Facts about... unnamed Ben Cumberbatch character
- Thread starter F. King Daniel
- Start date
^ There were probably just a lot of good English teachers in and around the area where Picard lived.
Notice how (in "Family") Picard's friend Louis also spoke with an English accent?
And let's face it, would you want Patrick Stewart to use any voice other than his real one?
Notice how (in "Family") Picard's friend Louis also spoke with an English accent?
And let's face it, would you want Patrick Stewart to use any voice other than his real one?
I'm sure that's what happened. Years ago I knew this girl from Argentina who spoke English with an English accent because the teacher who taught her was from England.
I know that, having grown up in different countries, my accent kind of jumbles some different elements together.
My point was that there was no need for that fake whatever she spoke in. It didn't serve any purpose. It neither served the plot, not developed the character in any way - not to mention the fact that no other actor playing a Betazoid did this. She might as well have not bothered.
If Cumberbatch's character is not a canonical American, then making him fake an accent adds nothing to the story and is therefore pointless. At least imo.
Ahh -- Thanks for the clarification.
However, I think 'Mr Laserbeam' has a good point about them not wanting her to have a English accent, because Patrick Stewart already had one, and they didn't want two chracters with English accents.
A slightly related example of odd accents on TV would be the character of Fiona Glenanne on Burn Notice, played by Gabriel Anwar....
...Anwar has a natural English accent, but her character is supposed to be Irish (former IRA). In the pilot episode of Burn Notice, Anwar did her character with an Irish accent, but the accent was just plain awful, so it was clear after the pilot episode that her bad Irish accent wasn't going to work. She couldn't use her natural-way-of-speaking English accent, because she's supposed to be a former member of the IRA. Therefore, for the rest of the series, she tries to speak with a non-descript (almost, but not quite, American) accent.
They explain the change of accents away on the TV show by the character claiming that she needs to fit in better in Miami, and can't draw attention to herself, so she must hide her Irish accent.
The point is, she couldn't use her normal-way-of speaking English accent, just like they did not want Sirtis to use her normal-way-of-speaking British accent. The solution for both actresses was to use a nondescript accent.
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And that is a genuine reason. It just bugs me when this happens and there is no need for it....and the result is just plain awkward.
What's the problem with two people on the bridge having English accents? We have to put up with everyone else mumbling their way through American English.
You could simply say: universal translator! There, everyone gets to keep their natural accents and no-one sounds needlessly ridiculous.
Unless Cumby is supposed to portray an American, in which case it would only be logical if he emulated said accent.
I would also advocate that if an actress is unable to play an Irish character, they should cast a different actress. Or else you'll end up with what Kate Winslet gave us in Titanic. That was supposed to be American.
What's the problem with two people on the bridge having English accents? We have to put up with everyone else mumbling their way through American English.
You could simply say: universal translator! There, everyone gets to keep their natural accents and no-one sounds needlessly ridiculous.
Unless Cumby is supposed to portray an American, in which case it would only be logical if he emulated said accent.
I would also advocate that if an actress is unable to play an Irish character, they should cast a different actress. Or else you'll end up with what Kate Winslet gave us in Titanic. That was supposed to be American.
But they don't even have the SAME English accent.
That being said, at least Picard doesn't use the accent that Patrick Stewart grew up with...Yorkshire
....
Marina's natural accent is quite thick. Many people find her hard to understand.
Cumby: No! You can't have two English accents on the bridge at once!
Spock: Lies! Let Marina use her real voice!
The more I look at that photo^ the more I hope it was only of a rehearsal. It look's so FAKE!
Cumby: Why are we fighting like this, Spock?
Spock: I do not know. Perhaps the special effects team can tell us when they fill in this green screen background.
It was 1987 American TV. Perhaps ( or perhaps not) Americans were savvy enough not to care about two British accents on the same TV show, no matter how different they were...
...but American TV studio executives probably felt Americans TV viewers were not savvy enough. They may or may not have underestimated the American TV audience, but the point is that they thought Americans wanted a mostly American-sounding cast -- i.e., they felt that Americans would see one Brit accent is charming and sophisticated. However, two characters with accents may make those Americans think it's partly a British TV production, such as, for example, Space: 1999 -- and they probably didn't want that.
Besides, the fact Sirtis and Stewart have different British accents is irrelevant in this case. If two american characters were on British TV, and one had a slight New York City accent, and one had a slight Southern accent, most British TV viewers would say they both were Americans with American accents. They may be able to hear a difference between the two accents, but they would both simply be "American". Stewart and Sirtis (in her natural non-star trek acting voice) do have different accents, but they both sound "British".
Yea, many folks I know hear an Australian or Kiwi Accent and call it British
It was 1987 American TV. Perhaps ( or perhaps not) Americans were savvy enough not to care about two British accents on the same TV show, no matter how different they were...
...but American TV studio executives probably felt Americans TV viewers were not savvy enough. They may or may not have underestimated the American TV audience, but the point is that they thought Americans wanted a mostly American-sounding cast -- i.e., they felt that Americans would see one Brit accent is charming and sophisticated. However, two characters with accents may make those Americans think it's partly a British TV production, such as, for example, Space: 1999 -- and they probably didn't want that.
Besides, the fact Sirtis and Stewart have different British accents is irrelevant in this case. If two american characters were on British TV, and one had a slight New York City accent, and one had a slight Southern accent, most British TV viewers would say they both were Americans with American accents. They may be able to hear a difference between the two accents, but they would both simply be "American". Stewart and Sirtis (in her natural non-star trek acting voice) do have different accents, but they both sound "British".
Cumby: No! You can't have two English accents on the bridge at once!
Spock: Lies! Let Marina use her real voice!
I do believe it would be the other way around, Cumby being English and all....
As to Marina Sirtis's thick accent....well, in all honesty I have to try and make sense of some Americans mumbling their way through scripts and they don't bother opening their mouths...
Although, in Star Trek, everyone tones down their accents. The point was that I disagree with TPTB making her invent something rather than having her simply speak more clearly for the Yanks.
It would be inappropriate for her to be on the Bridge talking about feeling the Captain all the time if she wasn't an Empath
The Rice Picker joke wouldn't make sense if he had round ears
This is off topic at this point in the thread but don't know where else to put it.
New article where Benedict mentions ST. Nothing earth shattering but in case it's of any interest... http://www.shortlist.com/entertainment/tv/benedict-cumberbatch
New article where Benedict mentions ST. Nothing earth shattering but in case it's of any interest... http://www.shortlist.com/entertainment/tv/benedict-cumberbatch
Good for a couple of chuckles, at the very least.
I love this bit, when he's asked about his character in ST2:
Benedict Cumberbatch said: