#michael tate

[hephaestuscrew]

Michael Tate was introduced in Greater Boston as someone mourning his best friend; his grief after Leon's death is a key part of his character arc. Four seasons later, in his farewell letter to Louisa, we hear him thinking of himself as a best friend who someone else would mourn - a kind of tragic role reversal. In that letter, Michael refers to both Leon and Louisa as his "best friend". As he faced the prospect of death, he thought about how it felt for him to lose Leon and he used that experience to empathise with the grief and anger and regret that Louisa would feel at losing him. He tried to ease the pain that Louisa would feel at his death while knowing that he couldn't. There's something so powerful to me about that potential cycle of loss. Michael, whose narrative has been so shaped by grief, had to confront the idea of someone grieving for him with a similar intensity…

[captainsalmonid]

might as well post blasphemous michael/leon fanart trilogy here

[writingpun-art]

forgot to put these here lol. Greater Boston Sbux

[applebunch]

wait hey i just realized that greater boston has 5 seasons like the 5 stages of grief. hm. oh no. i kinda wanna see if there’s actually anything there, so im just gonna speculate...

season 1: denial. leon’s ghost isn’t yet confirmed to truly exist, so his haunting is much more... metaphorical in tone. there’s a seance made in an attempt to speak to him and a persistent theme of michael claiming/believing himself to be haunted by leon’s ghost, saying he’s still there, helping him, which sounds pretty denial-y to me. (yes, even though he was right. he was both right and also in denial. you understand.) (chelmsworth tries/succeeds at starting red line, and leaves before he can become mayor. michael tells him that there will be consequences, and chelmsworth ignores him.)

season 2: anger. red line is officially a thing, and so is leon’s ghost. i don’t remember a lot about what specific events occurred in season 2, actually, other than that there definitely was anger, i think? the anger isn’t exactly unique to this season, tho, there’s a lot of anger in season 1. emily feeling angry about her marriage, isabelle, angry about injustices, nica, angry about being abandoned, lashing out at complete strangers all of the time.  i guess anger might be the driving point of season 2? it’s why emily is even a problem, and why nica stoops so low. (one thing that IS unique to season 2 is that this is where EVERYONE starts being angry at CHELMSWORTH for leaving them behind,)

season 3: bargaining. (chelmsworth comes back, with the intentions to make amends!! he even offers gifts!! he is turned down. hard.) michael gets to talk to leon again and michael pleads with leon to play chess with him, forgoing sleep and food. one game? it’s just good to hear your voice again... and leon, at first, relents, but once the game is done, leon tells michael that he needs to let him go, once it’s obvious that this isn’t good for him. again, michael’s pleading- no, he’s bargaining, that there’s so much value in the way that michael’s person-hood is being overwritten with leon’s own, in the way he’s losing himself in leon’s thoughts, his feelings, his memories. leon’s a CHARACTER again, and his friends are looking for him. sure, leon’s a ghost, but he’s right there! within arms reach and not behind the inconceivable barrier between life and death! it’s almost like he never died! ...but.

speculation:

season 4: depression. it’s not safe to hold on to leon that way. as evidenced by michael and poletti, talking to leon is too dangerous for most people. it hurts them. badly. deeply. leon is dead. he killed himself, and his return as a ghost doesn’t change that. everyone has to move on, for their own sake and his. leon hasn’t exactly “come back to them.” not by choice, anyway, and he’s leaving once he gets the opportunity to do so. that’ll probably be pretty disappointing, and, y’know, really depressing.

season 5: acceptance, leon doesn’t want to roam this world as a ghost anymore, and wishes to return to his rest. he needs help to do so, and he’ll most likely need it from those who loved him most. they finally let him go, and accept that, this time, they’ll really never see him again.

[greaterblogston]

Nica finally reads the farewell letter Michael sent her in 'Farewell Nica,' a mini-episode out November 15th. 

