This blog has been taken over by
admirers of Tabrett Bethell. Actually, that’s a bit harsh; they haven’t taken
over anything, as most visit and leave silently, but it is true to say that now
about 95% of this blog’s visitors, from what I can see, are those who have an
interest in Tabrett Bethell. I can’t say I blame them. I can imagine that
Tabrett’s leather-clad form is infinitely more interesting than anything I can
write. Still, it would be pandering to this interest to just become another
babe blog, so I’ll tell you what I’ll do: I’ll now write something about Cara,
Tabrett, Legend of the Seeker and the wardrobe mistress for all you Legend of
the Seeker fans.
The first question that springs
to mind is, would there be so many people coming to this blog to look at
Tabrett photos if, in them, she was wearing a floral print dress (actually, she
is, in my third photo in the original post), or is it the leather outfit that attracts? I naturally
don’t have an answer to this question (so any LOTS fans reading this might like
to tell me) but I have my suspicions. Those suspicions are grounded in simple
economics. It is in the interests of the show’s producers to gain as big an
audience for the Legend of the Seeker as they can, and it is surely no
coincidence that the actresses in it are all babes, while the hero, Richard
Cypher (played by Craig Horner) has muscle definition that would put most
Olympic athletes to shame. The series has manifest sex-appeal and this has been
ramped up in Series 2.
It is said that The Avengers
series in the 60s set out deliberately to capture a male audience through the
strategy of having Diana Rigg, in the character of Emma Peel, wear a variety of
catsuits and go-go boots and other appealing attire. The blatancy of this
strategy was even contained in her name: Emma Peel = M Appeal = Man Appeal.
Before we go any further with
examining Legend of the Seeker, I should like to answer the charge that the TV
show is just portraying the books on screen and that all that leather is
already in the books. The answer to that objection is multiple. Firstly, the
show’s producers wouldn’t hesitate to divert from the original text if they
felt that sticking to it would harm viewing figures. Secondly, you might wonder
why Terry Goodkind put all the leather in the books (if he did – I haven’t read
them) – could it be to increase his readership? Thirdly, the show’s producers
must have taken the decision to create LOTS for the screen partly because they
could see its sex-appeal and how it would garner audiences. After all, nothing
made them do it, and their decision would have been a purely commercial one
(such is the way of TV executives and producers).
So you have to reckon that having
huge amounts of screen time with Tabrett Bethell as Cara encased in leather is
doing the ratings no harm at all.
The leather costume as selling
strategy is a common one in the arts – and that can only be because it is very
effective. From Barbarella to The Matrix, to Underworld to Catwoman to Barb
Wire, entire films have been made predicated on the appeal of good-looking
women wearing something tight and shiny. And of course it is used to sell
records to you too. If Shakira, Beyoncé, Britney Spears or Posh Spice appear in
all-over leather (or PVC – same difference), it’s to stimulate the only interaction
you are ever likely to have with them – buying their warblings. I’m not against
this strategy. As someone who is highly unlikely to ever download one of their
tracks, let alone buy an album, at least they are easy on the eye.
Back to the Legend. Rarely can a show have had such a dominant (ha!) S&M theme. It is obvious that the Mord Sith are nothing more than dominatrices. It is all there: the skintight leather outfits, corsetry, boots, pulled-back plaited hair, and the dildo-like leather-covered agiels. Fearfully attractive, they do nothing but inflict pain and misery. It is interesting to see just how much their power is wrapped up in the costume.
Take the example of Denna – the chief dominatrix. There she is,
strutting around in her sublime white leather outfit, until she chops it in for
a conventional dress in order to escape. Suddenly, prior to falling over a
cliff to her death in the manner of Wile E. Coyote, she is stripped of her
magnificence and becomes a slightly tearful little girl. We immediately lose
all interest in her – or at least her sex appeal takes a big hit. It looks as
if she is going to be transformed into a goodie – and what fun is that? Maybe
she makes a return subsequently, after all, characters in this show pop in and
out of the Underworld with the regularity of visiting a supermarket.
Cara is a more nuanced character
and here we have the key to her appeal. She is now a goodie, sworn to help the
Seeker in his quest, but she still remains ballsy and indomitable and of course
gets to keep the leather outfit. So now she is the perfect fantasy figure –
tough, self-reliant, unapproachable, infinitely sexy but with a heart of gold
under the hard exterior. What’s not to like? No wonder viewers are flocking to
admire her. Some seem to think that Tabrett would be uncomfortable (and I don’t
just mean physically) wearing that outfit, but this seems dubious reasoning.
What actress doesn’t want to hog the limelight? Indeed, the impression is given
that Bridget Regan as Khalan felt the need to up her own sex-appeal as she was
being shaded out by Tabrett Bethell in the Cara role. Of her new costume she
says:
“Yeah,
it’s funny, because it looks so different from how Kahlan looked before, but
the funny part about it is a lot of it I’ve always worn. I’ve always worn this
corset under my white dress. The belt I’ve always worn, I’ve always worn black
boots — they did extend them up for me, because I was really into the
thigh-high boot look.”
So, uncomfortable as a sex-symbol? It doesn’t look like it. In series 1, as the only constant female character, the limelight was all hers and she could get away with the unflattering forest green dress, which might be all very mediaeval, but it hardly packs in the punters. Thankfully it now seems to have disappeared for good.
Taking the
S&M theme even further, you can even see the entire relationship between
Richard and Khalan as vaguely sadistic. There they are, in love with each
other, but unable to consummate their relationship owing to their duty to the
bigger world. They thus tantalise and torture each other in this predicament,
for the greater entertainment of the viewing public.
Finally, and
apropos of nothing, I want to put in a plug here for Craig Parker as Darken
Rahl. After Tabrett Bethell, he is the reason for looking at the show.
Immensely amusing, every time he appears (alas, all too briefly in Season 2), I
just fall about. He has got the tone bang on – playing the role entirely for
laughs. What we need now is an exclusively Cara and Darken Rahl episode.