The Redcoats Are Coming!
April 22nd 2009 21:06
Has anyone else noticed the British invasion on American television over the last few years?
Some shows have been cancelled, gaining only moderate sensation and ratings, yet new programs keep cropping up with English actors cast in their leads
There is some speculation that producers are trying to replicate the success Hugh Laurie has had as the lead in House. British actors are now in high demand and swamping American viewing.
House - Hugh Laurie (Brit) as Dr Greg House
Life - Damian Lewis (Brit) as Detective Charlie Crews
Lie To Me - Tim Roth (Brit) as Dr Cal Lightman
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - Lena Headey (Brit) as Sarah Connor
Eli Stone (now cancelled) - Jonny Lee Miller (Brit) as attorney Eli Stone
The Riches (now cancelled) - Eddie Izzard (Brit) and Minnie Driver (Brit)
as con artists Wayne and Dahlia Malloy
as con artists Wayne and Dahlia Malloy
Bionic Woman (now cancelled) - Michelle Ryan (Brit) as Jaime Sommers
Moonlight (now cancelled) - Sophia Myles (Brit) as Beth Turner
and Alex O'Loughlin (Australian) as Mick St. John
and Alex O'Loughlin (Australian) as Mick St. John
Yes Australians are even getting in on the action!
The Mentalist - Simon Baker (Australian) as Patrick Jane
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Comment by Janet Collins
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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some of them are quite successful movie and tv stars in the UK, but seem like unknowns to the American audience
i love Damian Lewis ever since i saw him in The Forsyte Saga (BBC), he was also in Band of Brothers
i thought in the case of Tim Roth they might have wanted an actor with an authetic English accent to emphasise he character is well educated?
Michelle Ryan was in EastEnders for a few years before she got her break in Bionic Woman
Comment by Norm
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They look funny to me.
There's something about staging for cameras.
It's not funny to stage for anything else.
Frees right in front, for instance.
Just ask Matty Lloyd.
Comment by Someone
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One of my favourite things to do is to take girls that think Hugh is all sophisticated and charming, and show them Black Adder. Ah, the looks on their faces are priceless.
Comment by Morgan Bell
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this post was entirely for your amusement . . .
now ill be giving the instructions, rip some grass out of the ground, throw it in the air, observe which way the wind is blowing, open mouth wide, throw self on ground
hi Someone,
oh i agree, his American accent really is spot on!
i remember him best for his role in Sense & Sensibility, he played quite an acerbic character in that too, he has married an annoying woman with an annoying mother, their is an interaction between him and his wife:
I've heard nothing but "Dashwood" for I don't know how long. What do you think of them? My mother wrote of little else in her letters. Are they not as she described?
Mr Palmer (Laurie):
Nothing like.
Mrs Palmer
You are quite rude today.
i should revisit Black Adder and compare with House
Comment by Chris Champion
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Damian Lewis played arch-bastard Soames Forsyte in The Forsyte Saga and no-one has ever been better cast or acted a role more perfectly. Ever. Anywhere. I refuse to watch him as an American anything. I insist on dying remembering him as perfect, as Soames.
Minne Driver can play any role she wants (except Soames Forsyte), set anywhere, with any accent, and never run the risk of eliciting from me anything less than total adoration.
Comment by Morgan Bell
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yes British = camp haha
i love love LOVED The Forsyte Saga, and mostly because of Damian Lewis's performance as Soames!
you are so right, he was perfectly cast!
funny!
Comment by Someone
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He is excellent in Band of Brothers, and Life is probably my favourite show on TV at the moment.
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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yeah as much as i loved him as Soames i wouldnt want to miss out on his American acting . . . i also think Life is one of the best shows on tv at the moment!
the mans a talent in everything he does!
oh and the Death Star Canteen, LOVE IT!
closely followed by Cake Or Death!
i sat down and watched a whole heap of those Eddie Izzard lego youtubes in one go, i was completely enthralled!
Comment by Morgan Bell
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Comment by Someone
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I wish I had more download quota so I could watch these all day
Comment by RubySoho
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Comment by Norm
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I'm indoors.
I don't suppose it's just a routine you're running me through.
Because routines aren't supposed to be funny.
Someone has to stand up to you.
Comment by Someone
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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you need an unlimited broadband plan . . . or a friend who has such a plan and a wifi connection! lol
hi Ruby,
i always think of Tim Roth as really evil ever since the movie Rob Roy . . . he was a bastard in that!
hi Norm,
look me in the eye and say that!
you might have to get on your soapbox to do it . . .
