It’s no secret that the executive producers of ‘Arrow,’ Greg Berlanti and Andrew Andrew Kreisberg, are fanboys in their own right so it’s not surprising that the seriess is quickly becoming the show known for bringing in actors in the sci-fi genre. In fact, Kreisberg has stated that “fandom” on their part is what leads them to cast these familiar faces. That’s why we’ve seen guests such as Seth Gabel (‘Fringe’), Manu Bennett (‘Saprtacus’), Ben Browder (‘Farscape,’ ‘Doctor Who’) and John Barrowman (‘Torchwood,’ ‘Doctor Who’) take on roles in the show. Now you can add Alex Kingston to that list as she’ll be joining her fellow ‘Doctor Who’ alums in at least 3 episodes this season.
Kingston became a household name while starring in the NBC series ‘ER’ playing Dr. Elisabeth Corday. Since then she’s appeared in such shows such as ‘Flash Forward,’ ‘Hope Springs,’ and ‘Law and Order: Special Victims Unit’ (where oddly she played a character named Miranda Pond (hmmmm?). But it’s her role as River Song/Melody Pond, the Doctor’s wife and daughter of Amy Pond and Rory Williams, that many of the genre know her by.
In ‘Arrow,’ Kingston will play Dinah Lance, wife of Quentin and mother of Laurel. In the series, Dinah left her husband and daughter after the death of Laurel’s sister (fans will recall Sara died on the yacht accident that stranded Oliver on the island). She now returns to Starling City to try to make amends.
In the comics, Dinah Lance was the daughter of the original Black Canary who took over her mother’s persona in the 1980’s. She was a highly trained vigilante who is an expert in Judo, acting and impersonation and was a member of the Justice League and Birds of Prey. It’s said that she was also able to incapacitate villains and shatter objects with her Canary Cry.
Whether Kingston will play this alter ego is unknown at the moment, but it’s a good bet that there’s more to her character than meets the eye as not everyone in Starling City is what they seem. After all, John Barrowman was revealed as someone unexpected in the mid-season finale episode. Since superpower don’t exist in the ‘Arrow’ universe, the Canary Cry may not be included in this new rendition but you never know what the producers have up their sleeves. Who knows? Maybe Dinah comes to Starling City to hand over the Black Canary torch to her daughter just like in the comics.
Since Kriesberg is a big ‘Doctor Who’ fan, it will be exciting to see who else in the ‘Doctor Who’ world will be dropping in on the series. In the meantime, how many of you are hoping Kingston’s first words when she sees Quentin and Laurel are, “Hello Sweetie”?