[saintfu]

LEON Hundreds, if not thousands, many of whom you don’t know.  It took me a long time to process this. Again, when turning on the faucet, it’s hard to figure out how many drops of water are available if you don’t risk flooding the house. But over time I noticed that the… well… water pressure was less intense, for lack of a better metaphor. And then I started noticing specific people I used to have access to were no longer available. Yourself. Isabelle Powell. Michael. Gemma Yeah, what the fuck do you two have going on, anyway? Leon We were… we are friends. Best friends. Gemma Like… friends or quotation-mark “friends”? Leon I don’t know what “quotation-mark ‘friends’” means. Gemma Come on, man. Like Ernie and Bert. Leon We are certainly not muppets. Gemma Do you love each other? Leon Yes, of course. Gemma Okay… Leon Oh. But no, not romantically. Gemma You sure? Leon Yes. Why is that so surprising? Gemma I just… I don’t know too many men that like… have that kind of relationship. Who are friends and who love each other to this degree but are not— Leon Romantic? Gemma Yes. Leon That’s too bad. Isn’t it? Gemma Yeah. I guess it is.

Greater Boston Episode 42, “Wonderbug”

[agrioxoiros]

[biwonderland98]

Absolutely adore Michael Tate, he's such a mess and he tries so hard <3

[sticks-and-stones-are-great]

Mediwhump May - Day 7

"First Night in Hospital"

(original characters/story)

@mediwhumpmay

“Family of Michelle Tate?”

Troy jumped to his feet before he’d even really registered what the nurse had said. Beside him, Daniel stood up too. 

“It’s Michael. He’s Michael.” Daniel sighed.

The nurse looked over the clipboard in their hands again and nodded. “You’re family?”

Troy felt Daniel’s hand on his shoulder. “We are.” Daniel said. 

That was kind of Daniel. 

He wasn’t Michael’s family. He was the one that had gotten Michael into this mess. He was the one who had pushed Michael too hard. Guilt sat in the pit of Troy’s stomach like a stone.

“Follow me.” 

Daniel followed the nurse, with Troy bringing up the rear. They led them into a room. The doctor explained Michael’s condition. Troy wrapped an arm around Daniel’s shoulders when the kid started to cry. They were told the visiting hours. They were told that talking to Michael would be good for him. And then, they were left alone. 

Daniel sat beside Michael’s bed and Troy didn’t, he couldn’t, he paced around the room. He was sore and exhausted and every step ached. But he couldn’t sit. He could barely look at Michael, lying pale in the bed, covered in tubes and wires.

But Daniel sat as close as he could to his brother without actually getting into the bed. He held Michael’s remaining hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb. And he talked.

“Mom and dad know. Mom’s coming tomorrow. I’ll be with her.” Daniel said. “I don’t know when dad will come, but he will. I’ll make him.” Daniel then looked back at Troy. His eyes were red and wet.

“I’ll come tomorrow too.” Troy reassured. “Sharon knows what happened. I called her earlier.”

Daniel nodded then turned back to Michael. 

“It should have been me.” Troy felt the words leave him before he realized what he had said. The ringing thought he’d had in his mind ever since he found Tate. The only thought. It should have been me.

“This isn’t about you.” Daniel kept his eyes on his brother.

Troy’s face burned with shame. “I know, I’m sorry, I-”

“It’s okay.” Daniel interrupted and aimed a smile back at Troy. “You’re hurt, you’re grieving, we say weird stuff. But this is about Tate, not you. He saved a lot of people today.”

“He’s a hero.” Troy murmured and wiped his eyes. 

Daniel laughed softly. “Don’t let him hear you say that.”

“Yeah.” Troy smiled too. “I’m sorry… I’m just so sorry this happened.”

“I know. Me too. But he knew what he was getting into.” Daniel said. “Troy, you didn’t do this to him. This isn’t your fault.”

And that was it. Troy crumbled. Tears filled his eyes. Snot ran. And he sobbed. Daniel got up from the chair and embraced him. Troy wept into his shoulder and hugged him back.

