Love is still a big deal on two of TV’s most outrageous dramas this season – it’s the lovers who have gotten small.
Both ABC’s “Boston Legal” and FX’s “Nip/Tuck” have built romantic story lines around dwarfs, or little people.
On “Boston Legal,” (Tuesdays at 9 p.m., KMGH-Channel 7) the chronically politically incorrect lawyer Denny Crane (William Shatner) is involved with Bethany (Meredith Eaton-Gilden), a 4-foot-3 attorney who is nicknamed “the Badger” because of her habit of biting people who get on her bad side. Crane is simultaneously horrified yet attracted to Bethany, calling her a “midget” and making inappropriate sexual comments to disguise his attraction to her.
Meanwhile, on “Nip/Tuck,” (11 p.m. Tuesday on FX) Julia (Joely Richardson), the wife of emotionally desperate plastic surgeon Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh), is falling for her nanny, Marlow Sawyer (Peter Dink-
lage). Marlow has given Julia tender emotional support following the birth of her severely disabled baby. Their obvious fondness for each other was to take a more sexual turn in Tuesday night’s episode.
Both series are produced by 20th Century Fox Television, but the timing of the story lines is a coincidence. The romance on “Boston Legal” is handled lightly, while the “Nip/Tuck” story line is more dramatic.
But creators of both shows specialize in relationships between extreme characters. They seem bonded in their motivations for their respective story lines – fueled not so much by prejudices little people may face in relationships with taller people than in the producers’ desires to work with the performers.
David E. Kelley, the creator and executive producer of “Boston Legal,” said he has been impressed by Eaton-Gilden since he saw her in the 2002 film “Unconditional Love,” a relatively obscure movie that also starred Kathy Bates and Rupert Everett.
“This was really more about working with the actress than in doing a story line about a dwarf,” said Kelley, who has cast roles for dwarfs in his other series, including “Picket Fences” and “L.A. Law.” “When I saw that movie, I was just so taken with her – she was funny and very compelling, and she just stuck with me.”
In one of the show’s running gags, Crane often makes offensive comments about Bethany to attorney Alan Shore, unaware, until Shore tells him to look down, that Bethany is present, glaring up at him.
Ryan Murphy, creator and executive producer of “Nip/Tuck,” said he long had admired Dink-
lage, who has appeared on several television series and starred in the 2003 independent film “The Station Agent.”
Said Murphy, “I’ve just always been a tremendous fan of Peter’s work, and I thought this would be a great plot line for him.”
Eaton-Gilden said she hoped the role would help to change perceptions about performers born with dwarfism.
“I like to play mainstream characters, and why shouldn’t I?” she said. “A lot of producers are not able to create characters beyond just the little people trait. It’s just so great I’m able to do this.”
