General Open Thread – TV Shows

[Anonymous @]

@ichabod

Ooh, not a fan of Tennant, at all? Boy, and on this site? 🙂

Truly, I kid, because whilst I’m a fan of Tennant -he’s not one I slather over. I found some of his performances in Who a little over-done and yet he really seemed to make the show a total hit -more so than Eccleston, at least in this country.

what annoyed me was the media tart angle he exposed on the massive UK late talk shows. By massive I mean,  don’t the English and the Scots have an awful lot of ‘lite’ talk shows happenin’!

Mostly it’s pretty awful -but that’s my opinion. The fact that Tennant appeared on every one of them and generally interrupted the other guests most of the time, annoyed me. However, I expect, like any jobbing actor, by about 2009, he was contracted to do a number of interviews and was encouraged to do as many as he could by agents/managers/execs of Who. I am neither actor nor writer, so I am making dreadful assumptions (for which I’ll get rightly whipped and yelled at) about this process.

I sense a (minor) lack of modesty which, when compared with Matt Smith, is a whole different story. In every way, I found Smith a more sincere actor -and person;  though how I can tell this from a few TV and radio interviews is, again, assumption based.

I saw snippets of Hamlet and I certainly recall RTD adoring Tennant in the role. ‘life changing’ I heard, from others.

In B1, I thought he did a spiffing job but I missed a few episodes and didn’t really favour the show. But I don’t want to get into that. Other than Chibnall writing for Who and T’wood (not a fav, the latter), I don’t know much at all about Chibnall’s writing process and so couldn’t debate this issue with the clarity of others, upthread.  I did learn a lot -which is why this Forum is such a gift -regarding writer’s rooms, the concept of ‘lax/lazy’ in a writer, issues to do with reality and the need to impress an audience.

So @jimthefish @bluesqueakpip @scaryb -don’t think your posts are too long. I always read to the end and always learn something new. Neither are they rants in the true sense.

[JimTheFish @jimthefish Time Lord]

@purofilion and @ichabod–

Must admit I found Tennant’s Hamlet a bit underwhelming when I saw the televised version but I’m sure it had real power on the stage. With regards to his Doctor, I loved it at the time but find it a bit mannered and one-dimensional these days compared to Smith’s portrayal.

However, I did think both he and Colman did incredible work on Broadchurch — which I realise it now looks like I had major problems with when I really didn’t and did quite enjoy. S1 anyway and I’m now definitely going to have to watch the remainder of s2, so have no doubt I could well be tucking into some humble pie at some point in the future.

[Anonymous @]

@jimthefish yes, “mannered” a very good description of his take on the role.

Colman. I took a peek at episode 2 of B2 and was very impressed with her handling of that part. That led me to watch the 3rd episode where she was equally captivating and showed immense colour. I wasn’t sure of the barrister’s internal ‘struggles’ with their respective families. I could see it adds a lesson ‘in life’ or a new dimension but I found it predictable.

But yes, to add to this debate (and knowing a little of the Australian court system), I personally found myself drawn more to the characters and their inter-relationships -it’s why a pure action movie (like popcorn) is forgotten almost instantly.

Back to Smith’s portrayal. He realty had some high heels to jump into, after Tennant, in the opinion of ‘those that count’. Remembering Moffat preferred an older actor, Smith remained utterly convincing -at 26?? I haven’t seen him in anything since. There was a movie he filmed in the States (hence the shaved head) but I know nothing of it. If it’s been out, is it worth it? I shouldn’t ask that, really, but as is so often the case, it’s about scripts, lead actors, direction, genre and 100+ other things.

[ichabod @ichabod]

@purofilion @jimthefish  I generally get an odd impression off Tennant.  I think he’s just wound way too tight for my taste, feels like there’s no place to go from there but screaming meemies, just on the verge of alla time — exhausting to watch (I do love a talent for stillness and composure in an actor — that breathes *confidence* to me, and an actor’s confidence leads to my greatest of comforts as audience — the sense that I can *trust* this person to do the job and do it handily or even brilliantly, and not to let me or the story down).  And yes, Tennant was great for DW in general, and I’m glad of that, and the publicity appearances are a must these days if the bosses demand them.

So okay, it’s all good.  You like what you like (though it never hurts to take another look just in case you missed something, and if you have, why remain deprived, by your own stubbornness, of quality entertainment?).

Maybe I like stillness because I’m studying it as a quality — I want more of it for myself.  Even after all these years of (admittedly on-again, off-again) zazen, I’m still not great at composure, and I miss it: the solid base, the thoughtful pause, the patience to anchor the fireworks well.  *sigh*  Hey, maybe some day . . . though obviously I can live without it, since I’m still here!

 

[Bluesqueakpip @bluesqueakpip]

@jimthefish

Must admit I found Tennant’s Hamlet a bit underwhelming when I saw the televised version but I’m sure it had real power on the stage.

It had huge power on the stage; having seen both I entirely agree about the televised version. It lost a lot in the translation from stage to screen. I think everyone was so busy dialling down performances devised for massive theatres that they dialled it down a bit too much.

I would say David Tennant is a stage actor (possibly a great stage actor) who’s become successful in TV and film. He is and can be brilliant on telly – but he shines on stage.

@ichabod. Oh, he can be still. He can melt into a crowd, too. I remember the second scene of Hamlet, where we were watching Patrick Stewart give his first speech as King Claudius; and part of my mind was thinking, ‘bloody hell, shouldn’t Hamlet be on stage at this point?’.

Until Hamlet’s first line, when David Tennant, who’d previously been merely one of a group of actors, was suddenly just there. He’d let the focus stay on Patrick Stewart until it was his moment – and then he had the stage.

I’m not surprised the RSC keep giving him all the big parts (and were doing so before he became ‘that bloke on the telly’).

[JimTheFish @jimthefish Time Lord]

@bluepipsqueak, @purofilion, @ichabod  et al —

Just to add that it’s worth checking out Tennant in Taking Over The Asylum and probably Single Father too for a full appreciation of just what he’s capable of on TV when he’s firing on all cylinders.

[JimTheFish @jimthefish Time Lord]

Just to say that I’ve created a new General TV Shows topic here as this one was reaching its limit.

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