The Gimmicky Cameos Are Back! (Minor Spoilers)

[StCoop]

So, "The Power Of Three" will see appearances from Alan Sugar, who'll be setting the contestants on "The Apprentice" the task of selling the mysterious Black Cubes that the episode revolves around and also Brian Cox (the sexy science nerd, not the actor who voiced an Ood) doing the old RTD classic BBC News clip routine.

The more things change...

 

[Haggis and tatties]

Sound's great.......cant wait.

 

[Sci]

The gimmicky cameos never went away. Sir Patrick Moore in "The Eleventh Hour." Bill Nighy in "Vincent and the Doctor." Meredith Vieira in "The Wedding of River Song." Etc.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Nighy wasn't a gimmicky cameo, he was an actor playing a part.

The others all stick though.

 

[Sci]

Nighy wasn't a gimmicky cameo, he was an actor playing a part.

I mean, yeah, he was playing a part, but there might as well have been a giant neon sign above him saying, "HEY, IT'S BILL NIGHY! ISN'T IT COOL WE GOT BILL NIGHY TO BE IN THIS EPISODE? BY THE WAY, DID YOU NOTICE THIS CHARACTER IS PLAYED BY BILL NIGHY?"

 

[Sindatur]

Nighy wasn't a gimmicky cameo, he was an actor playing a part.

I mean, yeah, he was playing a part, but there might as well have been a giant neon sign above him saying, "HEY, IT'S BILL NIGHY! ISN'T IT COOL WE GOT BILL NIGHY TO BE IN THIS EPISODE? BY THE WAY, DID YOU NOTICE THIS CHARACTER IS PLAYED BY BILL NIGHY?"

Not sure what you're saying here. Sounds like you'e saying no one can give Bill Nighy, an actor, an acting job, without it being seen as a gimmick? So, where's he supposed to get acting gigs, if all acting gigs for Bill Nighy are a gimmick? Why isn't it a gimmick for every actor who is famous to be given an acting gig?

 

[Sci]

Nighy wasn't a gimmicky cameo, he was an actor playing a part.

I mean, yeah, he was playing a part, but there might as well have been a giant neon sign above him saying, "HEY, IT'S BILL NIGHY! ISN'T IT COOL WE GOT BILL NIGHY TO BE IN THIS EPISODE? BY THE WAY, DID YOU NOTICE THIS CHARACTER IS PLAYED BY BILL NIGHY?"

Not sure what you're saying here. Sounds like you'e saying no one can give Bill Nighy, an actor, an acting job, without it being seen as a gimmick?

No. I'm saying that that particular role was insubstantive and that the amount of attention the character received in spite of being quite two-dimensional is indicative that the character was designed to show-off a famous actor in the role.

 

[Captaindemotion]

^It was a Richard Curtis-scripted episode. I'm pretty sure that it's one of the unbreakable laws of the universe (and a contractual obligation) that Nighy had to be in it.

 

[Sindatur]

I mean, yeah, he was playing a part, but there might as well have been a giant neon sign above him saying, "HEY, IT'S BILL NIGHY! ISN'T IT COOL WE GOT BILL NIGHY TO BE IN THIS EPISODE? BY THE WAY, DID YOU NOTICE THIS CHARACTER IS PLAYED BY BILL NIGHY?"

Not sure what you're saying here. Sounds like you'e saying no one can give Bill Nighy, an actor, an acting job, without it being seen as a gimmick?

No. I'm saying that that particular role was insubstantive and that the amount of attention the character received in spite of being quite two-dimensional is indicative that the character was designed to show-off a famous actor in the role.

Ah, so famous actors aren't allowed to be offered roles unless it's a role comparable to Shakespearean?

Perhaps he's a fan, and wanted any role just to be part of Doctor Who (Star Trek Movies have several of these cameos, where actors just wanted to be part of it, and weren't worried about the role, IE: CHristian Slater and Winona Rider played Spocks mom in the new movie for about 30 seconds, hardly a deep role).

Perhaps he did it for a Grandchild/neice/nephew.

Maybe he had 10 minutes available in between movie roles and thought it would be fun.....

 

[Sci]

Not sure what you're saying here. Sounds like you'e saying no one can give Bill Nighy, an actor, an acting job, without it being seen as a gimmick?

No. I'm saying that that particular role was insubstantive and that the amount of attention the character received in spite of being quite two-dimensional is indicative that the character was designed to show-off a famous actor in the role.

Ah, so famous actors aren't allowed to be offered roles unless it's a role comparable to Shakespearean?

I never said that. Nor did I say that gimmicky cameos are a bad thing -- I like gimmicky cameos. What I did say was that the role Nighy played in "Vincent and the Doctor" was an insubstantial role designed to show off the fact that it was being played by a famous actor. That's all. That's not a bad thing, but it is a thing.

 

[Holdfast]

Alan Sugar, who'll be setting the contestants on "The Apprentice" the task of selling the mysterious Black Cubes that the episode revolves around...

Forgive me while I quietly retch.

Apprentice was good for one season (maybe two, maybe...) then it turned to garbage. Sugar is increasingly dislikeable to watch, having changed from being a rough & tumble rogue, to a tired haranguer trotting out stock phrases and mock anger.

 

[VDCNI]

Or they had a small but crucial part and hired a big name, pretty standard practice in television.

 

[Sci]

Or they had a small but crucial part and hired a big name, pretty standard practice in television.

Sure. But it's still a gimmicky cameo. Which is fine -- I like them and think they should keep comin'.

 

[VDCNI]

Or they had a small but crucial part and hired a big name, pretty standard practice in television.

Sure. But it's still a gimmicky cameo. Which is fine -- I like them and think they should keep comin'.

Nope it certainly isn't. It's nothing like the other cases mentioned.

 

[Pindar]

Alan Sugar, who'll be setting the contestants on "The Apprentice" the task of selling the mysterious Black Cubes that the episode revolves around...

Forgive me while I quietly retch.

Apprentice was good for one season (maybe two, maybe...) then it turned to garbage. Sugar is increasingly dislikeable to watch, having changed from being a rough & tumble rogue, to a tired haranguer trotting out stock phrases and mock anger.

That does sound fairly awful, hopefully it will be a minimal part of the episode, like when there was a big fuss about Babs appearing in the Queen Vic a few years ago.

 

[Captaindemotion]

Or they had a small but crucial part and hired a big name, pretty standard practice in television.

Sure. But it's still a gimmicky cameo. Which is fine -- I like them and think they should keep comin'.

Nope it certainly isn't. It's nothing like the other cases mentioned.

I agree with VDCNI. Hiring a well-known professional actor who may admittedly be over-qualified for the size of the role he's playing, is not the same as hiring a non-actor celebrity to play themselves.

 

[Starkers]

And given the emotional nature of the part it probably helped to have a good actor in it, even if it was just for a few minutes.

 

[Cutter John]

Thankfully some of us Americans have the advantage of never having heard of these people.

In any case, its never been sonething that's bothered me. Even when they've done stunt casting in the past, they've generally made good use of their actors.

 

[Rosalind]

Brian Cox (the sexy science nerd, not the actor who voiced an Ood) doing the old RTD classic BBC News clip routine.

that is simply marvelous!!!

 

[Candlelight]

I had to google who both of these people were.