#tim ransom

Vital Signs (Marisa Silver)

Finally caught Tim Ransom’s “Gone” appearance and wanted to share a few thoughts because of this is like a “wow blast” showcase of just unrivalled emotional nuance and expression for the few scenes where he appears. I do want to take a moment to get personal so people can better understand where I’m coming from. I’ve had a lifelong inability to read people’s faces. Unless I’ve known someone for say decades or it’s something super obvious (and even then no guarantees) facial expressions don’t register right with me. I have to rely on other contextual stuff and words to really get it.

Not so when it comes to this man. Whenever I watch him performing it just “clicks” in my brain like “Holy shit, THAT’S what that feeling looks like”. So I feel like new worlds have been opened up for me and created and when you’ve spent your life watching people in movies and on TV like these empty shapes with their mouths moving then out of that steps color and brilliance it’s like way life changing. I feel like I’ve actually learned different representations of what it means to be human in so many different ways. (This page, after all is about what inspires me!)

And that’s totally what you get in his appearance here. Like, if you wanted to teach the expression of human emotion to an alien race you could draw a smile for happy, a frown for  sad at the most basic level. But sanctimony? BAM, right here. A fearless gaze that stems only from unwavering spiritual conviction? BAM. You get a sense of command to be silent, a self pitying heartbreak, righteous fury, devotion, quiet resignation, a gentle smile stemming solely from a spiritual connection, all of this with the absolute right gesture, a subtle change of the cast of eyes, a shift of the light of color, of fucking soul.

So as far as shows go, it was otherwise a pretty decent little crime drama. For a master class in immersive character and acting? A hundreds cannons firing into the sky, and I cannot recommend it enough. Awesome job!

So this week's Tim spotlight is from a few years back but still a fairly recent one.

Series: Masters of Sex

Year: 2013

Role: Dr. Rish (no first name, boo) a colleague of Dr. Masters in 1956.

Character: A very short role from season 1 eps 9 and 12. In ep 12 we get to see a bit of personality showing through moreso than in 9. Dr. Rish is the consummate 50s doctor. He's a professional with patients possessing a calm and quick bedside matter. He gets on well with colleagues, sure to give a quip and a cheeky grin encountering Dr. Master's in the men's room. He gives a jaunty toast during the presentation but we can see by his reactions that he's totally sexually conservative and not one for thinking outside the box.

Of course you could read his expression as either revulsion/confusion/or possibly morbid intrigue. You be the judge ;)

Eyebrow Rating: 9/10

Media:

Tim-spiration Plot: "He couldn't believe what he had seen in that room. Dr. Richard Riesling watched the conclusion of his colleague's presentation along with the rest of the room feeling the revulsion at the sight before him. But underlying the initial discomfort with the intimate physiological display of the woman in the throes of orgasm, was excitement, was titillation. He couldn't get it out of his mind, fascinated by the ability of the female body to experience such pleasure. He thought of his ex wife, long gone, perpetually dissatisfied and began to wonder what if..."

Dr. Riesling, curious decided to conduct his own research, unsure of what would happen when he begun to vet possible candidates. And then in that hot summer of the late 50s he finally finds a willing candidate only to express disbelief when a man walks into the room. Matthew Anderson, a trans man without any family or a play to stay, is desperate for money and tells Dr. Riesling that they can help each other out. Dr. Riesling reluctantly agrees after being unsuccessful in finding another subject.