[fear-is-truth]

“i can fix him”

ok welcome to the construction crew

[denimbex1986]

'...“It’s fun playing bad, but actually he’s not,” the actor says, smiling as he reflects on his character, Crowley. “He’s a villain with a heart. The amount of really evil things he does are vanishingly small.”

...As it always has, “Good Omens” dissects the view of good and evil as absolutes, showing viewers that they are not as separate as we were led to believe growing up. Aziraphale and Crowley’s long-standing union is proof of this. The show also urges people to look at what defines our own humanity. For Tennant — who opted to wear a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Leave trans kids alone you absolute freaks” during a photocall for Season 2 — these themes are more important now than ever before.

“In this society that we’re currently living in, where polarization seems ever more present, fierce and difficult to navigate. Negotiation feels like a dirty word at times,” he says, earnestly. “This is a show about negotiation. Two extremes finding common ground and making their world a better place through it. Making life easier, kinder and better. If that’s the sort of super objective of the show, then I can’t think of anything more timely, relevant or apt for the rather fractious times we’re living in.”

“Good Omens” is back by popular demand for another season. How does it feel?

It’s lovely. Whenever you send something out into the world, you never quite know how it will land. Especially with this, because it was this beloved book that existed, and that creates an extra tension that you might break some dreams. But it really exploded. I guess we were helped by the fact that we had Neil Gaiman with us, so you couldn’t really quibble too much with the decisions that were being made. The reception was, and continues to be, overwhelming.

Now that you’re no longer bound by the original material that people did, perhaps, feel a sense of ownership over, does the new content for Season 2 come with a sense of freedom for you? This is uncharted territory, of sorts.

That’s an interesting point. I didn’t know the book when I got the script. It was only after that I discovered the worlds of passion that this book had incited. Because I came to it that way, perhaps it was easier. I found liberation from that, to an extent. For me, it was always a character that existed in a script. At first, I didn’t have that extra baggage of expectation, but I acquired it in the run-up to Season 1 being released… the sense that suddenly we were carrying a ming vase across a minefield.

In Season 2, we still have Neil and we also have some of the ideas that he and Terry had discussed. During the filming of the first one, Neil would drop little hints about the notions they had for a prospective sequel, the title of which would have been “668: The Neighbour of the Beast,” which is a pretty solid gag to base a book around. Indeed there were elements like Gabriel and the Angels, who don’t feature in the book, that were going to feature in a sequel. They were brought forward into Season 1. So, even in the new episodes, we’re not entirely leaving behind the Terry Pratchett-ness of it all.

It’s great to see yourself and Michael Sheen reunited on screen as these characters. Fans will have also watched you pair up for Season 3 of “Staged.” You’re quite the dynamic duo. What do you think is the magic ingredient that makes the two of you such a good match?

It’s a slightly alchemical thing. We knew each other in passing before, but not well. We were in a film together [“Bright Young Things,” 1993] but we’d never shared a scene. It was a bit of a roll of the dice when we turned up at the read-through for “Good Omens.” I think a lot comes from the writing, as we were both given some pretty juicy material to work with. Those characters are beloved for a reason because there’s something magical about them and the way they complete each other. Also, I think we’re quite similar actors in the way we like to work and how we bounce off each other.

Does the shorthand and trust the two of you have built up now enable you to take more risks on-screen?

Yes, probably. I suppose the more you know someone, the more you trust someone. You don’t have to worry about how an idea might be received and you can help each other out with a more honest opinion than might be the case if you were, you know, dancing around each other’s nervous egos. Enjoying being in someone’s orbit and company is a positive experience. It makes going to work feel pleasant, productive, and creative. The more creative you can be, the better the work is. I don’t think it’s necessarily a given that an off-screen relationship will feed into an on-screen one in a positive or negative way. You can play some very intimate moments with someone you barely know. Acting is a peculiar little contract, in that respect. But it’s disproportionately pleasurable going to work when it’s with a mate.

