Patrick Stewart's astounding comments!

[Cheapjack]

http://trekweb.com/articles/2009/09...-Nimoy-and-Patrick-Stewart-at-DragonCon.shtml

Patrick says that the most stupid TNG episodes where when he had to act with an intelligent oil slick and grain of rice.

I don't think he's read much science fiction. There may be a lot of intelligent, non-humanoid life out there. Even TOS had the Horta, and there have been non-corporeal life forms in all the series, I think.

Isn't the mission of the Enterprise 'To seek out new life'???

 

[LaBarre]

Cheapjack, in the words of PS, "Get a grip" (well not really, but I'm channelling).

"Astounding"?

No.

 

[felixofgolden]

Isn't the mission of the Enterprise 'To seek out new life'???

Yes, but he's not the captain of the enterprise. He's an actor playing a role. His mission is to be believable in that role.
He's just an actor playing a role. Doesn't mean he's a science fiction fan at all.
Ted Danson played a baseball player for 10 years. By his own admission, he doesn't know anything about sports (when guys would come up to him and start talking about sports and he would be clued out.)
Harrison Ford's comments about Star Wars would most likely shock you then.
Anyway... his comments aren't shocking. They gave me a smile actually.

 

[Cheapjack]

Astounding? Yes!

Even if you haven't read a lot of SF, anyone who's seen 'devil in the dark', or any ST episode, should know that it has been mooted that there are non-humanoid life forms out there.

It's a bit of an unimaginative statement.

 

[JarodRussell]

I believe you mis-interpret this. He says he felt the most foolish when he was talking to an oil slick and to a grain of rice. He didn't say he thought the episodes were stupid.



And I'm surprised every time by fans reactions when actors talk about their work. William Shatner even forgot how his character was called in an interview, and Rick Berman forgot what role Marina Sirtis played in TNG. That's because it's work, and they have a lot of different work, and they have a life outside their work. They don't religiously follow it, they do that for a living, and don't live in it like some here do. Tom Hanks knows the name of every TNG episode because he's a FAN. Patrick Stewart doesn't, because it's his WORK.

 

[LaBarre]

Astounding? Yes!

Even if you haven't read a lot of SF, anyone who's seen 'devil in the dark', or any ST episode, should know that it has been mooted that there are non-humanoid life forms out there.

It's a bit of an unimaginative statement.

Clearly you missed my main point which was to get a grip.

 

[Cheapjack]

Astounding? Yes!

Even if you haven't read a lot of SF, anyone who's seen 'devil in the dark', or any ST episode, should know that it has been mooted that there are non-humanoid life forms out there.

It's a bit of an unimaginative statement.

Clearly you missed my main point which was to get a grip.

Do you have to be insulting?

My main point is that it is such a common concept in SF, that even my Aunt Matilda would know that you discuss non humanoid life forms in SF. Patrick obviously approached the part from a character drive aspect,rather than an SF 'space hero aspect.'

 

[LaBarre]

1. No I don't, nor was I intending to be but the use of the word "astounding" for something that is way, way, less than that kinda opens you up to such a response.
2. Do you have an Aunt Matilda?
3. This is so OLD, that even my cat can sense (and yes I do have one and his name ain't Matilda) that the disjunct between the OP's headline premise and the content provided by same was in fact, much, much, less delectable than promised.

 

[Cheapjack]

1. No I don't, nor was I intending to be but the use of the word "astounding" for something that is way, way, less than that kinda opens you up to such a response.
2. Do you have an Aunt Matilda?
3. This is so OLD, that even my cat can sense (and yes I do have one and his name ain't Matilda) that the disjunct between the OP's headline premise and the content provided by same was in fact, much, much, less delectable than promised.

Just trying to make the board interesting. Patrick has said that he watched the TOS on British TV in the 70's. I bet he didn't, if he didn't know that.

 

[LaBarre]

OK, fair deal. Don't blame you for wanting to make the board interesting.

And kudos to you for starting a thread.

It's just such an old, old, old story that one gets weary from having to respond to it.