Comment by Andrew Biviano
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Also, I thought of one other actress. I forgot her name, but she is the lead on "Fringe."
And Hugh Laurie is astounding. There are actors as good, but I've never seen anyone better. It's my favorite show.
Comment by Morgan Bell
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i enjoyed your responses on the post Jonathan did about constitutional rights being stripped!
oh and thankyou for inflicting the world with Baywatch! haha
Anna Torv on Fringe in an Aussie
also Anthony LaPaglia and Poppy Montgomery on Without A Trace are Aussies
im a bit addicted to House myself, i know it runs to a formula but Hugh Laurie is just so charismatic!
thanks for the cool comment
Comment by Wilson Pon
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PS: By the way, Morgan. Did you know that Michelle Ryan also play the role as "Lady Christina de Souza" in the mini episode, "Planet of the Dead"! Damn, Michelle was stunning in this film (Shh..., don't let my girlfriend know about it, as I'm afraid she will be jealous on her! lol)
Comment by RubySoho
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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Michelle is a stunning woman, so is Lena
dont worry, i wont tell your girlfriend!
hi Ruby,
haha oh i see we have a diehard fan!
Comment by Someone
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Meatloaf was playing Eddie again!
I reeeally wanted Tim Curry to run in dressed as a dominatrix and hack him apart with an axe. That would have made my entire month.
Comment by Morgan Bell
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it probably doesnt surprise you, but i love Rocky Horror too!
Comment by Someone
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My girlfriend has been trying to get me to go to one of the live floor shows they have at a local cult cinema every friday the 13th... I am most definitely going to the next one.
On that note... Have you seen Stephen King's 'IT'?
Tim Curry puts in an exceptional performance as Pennywise. Apparently the rest of the cast were so creeped out by his performance that they would avoid him while they weren't shooting.
Just goes to show... takes a lot of skills to be a convincing tranny
Comment by Someone
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Probably my favourite part of the movie.... Damnit, I just gave that back to the video store today and I want to watch it again already
Comment by Morgan Bell
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you need to buy it on dvd!
another good Tim Curry movie is Clue, where he plays Wadsworth the butler . . . its a murder-mystery cluedo style
how cool would it be if Tim Curry got cast as the lead in a new American cop or doctor drama!
i think someone should suggest that to a producer somewhere, it could possibly blow House out of the water!
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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ive noticed that too!
the original UK versions of Queer As Folk and The Office are far superior (in my opinion) than the American versions
and did anyone see what a schmozzle they made of Kath & Kim? sometimes the humour of Aussies and Brits just doesnt translate . . .
Comment by Postmodern Critic
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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i think you make a good point
it seems American culture and products etc are not dominating to the extent they used to
or i guess we could see it the opposite way, that Brits have to go to the USA to get challenging and high paying roles?
Comment by Postmodern Critic
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Comment by Carolyn Cordon
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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astute . . . what a great word!
hi Carolyn,
i dont think they understand self-deprecating humour, the actors in the American Kath and Kim were too good looking to make their parts physically funny . . . the closest theyve got is My Name Is Earl where the actors sacrifice being "attractive" for the sake of being funny
Comment by Anonymous
Everything is a formula, it must be replicatable and mass consumption is the desired trait.
McDonalds hamburgers suck, so what, they sell a billion of them a year. That is the mentality of the big studios. Quality is not desired, a tleast not at the expense of profitability. Money over content, money over value, money over every everything.
I haven't watched a big studio movie in years, and I don't watch television, because they have become inane banter or reruns of a former success.
Comment by Mindzle
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Basically the average American consumer has been dumbed down to the point that nuance is not something they can understand, because it isn't smacking them in the face. When you are used to yelling a whisper carries no voice. But like I said, nuance doesn't work in the mass consumption franchise model of entertainment. In fact the studios never understand success unless it can be derived into a formula they can recreate. Sequels... Ugggh.
Comment by Morgan Bell
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i have never had a problem with heavily processed TV and film, i think the more i am exposed to formulaic material the more i can appreciate something truly independent . . . the grey humdrum of primetime just better contrasts the beauty of the innovative . . . plus i like to know what pop culture the common people are experiencing
Comment by Mindzle
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True enough. I don't put myself outside of the popular culture. But just like I don't eat at McDonalds because their "food" is horrible, I also don't consume pop media for lack of quality. There is plenty of good to great media for my consumption, I just have to look harder.
It is not a matter of heavy processing, it is a lack of quality as a whole product. Great FX, but no story, great star actors, but no spark. I don't know, maybe I am becoming jaded