Fans have long discussed the nature of Crowley and Aziraphale’s relationship. In Season 2, we see several of the characters debate whether the two are an item, prompting them to look at their union and decipher what it is. How would you describe their relationship?

They are utterly co-dependent. There’s no one else having the experience that they are having and they’ve only got each other to empathize with. It’s a very specific set of circumstances they’ve been dealt. In this season, we see them way back at the creation of everything. They’ve known each other a long time and they’ve had to rely on each other more and more. They can’t really exist one without the other and are bound together through eternity. Crowley and Aziraphale definitely come at the relationship with different perspectives, in terms of what they’re willing to admit to the relationship being. I don’t think we can entirely interpret it in human terms, I think that’s fair to say.

Yet fans are trying to do just that. Do you view it as beyond romantic or any other labels, in the sense that it’s an eternal force?

It’s lovely [that fans discuss it] but you think, be careful what you wish for. If you’re willing for a relationship to go in a certain way or for characters to end up in some sort of utopian future, then the story is over. Remember what happened to “Moonlighting,” that’s all I’m saying! [Laughs]

Your father-in-law, Peter Davison, and your son, Ty Tennant, play biblical father-and-son duo Job and Ennon in Episode 2. In a Tumblr Q&A, Neil Gaiman said that he didn’t know who Ty’s family was when he cast him. When did you become aware that Ty had auditioned?

I don’t know how that happened. I do a bunch of self-tapes with Ty, but I don’t think I did this one with him because I was out of town filming “Good Omens.” He certainly wasn’t cast before we started shooting. There were two moments during filming where Neil bowled up to me and said, “Guess, who we’ve cast?” Ty definitely auditioned and, as I understand it, they would tell me, he was the best. I certainly imagine he could only possibly have been the best person for the job. He is really good in it, so I don’t doubt that’s true. And then my father-in-law showed up, as well, which was another delicious treat. In the same episode and the same family! It was pretty weird. I have worked with both of them on other projects, but never altogether.

There’s a “Doctor Who” cameo, of sorts, in Episode 5, when Aziraphale uses a rare annual about the series as a bartering tool. In reality, you’ll be reprising your Time Lord role on screen later this year in three special episodes to mark the 60th anniversary. Did you always feel you’d return to “Doctor Who” at some point?

There’s a precedent for people who have been in the series to return for a multi-doctor show, which is lovely. I did it myself for the 50th anniversary in 2013, and I had a wonderful time with Matt [Smith]. Then, to have John Hurt with us, as well, was a little treat. But I certainly would never have imagined that I’d be back in “Doctor Who” full-time, as it were, and sort of back doing the same job I did all those years ago. It was like being given this delightful, surprise present. Russell T Davies was back as showrunner, Catherine Tate [former on-screen companion] was back, and it was sort of like the last decade and a half hadn’t happened.

Going forward, Ncuti Gatwa will be taking over as the new Doctor. Have you given him any advice while passing the baton?

Oh God, what a force of nature. I’ve caught a little bit of him at work and it’s pretty exciting. I mean, what advice would you give someone? You can see Ncuti has so much talent and energy. He’s so inspired and charismatic. The thing about something like this is: it’s the peripherals, it’s not the job. It’s the other stuff that comes with it, that I didn’t see coming. It’s a show that has so much focus and enthusiasm on it. It’s not like Ncuti hasn’t been in a massive Netflix series [“Sex Education,”] but “Doctor Who” is on a slightly different level. It’s cross-generational, international, and has so much history, that it feels like it belongs to everyone.

To be at the center of the show is wonderful and humbling, but also a bit overwhelming and terrifying. It doesn’t come without some difficulties, such as the immediate loss of anonymity. It takes a bit of getting used to if that’s not been your life up to that point. I was very lucky that when I joined, Billie Piper [who portrayed on-screen companion, Rose] was still there. She’d lived in a glare of publicity since she was 14, so she was a great guide for how to live life under that kind of scrutiny. I owe a degree of sanity to Billie.

