks an Oscar vintage to explore. Now it's time for the season finale featuring the year 1987. 

THE NOMINEES 1987's shortlist of supporting characters featured three very different moms (victim/monster/old-soul-wiseass), one selfless caretaker, and a gossipy neighbor. The actresses gathered were all mature talents, enjoying what would turn out to be their sole brush with Oscar.

THE PANEL  Here to talk about the performances and films are, in alpha order, the actor Ato Essandoh (Away, Tales from the Loop, Chicago Med), critic/author Manuel Betancourt (Judy Garland's Judy at Carnegie Hall), critic Naveen Kumar, critic Kathia Woods, and your host Nathaniel R. Let's begin!

1987
SUPPORTING ACTRESS SMACKDOWN + PODCAST  
The companion podcast can be downloaded at the bottom of this article or by visiting the iTunes page... 

Click to read more ...

Introducing the Smackdown Panel for '87

Are you ready for the season finale of this massive Supporting Actress Smackdown season? We're closing with 1987 on Thursday, November 19th and your votes count. 

Let's meet your fellow panelists, shall we?

PLEASE WELCOME...   

ATO ESSANDOH
Ato Essandoh is an actor. He plays Dr Kwesi Weisberg-Abban on Netflix’s astronaut drama Away... 

Click to read more ...

Review: "Away" on Netflix

by new contributor Christopher James

What role does space play in our current world? Today, getting on a plane during COVID almost feels as risky as embarking on a mission to Mars. 

Netflix’s new bright, shiny and expensive looking drama, Away, tries to contextualize space travel in its pilot episode. At a press conference, a reporter asks the Atlas crew, “Why should we care more about Mars than our own planet.” Hilary Swank’s commanding officer, Emma Green, delivers an impassioned speech on how much the US spends on the military and war. Wouldn’t it be better if we repurpose these tools for “discovery, not destruction.” This sets the stage for an exciting space mission where traveling to Mars could possibly save us from ourselves. Unfortunately, Away dodges this interesting, if thornier, premise as if it were a meteor heading straight for its shift. Rather than take a risk, it heads into safer territory, being a digestible family drama...

Click to read more ...