In honor of the return of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, my absolute favorite show on television right now, I’d like to share a fan letter I wrote to last year to Brendan Routh, who plays Dr. Ray Palmer, aka The Atom. It went:
My name is Jessica Lévai. I’m a recovering academic (PhD Egyptology) and a writer. I’m terribly sorry to bother you, but I’d like to ask you a favor. I have it on good authority that you know Ray Palmer. The next time you see him, would you deliver a message for me?
Please tell Dr. Palmer that he is my absolute favorite of the Legends of Tomorrow, and one of my favorite nerds on television ever. Tell him that receiving what he sent me in the enclosed envelope (time travel is so tricksy) totally made my day, and if he ever finds himself in the Boston area in 2018, I’ll buy him lunch and we can talk about Star Trek and showtunes.
Thank you so much for your time and attention. I hope you have a wonderful summer.
He never did take me up on that lunch date. But a few months after I sent the letter, I received this in my SASE!
So I’d like to take this internet opportunity to thank Mr. Routh for the gift. I am extra excited to have the show back because now I know, on some level, that Ray Palmer knows I’m alive.
Jessica Lévai, Writer 