Your characters are revered by a few different fandoms. Sci-fi fandoms are especially passionate and loyal. What is it like being on the end of that? I imagine it’s a lot to hold.

Yes, certainly. Having been a fan of “Doctor Who” since I was a tiny kid, you’re aware of how much it means because you’re aware of how much it meant to you. My now father-in-law [who portrayed Doctor Who in the 80s] is someone I used to draw in comic strips when I was a kid. That’s quite peculiar! It’s a difficult balance because on one end, you have to protect your own space, and there aren’t really any lessons in that. That does take a bit of trial and error, to an extent, and it’s something that you’re sometimes having to do quite publicly. But, it is an honor and a privilege, without a doubt. As you’ve said, it means so much to people and you want to be worthy of that. You have to acknowledge that and be careful with it. Some days that’s tough, if you’re not in the mood.

I know you’re returning to the stage later this year to portray Macbeth. You’ve previously voiced the role for BBC Sounds, but how are you feeling about taking on the character in the theater?

I’m really excited about it. It’s been a while since I’ve done Shakespeare. It’s very thrilling but equally — and this analogy probably doesn’t stretch — it’s like when someone prepares for an Olympic event. It does feel like a bit of a mountain and, yeah, you’re daring to set yourself up against some fairly worthy competition from down the years. That’s both the challenge and the horror of doing these types of things. We’ve got a great director, Max Webster, who recently did “Life of Pi.” He’s full of big ideas. It’s going to be exciting, thrilling, and a little bit scary. I’m just going to take a deep breath.

Before we part ways, let’s discuss the future of “Good Omens.” Gaiman has said that he already has ideas for Season 3, should it happen. If you were to do another season, is there anyone in particular you’d love to work with next time around or anything specific you’d like to see happen for Crowley?

Oh, Neil Gaiman knows exactly where he wants to take it. If you’re working with people like Gaiman, I wouldn’t try to tamper with that creative void. Were he to ask my opinion, that would be a different thing, but I can’t imagine he would. He’s known these characters longer than me and what’s interesting is what he does with them. That’s the bit that I’m desperate to know. I do know where Crowley might end up next, but it would be very wrong if I told you.

[At this point, Tennant picks up a pencil and starts writing on a hotel pad of paper.]

I thought you were going to write it down for me then. Perhaps like a clandestine meeting on a bench in St James’ Park, but instead you’d write the information down and slide it across the table…

I should have done! I was drawing a line, which obviously, psychologically, I was thinking, “Say no more. You’re too tempted to reveal a secret!” It was my subconscious going “Shut the fuck up!”

[hephaestuscrew]

The amount of platonic love and tenderness in Michael's farewell letter to Louisa is off the charts. And one of the signs of that love is the kind of focus Michael places on small mundane things about Louisa. Like the detail with which he describes the ways she laughs: "your short little laugh. Not quite a bark, but a shift so sudden that it has to be genuine. [...] So real, never forced. No melody to it, really, but still musical. Sometimes short and guttural. Sometimes a cackle, like notes going up a scale". Michael describes Louisa's laughter in such a specific way that shows the attention he pays to her and the way he holds her ordinary mannerisms in his mind. He doesn't describe her laugh with the kind of typical compliments that could be seen as generic - it's so clear that these descriptions are specific to Louisa and his memories of her, and there's so much love in that specificity. 

Then there's the story of Michael bringing whiskey back from the kitchen without even realising, and the way he remembers Louisa's expression when she noticed: "everything, everything I needed to know was there, every freckle and contour. There was no judgment. Your face was open, your eyes soft and understanding, your mouth bent into the smallest knowing grin, your expression just barely pinched, just a touch of pain". There's something so profound to me about the level of attention he pays to the details of her expression, and how those small signals communicated something important between them without words.

