Dean

MAFS UK’s Emma Barnes knows first-hand what it’s like to walk down the aisle towards a stranger and is ready to give her insight in her weekly Mirror column

Welcome back to my MAFS weekly column!

Well, haven’t things heated up a tad over the last week of Married at First Sight UK? Six out of the nine brides were unhappy with their matches. I’m not sure whether we’re going to see more Julia-Ruth walk-outs by the end of the series or hear more self-penned songs (currently 3:4 on the tally, by the way). I needed half an hour to stare at a wall after last night’s explosive dinner party.

Where else to start than with the storyline of the week? I’m trying to see past the edited faces Sarah pulls, knowing she’s uncomfortable and disappointed in her experience. It’s difficult seeing fireworks around that table while you’re imagining going home, head hanging in shame after just one week and zero snogs.

READ MORE: MAFS UK star Rebecca reveals what procedures she’s had done after fans question ageREAD MORE: MAFS UK chaos as experts to ‘step in’ over bride’s ‘cruel’ comments at groom

Sarah’s disrespect and lack of willingness to get to know Dean went over the line. “I need to understand why the experts matched us, because you’re not what I asked for” is a quote I heard a few times during that first dinner party.

It hurts, and no one deserves that. It’s great to see the room backing Dean, and putting a mirror up to her unkind words, kudos to Davide! I genuinely hope that if they stay another week, Sarah relaxes and learns for the public to witness because the backlash (and body-shaming back) has also been over the line.

There are a few couples with real legs developing (or abs in the case of Bec- phwoar!). Maeve and Joe are cute as a button, and I’m totally team Kevide and team Grashley.

Of course, I’m rooting for the people’s princess, Nelly, and if Stephen breaks her heart, the nation won’t have it. There’s something telling me it’s not going to be sunshine and daisies for these two. Maybe it’s an ex spilling tea online about him?

There’s a debate about whether the cast should have access to social media at all to avoid leaks of the show. This is their time to shine, I say.

I used to love putting my daily pictures up and choosing my backing track. They’ve waited nine months for this! I’m trying to stay out of the gossip, but I’ve even heard some stories about a groom or two… I may or may not reveal more; you’ll just have to keep reading!

I’m now firmly in a habit of sending late-night voice notes to half the cast for their thoughts and trying to be friends.

Yes, I’m that beg from the previous seasons but I don’t care! I think the group are fantastic, I don’t get creeped out by any of the boys which is a green flag, and the fact I’ve had now two parents DM me with pride or concern shows they’re from solid foundations too.

We’re being treated to two dinner parties this week and a commitment ceremony tonight, and I fear Anita and Paul may leave. Let’s hope he takes his post-it to remember to ask how she’s feeling. I’m off to do some sit ups in hopes of getting abs like Rebecca by Christmas.

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There are people who keep reliving their glory days, and then there’s Dean Cain.

The film and TV actor is best known for his work in the 1990s series “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.”

He was no Christopher Reeve or Henry Cavill.

But enough people remember Cain in blue tights and a red cape so that he’s a regular on the fan convention circuit.

It’s his calling card, so when the Trump administration put out the call to recruit more ICE agents, guess who answered the call?

Big hint: Up, up and a güey!

On Aug. 6, the up until then not exactly buzzworthy Cain revealed on Instagram that he joined la migra — and everyone else should too!

The 59-year old actor made his announcement as an orchestral version of John Williams’ stirring “Superman” theme played lightly below his speech.

Superman used to go after Nazis, Klansmen and intergalactic monsters; now, Superman — er, Cain — wants to go after Tamale Lady. His archenemy used to be Lex Luthor; now real-life Bizarro Superman wants to go to work for the Trump administration’s equally bald-pated version of Lex Luthor: Stephen Miller.

“You can defend your homeland and get great benefits,” Cain said, flashing his bright white smile and brown biceps. Behind him was an American flag in a triangle case and a small statue depicting Cain in his days as a Princeton Tigers football player. “If you want to save America, ICE is arresting the worst of the worst and removing them from America’s streets.”

