Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 21, 1994 TAG: 9408230007
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: R.D. HELDENFELS KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Some of Gummersall's income will pay for a 1969 Chevy Camaro, his dream car, after he turns 16 - and gets his driver's license - in October.
``It's really getting to me,'' Gummersall said recently from his San Fernando Valley home. ``We should do an episode about it. I live in the suburbs, and I have to devise a whole plan to get everywhere.''
Produced by a group of ``thirtysomething'' alumni, ``My So-Called Life'' - which will premiere at 8 p.m. Thursday on ABC (WSET-Channel 13 in the Roanoke viewing area) - focuses on the bleakness and blessings in the life of 15-year-old Angela Chase (Claire Danes). Angela is neither as smart as she thinks she is or as pretty as she wants to be; her parents (Bess Armstrong, Tom Irwin) and circle of acquaintances struggle as well.
There are touches of ``The Wonder Years'' and ``thirtysomething'' in the series, and early episodes hit some familiar topics. Still, the show takes its own turns. A boy's sexuality is a recurring question for himself and other characters - not something to be wrapped up in an episode. The kids' parents may be imperfect, but they still are strong individuals. The series is at times oddly comic, other times deeply drab. And life, so-called or not, is like that, isn't it?
And, for a series already pegged as a teen-age show, or even more exactly a teen-age girls' series, it resonates far beyond that audience. Brian Krakow, Gummersall's character, is a point of entry not only for boys in the audience but for men who have not forgotten their tough teen-age years.
Smitten with Angela (who naturally likes a hunky lunkhead who basically is indifferent to her), a bit awkward and introspective, Brian is a departure for Gummersall.
``I was really interested in doing a character that's far from myself,'' he said. ``I'm more confident than he is, and more open. More social, I guess.
``But I think in real life the way we're alike is our integrity. What I love is that he's so honest. ... Out of the whole group he's sort of the most grounded. He does try to fit in but for whatever reason he can't always do what it takes.''
Born in Colorado but living in California since he was 2 (his artist father ``always liked California''), Gummersall began acting at 10 and has had small roles in TV shows and movies.
Although ``My So-Called Life'' looked like a big break for Gummersall, it took a long time to get to TV. Last winter ABC said the series might air in the spring, then held it back for the new season.
That raised questions about ABC's faith in the series. But Ted Harbert, in charge of ABC's prime-time programs, gave it a strong endorsement last month.
``How committed to it am I? Extremely,'' Harbert said. ``I love this show. It is one of my personal favorite shows that we've had on the network in a long time.''
Winnie Holzman, the show's creator, is happy with the August start, which gets ``So-Called Life'' on ahead of most of the new-season clutter. Gummersall is simply happy the series is getting made.
``We did the (series) pilot and waited maybe eight months before we came back,'' he said. ``... Everybody liked it but things kind of went up and down.
``Some people just accepted it wasn't going to happen, but I had a feeling that it would.
``And we all hoped that it would.''
And he kept working, including in a showy ``Blossom'' episode - where, playing a boy who brings a gun into school, Gummersall got a taste of a story he'd see again on ``So-Called Life.'' In the third episode, ``Guns and Gossip,'' Brian is a key witness to a school incident involving a gun.
Asked what it was like to see a script on such a familiar subject, Gummersall said, ``It was so cool.
``Doing the `Blossom' was great for me as an actor. Doing `Guns and Gossip' was great because it was such a different take on the subject.''
by CNB