WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the latest episode of Chicago Med, “What You Don’t Know Can’t Hurt You,” which debuted Wednesday, Jan. 19, on NBC.
Chicago Med just had its “Luke, I am your father” moment. The NBC medical drama created a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles connection in its most recent episode when the series introduced Dr. Ethan Choi’s father Patrick. Parents have come and gone throughout the whole One Chicago franchise, but the elder Choi was instantly recognizable — he was played by François Chau, who portrayed Shredder in 1991’s classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze.
It was a perfect casting choice not only because of Chau’s talent, but because his on-screen son was played by Brian Tee. Before he joined the cast of Chicago Med as the stoic and dependable Dr. Choi, Tee also played the iconic villain who menaced the Ninja Turtles. He had the role of Shredder in the 2016 movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. Fans got two Shredders for the price of one — and in the same storyline.
Chau was not the first actor to portray Shredder in a movie. James Saito had the part in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, but he was one of several stars who did not return for Secret of the Ooze. Paige Turco replaced Judith Hoag as the Turtles’ human ally April O’Neil, Adam Carl took over for Corey Feldman as the voice of Donatello, and Chau stepped in to play Shredder (though the character’s voice was still provided by David McCharen).
Even though he didn’t come first, Chau’s version of Shredder is the most well-known, because Secret of the Ooze is the best of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films. It pulled away from the overly grim tone of the original movie and put the fun back into the characters. That even included Shredder — he was more menacing than before but also fun to watch when he turned himself into Super Shredder and promptly got his comeuppance. Chau had an established career before the movie and went on to appear in more than a dozen episodes of Lost (as Dr. Pierre Chang) and had a recurring role on recently concluded sci-fi hit The Expanse (as Jules-Pierre Mao).
Brian Tee also took over for someone else when he played Shredder 25 years later. He replaced Tohoru Masamune in Out of the Shadows and did a fine job stepping into the character. However, Tee’s version of Shredder didn’t get the huge moments that Chau’s version did. His character played second fiddle to Krang, the alien who looked like a brain and was awkwardly voiced by Brad Garrett from Everybody Loves Raymond. And while Secret of the Ooze gave Shredder mutant henchmen in Tokka and Rahzar, Out of the Shadows had Tyler Perry playing lab geek Baxter Stockman. It was no surprise that the film wasn’t nearly as memorable.
Still, it was great fun for Ninja Turtles fans and movie buffs to see two Shredders in the same place. Chicago Med provided Tee and Chau a meaty storyline, too, as Ethan tried to check up on his father and Patrick was having absolutely none of it. But then just like it did with Mekia Cox’s character Robin Charles, the show chose to go the tragic route. Patrick Choi died from an inoperable brain tumor — thus denying fans the chance to see more of the actors together. It’s going to be a huge missed opportunity for the series, because aside from sharing the same role 25 years apart, François Chau and Brian Tee also made an excellent team.
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