Later that day, Cain appeared on Fox News to claim he was going to “be sworn in as an ICE agent ASAP.” a role Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin later on clarified to the New York Times would be only honorary. His exaggeration didn’t stop the agency’s social media account to take a break from its usual stream of white supremacist dog whistles to gush over Cain’s announcement.

“Superman is encouraging Americans to become real-life superheroes,” it posted “by answering their country’s call to join the brave men and women of ICE to help protect our communities to arrest the worst of the worst.”

American heroes used to storm Omaha Beach. Now the Trump administration wants their version of them to storm the garden section of Home Depot.

Dean Cain speaks during a ceremony honoring Mehmet Oz, the former host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Feb. 11, 2022.

(Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)

Its appeal to Superman is part of their campaign to cast la migra as good guys while casting all undocumented people as shadowy villains who deserve deportation — the faster and nastier the better. But as with almost anything involving American history, Team Trump has already perverted Superman’s mythos. In early June, they put Trump, who couldn’t leap over a bingo card in a single bound let alone a tall building, on the White House’s social media accounts in a Superman costume. This was accompanied with the slogan: “Truth. Justice. The American Way.” That was the day before Warner Bros. released its latest Man of Steel film.

Even non-comic book fans know that the hero born Kal-El on Krypton was always a goody-goody who stood up to bullies and protected the downtrodden. He came from a foreign land — a doomed planet, no less — as a baby. His alter ego, Clark Kent, is humble and kind, traits that carry over when he turns into Superman.

The character’s caretakers always leaned on that fictional background to comment on real-world events. In a 1950 poster, as McCarthyism was ramping up, DC Comics issued a poster in which Superman tells a group of kids that anyone who makes fun of people for their “religion, race or national origin … is un-American.”

A decade later, Superman starred in a comic book public service announcement in which he chided a teen who said “Those refugee kids can’t talk English or play ball or anything” by taking him to a shabby camp to show the boy the hardships refugees had to endure.

The Trumpworld version of Superman would fly that boy to “Alligator Alcatraz” to show him how cool it is to imprison immigrants in a swamp infested with crocodilians.

It might surprise you to know that in even more recent times, in a 2017 comic book, Superman saves a group of undocumented immigrants from a man in an American flag do-rag who opened fire on them. When the attempted murderer claimed his intended targets stole his job, Superman snarled “The only person responsible for the blackness smothering your soul … is you.”

Superman used to tell Americans that immigrants deserved our empathy; Super Dean wants to round them up and ship them out.

Rapists? Murderers? Terrorists? That’s who Superman né Cain says ICE is pursuing — the oft repeated “worst of the worst” — but Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse found that 71% of people currently held in ICE detention have no criminal records as of July 27 .

I don’t think the real Superman — by whom I mean the fictional one whom Cain seems to think he’s the official spokesperson for just because he played him in a middling dramedy 30-some years ago — would waste his strength and X-ray vision to nab people like that.

Dean “Discount Superman” Cain should grab some popcorn and launch on a Superman movie marathon to refresh himself on what the Man of Steel actually stood for. He can begin with the latest.

Its plot hinges on Lex Luthor trying to convince the U.S. government that Superman is an “alien” who came to the U.S. to destroy it.

“He’s not a man — he’s an It. A thing,” the bad guy sneers at one point, later on claiming Superman’s choirboy persona is “lulling us into complacency so he can dominate [the U.S.] without resistance.”

Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor and David Corenswet as Superman in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Superman.”

(Jessica Miglio / Warner Bros. Pictures)

Luthor’s scheme, which involves manipulating social media and television networks to turn public opinion against his rival, eventually works. Superman turns himself in and is whisked away to a cell far away from the U.S. along with other political prisoners. Luthor boasts that “[constitutional] rights don’t apply to extraterrestrial organisms.”

Tweak that line a little and it could have come from the mouth of Stephen Miller.

Director James Gunn told a British newspaper that his film’s message is “about human kindness and obviously there will be jerks out there who are just not kind and will take it as offensive just because it is about kindness. But screw them.”

