Something is changing with respect to the popularity of Richard Armitage in America (North America to be specific), and yet ‘The Hobbit’ is still almost two years away! I’ve been encountering more and more people who know RA’s name and have seen him in more than one role. Wow. What a change from three years ago! Or even one year ago. But I don’t think it’s due to his being cast in ‘The Hobbit’. At this point ‘The Hobbit’ is only on the radar of those in the movie industry, the LOTR fans, maybe a couple of other fan clubs and us. Everyone else won’t give a rat’s ass about it until we’re a few months or perhaps a few weeks or days from the premiere.
This recent awareness of Richard Armitage mostly comes down to Netflix. They are the only entity who provides us with a steady diet of RA. When I first started watching RA three plus years ago, there was almost nothing available in this country. The only thing I found was ‘North and South’ on Netflix and some documentary about that other guy. Now there are numerous things to watch, and many of them are ‘Instant Play’, and that’s the key.
Numerous friends scattered around the country who regularly watch ‘Instant Play’ have been discovering this “new” actor and just can’t tell me enough about him. Never mind that a couple of those people are the same ones I’ve told about ‘North and South’, ‘Spooks’, ‘Robin Hood’, etc. LOL! Hey, I don’t care how they discovered him; I’m just glad they did. Even my best friend, who at one point would roll her eyes when RA’s name came up, finally watched ‘North and South’ via ‘Instant Play’. Yea, Tammi!!! Of course she loves it and him. I knew she would! And she could have loved him sooner if she had just watched the DVDs I loaned her almost three years ago.
But I guess there really is something seductive about Netflix saying, “Tammi, rate what you’ve seen to reveal suggestions just for you” while your ass is firmly planted on the couch, and you can merely push a couple of buttons as opposed to getting up and taking the discs out of the case and putting them in the DVD player. LOL! Oh, Netflix has the power! What was I thinking to encourage the viewing of some DVDs loaned from my special collection? I mean here I am Tammi’s best friend, and we love each others’ tastes, but those precious discs just sat on the shelf! In comes Netflix with its heady offering of ‘North and South’ on ‘Instant Play’, and what I could not do for almost three years, they managed in a moment.
Tammi’s conversion occurred last summer, but this phenomenon of Netflix and RA didn’t become evident until last fall. I was going to highlight this sooner but thought it would be boring to you. Yesterday changed that. I was surfing around and found this blogger. It would be interesting to know how long she’s been a fan, and obviously, Netflix is part of her RA love. Maybe sometime she will share how exactly she became a fan, since I’m not quite sure if Netflix did it or just inflamed her some more. However it happened, I never get tired of those stories! Always makes me feel more sane, and dammit, I am sane! :D
In the meantime, as much as I appreciate Netflix being the bearers of so much loveliness, I have a request of them:
To Whom It May Concern at the big host in the sky,
Thank you so much for introducing so many people to Richard Armitage! I can’t tell you how grateful I am. It’s helped my best friend join this wonderful madness with me.
But do you think we could enjoy his loveliness when we do a query on his name? If you would be so kind to give him an avatar, I’m not sure how I would show my appreciation. Maybe send out a few thousand of those trial memberships to my friends.
And if I may suggest, this might be a good picture if you’re not sure which one would be appropriate:
Of course I have no clue about the legalities of using it, but it is the one featured on his IMDb page, so I think it’s okay. But I’ll leave those details to you.
Thank you for any consideration.
Sincerely,
One of Richard’s fans and great Netflix lover :DP.S. How can we get Strike Back on the list?
Oh, and I would give credit to BBC America and PBS for the rise of RA’s star, but BBCA is sporadic in their love of RA, and PBS hasn’t shown much at all with him? Actually, I remember nothing although I have heard rumors that some regional stations have shown ‘North and South.’ Amazing that the network known for embracing period dramas has been almost a non-player of that mini-series, and it’s been necessary to mount a campaign to bring ‘North and South’ to PBS. Yeah, can you believe that? And I’m not even going to mention A&E beyond this sentence.
Note: FanstRAvaganza will return tomorrow; still waiting on something for now.
edit: Okay, okay, yes, YouTube has been instrumental, but it’s hit or miss there and the programs are usually not complete. For that you need Netflix.
RAFrenzy 
