Oprah?! OH COME ON!!!!

[T J]

I can't stand Oprah! I just learned that she is narrating Discovery Channel's Life. This aired in on the BBC in 2009 narrated by the legendary Sir David Attenborough. How embarrassing the American version will be narrated by this... woman.

Why do the people at the American version of the Discovery Channel think this daytime "talk show host" is appropriate for such a show. Crusty the clown would be better.

On behalf of all Americans I want to apologize to the Brits for this abomination of a choice. I've seen it and only Attenborough will do. He has a history and credibility Oprah simply doesn't have. He is simply better in every conceivable way for the subject matter at hand.

 

[RoJoHen]

I have never had a problem with Oprah.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Oprah's a perfectly good narrator.

While her success as a talk show host/cultural icon has been quite incredible, in some ways I'm really disappointed she didn't do more acting. She was brilliant in The Colour Purple.

 

[T J]

Agreed, she was good in The Colour Purple. I just don't see her replacing Attenborough for this.

 

[Starbreaker]

You only have to hear her!

 

[Cyke101]

*In the African plains, a pack of ravenous lions rush towards their poor, helpless prey...*

Narrator: And YOU get a gazelle! And YOU get a gazelle!! AND YOU GET A GAZELLE!!!

 

[T J]

OK! That was damned funny!

 

[Hermiod]

Why on Earth would you replace Sir David, though ? He's quite possibly the greatest nature documentary filmmaker of all time.

 

[Amaris]

Aw, man. Now don't get me wrong, I like Oprah and everything, but the British version got Sir David Attenborough! That's just not fair!
Why settle for hamburger when we could have had steak? And not just any steak, Kobe beef steak!

 

[Hunter X]

*In the African plains, a pack of ravenous lions rush towards their poor, helpless prey...*

Narrator: And YOU get a gazelle! And YOU get a gazelle!! AND YOU GET A GAZELLE!!!

"And now I'd like to introduce you to the mon-KEEEEEEEEEYS!"

She'd better introduce every segment like that.

 

[WillsBabe]

Controversy alert: As heretical as it'll probably sound, I don't care for David Attenborough's narration. I'd be interested to see what Oprah can do.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

I can't see any problem with this. I assume that the channel decided that it would make the series more attractive to an American audience. Quite a lot of Americans have problems understanding British accents, phrasing and vocabulary, and find them distracting and tiring to listen to. I know I feel similarly about some, but not all, American presenters.

 

[barnaclelapse]

I can't stand Oprah in any way, shape or form (that VH1 declared her the greatest pop culture icon of all time still irks the shit out of me), but that's nothing new in my neck of the woods.

What I love is when people who don't know me accuse me of being racist for disliking her. I love that we've actually gotten to that point as a society. The fact that I find her irritating, pretentious and obnoxious doesn't have anything to do with the freaking colour of her skin.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Why have a different narration? Don't American understand English?

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Why have a different narration? Don't American understand English?

They do, but some of them don't like the way that we Brits speak it -- particularly the English, strangely enough. We sound foreign, and we use words, phrases and idioms that aren't commonly used in the US.

 

[cardinal biggles]

Why on Earth would you replace Sir David, though ? He's quite possibly the greatest nature documentary filmmaker of all time.

For the same reason that Discovery replaced him with Sigourney Weaver for the American broadcast of Planet Earth, or that the truncated theatrical release (Earth) was narrated in the U.S. by James Earl Jones, and in the U.K. by Patrick Stewart. They're trying to make it appeal to the audience that will be watching it. Oprah has a good voice, and her involvement isn't going to turn me away from watching Life when it airs over here.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Sounds like a good move.

 

[Hermiod]

Why on Earth would you replace Sir David, though ? He's quite possibly the greatest nature documentary filmmaker of all time.

For the same reason that Discovery replaced him with Sigourney Weaver for the American broadcast of Planet Earth, or that the truncated theatrical release (Earth) was narrated in the U.S. by James Earl Jones, and in the U.K. by Patrick Stewart. They're trying to make it appeal to the audience that will be watching it. Oprah has a good voice, and her involvement isn't going to turn me away from watching Life when it airs over here.

It's a bit sad that they feel that Americans wouldn't watch it with a British voiceover. Nobody would watch TNG with Patrick Stewart dubbed over by an American actor.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Why have a different narration? Don't American understand English?

They do, but some of them don't like the way that we Brits speak it -- particularly the English, strangely enough. We sound foreign, and we use words, phrases and idioms that aren't commonly used in the US.

I was kinda joking, but I still find it rather weird. As a foreign speaker, probably I lose most of the difference between British English and American English (besides the odd -u- dropping in AE).

 

[Amaris]

I prefer the British English in this particular instance and have no difficulties understanding British parlance. I wanted to see this with Sir David Attenborough, not with Oprah. Nice voice or not, she's no Attenborough, and that's our loss.