He also called Superman an “immigrant,” which set Cain off. He called Gunn “woke” on TMZ and urged Gunn to create original characters and keep Superman away from politics.

Well, Super Dean can do his thing for ICE and Trump. He can flash his white teeth for promotional Trump administration videos as he does who knows what for the deportation machine.

Just leave Superman out of it.

Dean Cain played a superhero on TV 30 years ago. Now he wants to help the government in its unconstitutional sweeps of Home Depot parking lots, schools and bus benches for people who appear to be immigrants.

Cain played Superman in the 1990s TV series “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.” On Tuesday, he encouraged his Instagram followers to apply for a job with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

“Here’s your opportunity to join ICE,” he told followers in a video. “You can earn lots of great benefits and pay. Since President Trump took office, ICE has arrested hundreds of thousands of criminals including terrorists, rapists, murderers, pedophiles, MS-13 gang members, drug traffickers, you name it — very dangerous people who are no longer on the streets.”

Clearly, Cain is still fighting fantasy villains because nonpublic data from ICE indicate that the government is primarily detaining individuals with no criminal convictions of any kind. Of the 200,000 people detained by ICE since October, 65% have never committed a crime, and 93% haven’t committed a violent crime.

Dean Cain with co-star Teri Hatcher in “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.”

(ABC Television Network)

But he wasn’t the only player from series TV to end up in a recruitment post for the Department of Homeland Security. On its X account, the department pulled an image from a “South Park” teaser for the show’s forthcoming episode “Got a Nut.” It showed masked men riding in black cars marked “ICE.” Homeland Security added its own caption: “Join.Ice.Gov.”

The show’s last episode, “Sermon on the Mount,” mercilessly lampooned the president’s manhood and penchant for vengeance-driven lawsuits. Trump responded by calling the animated comedy “irrelevant,” though its searing indictment of the president represented the show’s highest-rated season opener since 1999.

Paramount Global reported that viewership was up 68% from the previous “South Park” season premiere and was the top show across cable on July 23. The episode reached nearly 6 million viewers across Paramount+ and Comedy Central platforms in the three days after it aired.

A 20-second teaser of Wednesday’s “Got a Nut” episode shows Trump at a dinner event with Satan. As Trump’s courage is heralded by an off-screen speaker, the president rubs Satan’s leg under the table. Satan tells him to stop. Even the devil is disgusted.

It also appears “South Park” will be focused on ICE recruitment or, rather, the absurdity of the administration’s public call to arms. “When Mr. Mackey loses his job, he desperately tries to find a new way to make a living,” reads the caption about “Got a Nut” on “South Park’s” X account. It’s accompanied by a screenshot of the oft-misguided former school counselor Mackey looking out of sorts in a face mask and ICE vest. He stands near a characterization of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who vamps in ICE gear and points a pistol in the air.

On Tuesday, “South Park” responded via X to the department’s usage of an image from the forthcoming episode: “Wait, so we ARE relevant?“ followed by a hashtag we can’t reprint here.

Satire around MAGA’s inhumane immigration policy has ramped up after the Trump administration launched an ICE hiring campaign, promising a $50,000 signing bonus and retirement benefits. “Your country is calling you to serve at ICE,” Noem said in a news release last week. “Your country needs dedicated men and women of ICE to get the worst of the worst criminals out of our country. This is a defining moment in our nation’s history. Your skills, your experience, and your courage have never been more essential. Together, we must defend the homeland.”

Cain’s signature show has been off the air as many years as “South Park” has been on, but Tuesday he decided it was time to slip on the virtual unitard one more time, imagining himself a superhero as he took to social media and said: “For those who don’t know, I am a sworn law enforcement officer, as well as being a filmmaker, and I felt it was important to join with our first responders to help secure the safety of all Americans, not just talk about it. So I joined up,” the 59-year-old said.

A follower replied: “Unfortunately, you can’t join ICE if you’re over 37 years of age — even if you’re a fully licensed state law enforcement officer.”

