Love it, but my god the accents!
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activista — 12 years ago(June 04, 2013 09:52 PM)
@matthew
I'm American, and I didn't have any problem understanding the accents on THE WIRE (I'm African-American,and because I'm used to hearing black folks talk every day, that's probably whythey sounded completely natural to me) and your assertion that "nobody watched it" is ridiculous, considering that it was on for six full years, and still has a following despite its having ended 5 years ago. Plus it was still popular when it was shown on British TV just a few years ago (around the time you posted,I think.) I rented out the first season on DVD, got hooked on it, and finally understood the hype around it, which turned out to be completely justified, and then some.
I liked LAW & ORDER, so I might check out the UK version. -
Cine-Verite — 12 years ago(April 24, 2013 06:11 PM)
Ironic that you mention "The Wire," as it had British actors (e.g., Dominic West, Idris Elba) and Irish actor Aiden Gillen in key roles of the series. I loved the show and I loved the actors - didn't have any trouble understanding the dialogue or dialects. Also, Britishers Hugh Laurie and Damian Lewis are 2 examples of successful careers on both sides of the Atlantic. Lots of talent in both countries and I'm glad we get to enjoy it with keen acting and sharp dialogue - no matter which accent they're using.
Some movies are released; others sneak out. -
Movie_map — 16 years ago(October 03, 2009 09:15 AM)
It really took me a while to get use to Jamie Bamber speaking with his native accent. I had gotten used to his American accent on Battlestar Galactica.
Us Yanks always have the option of turning on the closed captioning. -
benecere — 16 years ago(October 25, 2009 04:29 PM)
m constantly rewinging to re-hear what was just said. I know its a London based show, but can they try to soften the accents for us in "the colonies"?
Oh, God, please NO! It's one of the few shows that actually represents the accents. I don't mind re-listening here and there.
I want to hear them. I'm waiting for some confirmation that they're authentic, and if they are, I'll be watching them all just for that. -
h4yleyg — 16 years ago(February 03, 2010 03:48 PM)
Jamie Bamber's is a tiny bit forced - his natural accent is a bit more RP (posh) so the slightly more down-to-earth, 'Londony' accent he uses in L&O:UK doesn't always work; sometimes the use of slang sounds a bit awkward. It's not bad or wrong, exactly, I it just doesn't seem to suit him. I still think he's great though, and it's really not that bad, I'm just a pedant.
All the other main characters use their natural accents as far as I'm aware, ad they sound pretty authentic to me! -
Virgil_Hawkins — 16 years ago(February 09, 2010 10:44 AM)
Im constantly rewinging to re-hear what was just said. I know its a London based show, but can they try to soften the accents for us in "the colonies"?
I'm American and I never had a problem with the accents. Maybe it's because my mother is West Indian or maybe it's because I'm so used to Americans butchering the language that I can make out the meaning in any accent.
Don't tell me what I can't do! -
heidibird — 16 years ago(March 05, 2010 10:36 PM)
I had trouble understanding them, too
http://www.fanfiction.net/~galacticftw -
raven1066 — 16 years ago(March 31, 2010 09:39 AM)
Sometimes I had to rewind b/c I was like- what the heck did they just say!? But what really gets me is when they use British slang. That kills me. But in the end, it's a GREAT show.
BTW- I'm from the States
"Time is the fire in which we burn" -
TeOfLeDiKi — 12 years ago(September 16, 2013 05:47 PM)
@schappe1: you're right. L&O:UK is a Brit TV show, made for Brit audiences. It's shown in the States but is not aimed at Yanks. Because it's an L&O franchise, many of the accents seem to be "generic" British/urban/professional, just like most of the accents used by the main characters in the U.S. L&O shows are generic American/urban/professional accents. I'm a native New Yorker and I only hear what we call "newscaster" accents on our L&Os - the kind of accent that has to be affected in order for anyone in the States to be able to understand it.
The L&O mothership was a phenomenon of longevity and creativity - damn, it lasted 20 years before it went off the air. They'vne stopped showing the mothership every-day-for-several-hours-a-day and now it's only on early in the morning on Sundays and Saturdays (sometimes one or two episodes, sometimes all day). Even though I've seen sooooooooooo many of the episodes, I'd rather watch L&O than some of the other drivel on TV.
Now - shows like Broadchurch, where the actors are using more regional British accents, it's harder for Americans to understand the dialogue. But I keep the CC on and open up the Brit slang websites and I'm good
. The thing I have more trouble with on L&O:UK is the slang, rather than the accents.
One more funny item, and I apologize to anyone who already read this in another thread. A year or so ago, BBCAmerica ran a series of ads for L&O:UK. Just snippets of dialogue, but the British-isms were "translated" for the American audience. That's when I learned that "knackered" means "tired" (which I knew) but that "knackers" are "testicles" (which I did not know)
"Law & Order:UK" - it's "Law & Order, with wigs"
neat . . . sweet . . . petite -
i_dont_even_try — 15 years ago(May 26, 2010 04:18 AM)
The problem is the actors are British, which means they're from England, and they're being allowed to run amok with their accents. They should hire Americans for the series, at least for the main parts. There are plenty of Americans with good accents who'd be willing to do the work.
Edit: They could keep Jamie Bamber as long as they forced him to speak with a proper American accent the way he did in BSG. -
SrEditor — 15 years ago(March 25, 2011 06:44 AM)
maris1, you must not be reading the IMDB discussion board for the shows/movies where someone does try to do a Boston accent.
Even most American actors have trouble with it . . . and for those who know, it shows.