These are two characters whose relationship has been repeatedly confirmed to be purely platonic (and remaining platonic) both within the podcast and by the show creators. It means so much to me that as part of that platonic dynamic, Michael pays such close loving attention to Louisa, and he remembers these ordinary details even when he's dying and hasn't seen her in months, and he says things like "your face, I could fall into it, like it was a calm lake or a pool. I could fall into it and float."

[mizgnomer]

Furniture Abuse by David Tennant - Part Seven (!)

For even more Furniture Abuse: [ One ] [ Two ] [ Three ] [ Four ] [ Five ] [ Six ]

[applebunch]

.........ok so is anybody else thinking about that one part of the episode where leon hears michael for a second? like anybody else? what does that mean? is leon gonna get michael back? what the hell's gonna happen when leon gets michael back?

in episode 30, leon compares michael to a summer's day to "flipper, rushing to the aid of a floundering diver," because when "everything fell to chaos, ...[michael] guided [their] way through it." comparing "chaos" to water.

leon compares getting overwhelmed by his omniscience to drowning.

he says that he can only focus on so much at a time (like filling a mere glass with water and drinking it).

because if he focused on EVERYTHING, it would overwhelm him, (filling the entire house with water, drowning himself).

he is. definitely drowning right now.

you know what flipper does? save drowning people.

if leon gets michael back, will he try to rely on michael in that way? and if he does, how would that go over with michael himself? idk about you, but i can't help but get the impression that if leon started narrating michael again, michael would maybe like... notice, somehow?

[greaterblogston]

when michael and leon were talking in crystal clear, michael mentions getting linked to leon's memories and thoughts. does michael still remember leon's memories and thoughts after the whole ordeal, or did he forget about them when he dropped the crystal ball?

This answer is somewhat complicated. I think his experience with the ball allowed him to see and feel how Leon felt about him. Gaining that perspective is part of what allowed him to move beyond his dependency (or overdependence) on Leon as a figure in his life. Even though they've always had a great friendship, being able to experience how Leon felt about him made him finally realize his own self worth and made him realize how important it was to find his own way from that point forward, without the need of another substance or person to push him into feeling...real, or someone who deserves attention and love.

When he drops the ball, it doesn't sever that connection indefinitely. He remembers plenty of those thoughts and experiences gained from leon, but touching the ball (when you're not the owner) is overwhelming - just like it's overwhelming to *be* Leon right now because of his connection to everything around him. So it would be impossible for Michael to retain all that information, but he remembers some of it. The longer and farther he's removed from that experience, the harder it is to remember all of it. That's the closest analogy; memories - and some are more vivid, while others fade.

But even the vivid ones? There's always a question of "how real was this? Did it happen the way I remember?" Because without the ball he's lost that sense of certainty.

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

David Tennant with Michael Sheen (Good Omens promo video) and then David Tennant with Catherine Tate (Doctor Who bts video) trying to convince us that they work very very hard :D ❤ (poor David trying to censor his actor companions :D)

David and Michael smol interview for Virgin Media Television, 10.7.2023

Michael: We never bicker.

David: Nooo.

Michael: I mean, that's that's sort of the key to it, I think. Yeah. Is that when we're not directly working together with each other on screen or whatever, it's just very sort of easy.

David: Mmm.

Michael: I mean, we're we're both essentially quite lazy actors, and we… it's too much hard work to be…

David: We can't say that!

Michael: We can't say that no.

David: No, we're very professional.

Michael: Sorry. Yes, we are, we are.

David: We are very appropriate.

Michael: It's too much. We see it, you know, we see other actors on set and everyone's working very hard, and it's just very easy for us.

David: We work very, very hard. Don't listen to him.

-

David: We have to make it sound that this has been difficult.

Catherine: No.

David: Do we have to say it's been hard.

Catherine:It's not hard work or… I don't mean it's not…

David: It's not easy!

Catherine: It's not easy!

David: Don't think this is easy!

Catherine: Don't get me wrong, don't think this is a walk in the park.

David: Very hard! Very… it's a very specialized job!