Cain replied: “Perhaps we’ll get the changed. …”

Mere hours passed, then viola! Noem announced during an appearance on Fox News that ICE’s hiring age cap had been eliminated. And faster than a speeding rubber bullet fired at an ICE protester, Superman extended the dream of state-sanctioned kidnapping to the young and old.

Tuesday is England’s last official fixture in the 50-over format before their World Cup campaign begins on 3 October against South Africa in India.

A regular criticism of England of recent years has been their ability to win bilateral series outside of World Cups, only to lose pressure matches at the major tournaments.

They lost to South Africa in the semi-finals of the 2023 T20 World Cup and exited last year’s event at the group stage after crumbling in a winner-takes-all match against West Indies.

Tuesday’s decider will be as close as possible to such moments outside of the global events.

“We have seen bilateral series where done really but when come to the World Cup games or tournament cricket we have not had the momentum or been clinical in those pressure moments,” Dean said.

“Any chance we can emulate that in bilateral series is perfect practice.

“Obviously we want to win, but even if we don’t we can take those learnings, keep getting better and set ourselves up to have a good 50-over competition. That is the most important.

“No matter how the game goes tomorrow that we really reflect and learn from the situation.”

England claimed a consolation win in the final T20 of the series against India as they edged a last-ball thriller at Edgbaston.

Chasing 168, England needed six from the final over with seven wickets in hand, but lost stand-in captain Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones to leave one run needed from the final delivery.

Sophie Ecclestone and Paige Scholfield scampered the single to survive the scare and seal a five-wicket win, though Ecclestone would have been run out with a direct hit from Jemimah Rodrigues at mid-off.

The tense finish concluded England’s highest successful chase in a home T20, which was set up by Danni Wyatt-Hodge’s 56 from 36 balls on her 300th international appearance in an opening stand of 101 with Sophia Dunkley.

Beaumont’s 30 seemed to set up England’s push for victory, but she was bowled from the first ball of Arundhati Reddy’s closing over and Jones was dismissed by a phenomenal catch from Radha Yadav on the mid-wicket boundary.

Earlier, opener Shafali Verma played a lone hand in India’s 167-7 with a sensational 75 from 41 balls.

Verma whacked 13 fours and a six in her knock but struggled for support, with Richa Ghosh’s 24 the second-highest contribution as England chipped away with wickets throughout the middle overs to stall their scoring.

Charlie Dean was the pick with 3-23, including Verma, Sophie Ecclestone took 2-28 and Linsey Smith picked up 1-26.

The one-day international series begins at Southampton on 16 July, which will be England’s final three matches in the format before the World Cup starts at the end of September.

Dean Cain, the former star of “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” laments the newest take on the Man of Steel — one that likens his story to the immigrant experience in America.

In a recent conversation with TMZ, Cain — who starred as Clark Kent/Superman in the hit 1990s TV series — wondered: “How woke is Hollywood going to make this character?”

The 58-year-old actor railed against filmmaker James Gunn and his iteration of the Kryptonian icon after the director declared in an interview with the London Times that “Superman is the story of America.” In the interview, Gunn described his hero as “an immigrant that came from other places and populated the country,” adding that his film, starring David Corenswet in the title role, is “mostly a story that says basic human kindness is a value and is something we have lost.”

Gunn, who has been an outspoken critic of President Trump, made his comments as the Trump administration carries out its aggressive crackdown on immigrant communities across California. Since raids in Los Angeles began June 6, federal immigration agents have arrested nearly 2,700 undocumented individuals, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Cain was clearly not a fan of Gunn’s remarks. Cain, who has not seen the film yet, criticized the idea of “changing beloved characters” and suggested creating new original characters instead. When he starred in “Lois & Clark,” Cain was the fourth actor to portray Superman onscreen, filling in the red boots of Kirk Alyn, George Reeves and Christopher Reeve. He claimed that the superhero “has always stood for truth, justice and the American way.

“The American way is immigrant-friendly, tremendously immigrant-friendly, but there are rules,” he added, before his aside about people coming to the U.S. to seek opportunity. Speaking more broadly about immigration, Cain said he believes in enforcing limits on immigration, otherwise “our society will fail.”