But here I am responding, so clearly the thread line worked.

PS never said he watched TOS religiously. I didn't. I knew who Spock was and I knew who Kirk was but I had absolutely no idea of the titles of any episodes or the actual details of any of them. Never watched them - still haven't.

And even though my interest in ST is TNG I STILL don't know the titles of its episodes, even though I recall clearly particular moments of the series that will always stay with me.

And I'm only a viewer, who has had the opportunity to review the episodes at my leisure.

Why would you expect more from an actor doing a job?

 

[Piper]

I'm going to kick myself, but which is the grain of rice episode?

 

[DS9forever]

Some actors had to act with nothing, like Rene Auberjonois in "The Begotten".

 

[Chris3123]

I'm going to kick myself, but which is the grain of rice episode?

I believe Stewart was talking about "Home Soil".

 

[DevilEyes]

Some actors had to act with nothing, like Rene Auberjonois in "The Begotten".

And his performance was so powerful - as always - that it made me feel emotionally attached to (to the point of being sad over its death) a being that did not speak a single word, did not have a face, and was only seen as a lump of goo occasionally changing shape.

 

[Cyke101]

Did he say anything about acting "in front of" Tasha Yar's funeral hologram? I ask b/c while he clearly hated acting against the big oil blob, I thought he was quite effective in the funeral scene. Maybe that's when we see the beginning of tough-as-nails-disciplinarian Picard loosen up into a more paternal figure for the crew?

 

[Piper]

I'm going to kick myself, but which is the grain of rice episode?

I believe Stewart was talking about "Home Soil".

Ah of course, how I could forget "Ugly bags of mostly water." Thanks

 

[JarodRussell]

Did he say anything about acting "in front of" Tasha Yar's funeral hologram? I ask b/c while he clearly hated acting against the big oil blob, I thought he was quite effective in the funeral scene.

That's not any different than talking to a blue screen on the Bridge, isn't it.


Guys, he said he felt a little foolish. He didn't say he hated the scenes. Don't overinterpret everything.

 

[Commander Rabbit]

http://trekweb.com/articles/2009/09...-Nimoy-and-Patrick-Stewart-at-DragonCon.shtml

Patrick says that the most stupid TNG episodes where when he had to act with an intelligent oil slick and grain of rice.... Isn't the mission of the Enterprise 'To seek out new life'???

Nothing astounding about them. I just watched the videos and enjoyed them enormously! I didn't interpret what he said as saying those episodes were stupid. He said he felt foolish talking to the oil slick (and the grain or rice, which episode I don't remember), which to me is totally understandable. I'm willing to bet that even the character Picard would feel someone foolish talking to a being who was so completely outside his prior experience of intelligent beings.

 

[Cyke101]

Did he say anything about acting "in front of" Tasha Yar's funeral hologram? I ask b/c while he clearly hated acting against the big oil blob, I thought he was quite effective in the funeral scene.

That's not any different than talking to a blue screen on the Bridge, isn't it.

Sure, but I recall in acting class different methods on how to "project" an image in your mind in front of you, just as if you were acting opposite a ghost and such in Shakespearean times. It's almost as if Stewart would have had a somewhat better time had the big blob of goo had been filmed separately from Stewart. To go from seeing such a creature to the method of projecting would no doubt elicit a different performance any way you cut it.

Mind you, I enjoyed the big blob of goo, but like I said, this is the same episode which I feel gave us some of Picard's best moments, too.

 

[The Wormhole]

http://trekweb.com/articles/2009/09...-Nimoy-and-Patrick-Stewart-at-DragonCon.shtml

Patrick says that the most stupid TNG episodes where when he had to act with an intelligent oil slick and grain of rice.

I don't think he's read much science fiction. There may be a lot of intelligent, non-humanoid life out there. Even TOS had the Horta, and there have been non-corporeal life forms in all the series, I think.

Isn't the mission of the Enterprise 'To seek out new life'???

I hate to break it to ya, but Home Soil and Skin Of Evil aren't exactly the best Trek has to offer.