Teri Hatcher and Dean Cain starred in the TV series “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” from 1993 to 1997.

(ABC Television Network)

In another clip from his conversation with TMZ, Cain asks why immigration agents and federal agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, “are being villainized for enforcing the laws that our lawmakers, our elected representatives created.” Videos shared on social media have documented numerous incidents of masked immigration agents forcefully detaining civilians and confronting other people attempting to interfere in the arrests.

Cain said he thinks it “was a mistake by James Gunn to say, you know, it’s an immigrant thing,” adding that he thinks the movie will suffer at the box office as a result. Cain said he is looking forward to Gunn’s take on the comic-book hero and is rooting for its success, but ultimately contends, “I don’t like that last political comment,” referring to the Marvel alum’s description of Superman.

Gunn’s “Superman” is now in theaters and also stars Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion and Isabela Merced. In her review, Times film critic Amy Nicholson writes, “This isn’t quite the heart-soaring ‘Superman’ I wanted. But these adventures wise him up enough that I’m curious to explore where the saga takes him next.”

Amid the latest “Superman” discourse, the White House on Thursday shared a photo on social media of Trump’s face superimposed onto Superman’s body on the film’s poster. In response to the odd digital alteration, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office fired back with a familiar point.

“Superman was an undocumented immigrant,” the tweet read.

Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone in need of a European getaway on a budget.

If you’re not taking a big summer trip this year, or if you are and want something to make the stress of traveling feel relaxing by comparison, NBC’s new reality competition series might be up your alley. “Destination X” features a mix of known reality stars and civilians as they put their geography knowledge and deduction skills to the test in Europe for a chance at a cash prize. Executive producer Andy Cadman stopped by Guest Spot to discuss the latest entrant in the travel-competition genre.

Also in this week’s Screen Gab, TV critic Robert Lloyd unpacks the appeal of Netflix’s new series about a traumatized Edinburgh detective tasked with investigating cold cases, and film editor Josh Rothkopf explains why a quartet of travelogue comedy films featuring improv impresarios Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as they road-trip across Europe makes for an enjoyable binge.

Plus, a service announcement: The Emmys season of The Envelope video podcast launched this week. The premiere episode features Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez, the stars of “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” as well as “Andor” actor Diego Luna. You can watch here or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

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Turn on

Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times

Jamie Sives, left, and Matthew Goode in Netflix’s “Dept. Q”

(Justin Downing / Netflix)

“Dept. Q” (Netflix)

In this dark yet strangely warm series adapted by Scott Frank (“The Queen’s Gambit”) from a book series by Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen and transplanted from Copenhagen to Edinburgh, Matthew Goode plays Carl Morck, a moody police detective recovering from an incident, arguably his fault, that left him wounded, a partner partially paralyzed and a rookie dead. Talking his way back into service, he’s given a basement storage space for an office and a cold case involving a missing prosecutor (Chloe Pirrie), whose distressing circumstances we see without learning why. (It’s the mystery!) The primary pleasure of the series is in the team of fellow misfits who gather around Morck — a civilian expat (Alexej Manvelov) keeping mum on his experiences in the Syrian police; a chirpy cadet (Leah Byrne) back from a breakdown and tired of pushing pencils; and Morck’s recovering partner (Jamie Sives), joining from a hospital bed. It feels like the beginning of a beautiful second series. (With Shirley Henderson and Kelly Macdonald as a bonus for Scots watchers.) — Robert Lloyd

Steve Coogan, left, and Rob Brydon in “The Trip to Greece.”

(BBC / Revolution Films)

“The Trip: The Complete Series” (Criterion Collection, starting June 1)

Intensely bingeable (the movies actually got their start as four six-episode BBC runs), “The Trip” makes beautiful sense as an afternoon of viewing, maybe one accompanied by different cuisines as you go. The central premise: Actor-comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, playing barely altered versions of themselves, take to the road for epic conversations behind the wheel and at dinners, where the contours of their hyper-competitive friendship take shape, as does a parade of celebrity impressions. Director Michael Winterbottom steers the duo toward a deeper appreciation of life viewed through the rearview mirror, though honestly, you’re there for the vicious backbiting. For anyone wanting to dip in selectively: 2010’s “The Trip” features the guys’ classic dueling Michael Caines; 2014’s “The Trip to Italy” takes on “The Godfather”; 2017’s “The Trip to Spain” unleashes a killer, preening Mick Jagger; and 2020’s “The Trip to Greece” goes for Dustin Hoffman. — Joshua Rothkopf

Guest spot

A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching

“Destination X” contestants Rick Szabo, left, Allyson “Ally” Bross and Rachel Rosette during a challenge from the show.

(Helmut Wachter / NBC)

Imagine the pressure of trying to figure out where you are in the world while a man known for carrying a bat studded with barbed wire watches on. NBC’s new reality competition show, “Destination X,” follows 12 players who are whisked around Europe in a blacked-out bus — no windows or GPS to guide them — and tasked with trying to decipher their mystery locations through clues and challenges for a chance to win a cash prize. There’s plenty of alliances and rivalries that get formed along the way. The show is hosted by actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan, known for his chilling turn as charismatic villain Negan in “The Walking Dead.” New episodes air every Tuesday on NBC, and can be streamed the next day on Peacock. Executive producer Andy Cadman stopped by Guest Spot via email to discuss the show’s mix of known reality TV personalities and civilians and more. — Yvonne Villarreal

“Destination X” is adapted from a Belgian format. How true to the original version is it? How much needed to be changed to suit American audiences?

The DNA of the original Belgian format is still present: the idea of being lost and trying to work out where you are. To this we added elements of strategy, giving the players more opportunities to mislead one another, forcing them to make difficult decisions, keep secrets, form alliances and ultimately allowing the players to decide who was at risk of elimination in each episode. Pitting the players more directly against one another transformed the show from a game about geography into a strategic, social competition, more accessible to an American audience and ultimately a more dramatic and exciting reality competition show.

The first season of the U.S. version of “Traitors” featured a mix of reality TV personalities and civilians, but quickly pivoted to an all–celebrity lineup. “Destination X” features a mix of reality personalities and civilians. Is the hope to keep that kind of combo? And is that kind of blend becoming more important in today’s reality competition landscape?

I believe that there’s a real benefit in the mix between civilians and established reality personalities. With “Destination X,” we wanted to do a couple of things. Firstly, discover and get to know some amazing new reality personalities that we’ll see on our screens for years to come. We have some brilliant characters in this season that are new, unique and surprising. Secondly, we wanted to see how some of the established reality faces might react to this incredible adventure. It was an opportunity to see some familiar faces taken out of their comfort zones and challenged in totally new ways. I think that this combination is a very valuable tool — it gives viewers the chance to meet some new favourites, while still giving them the comfort of some old friends dropping in.

What’s the game or competition series that hooked your interest in the format as a viewer and led to you pursuing a career in it?

I grew up on the original “Big Brother” and then made that show for many years here in the U.K. It was such a groundbreaking show and has survived the test of time like nothing else. Many of the production techniques that we still use today came from “Big Brother.” The lure of the genre for me lies in the way that people react to difficult situations. The entertainment can often be in the competition, but for me the greatest interest lies in the social politics, relationships people make, what people will do when faced with a dilemma and how far people will go to win. We used all of these levers in “Destination X” to create the most dramatic and engaging show possible.

What have you watched recently that you’re recommending to everyone you know?

“Slow Horses” [AppleTV+], [a] British spy thriller; “The Glass Dome” [Netflix], [a] Scandi noir, and if you like tricky puzzles and social strategy, the U.K. version of “Genius Game” is worth a look.

What’s your go-to comfort watch, the film or TV show you return to again and again?

I genuinely don’t have one; I find comfort in new seasons of my favourites though. I’m very excited for the next [season of] “Stranger Things” [Netflix]!