Argh!!!!!

[amberdreams]

Okay okay. I'm calm. Really. I just started watching Constantine because I thought it might be fun. I watched the first episode and it wasn't totally terrible. The story was ok, the characters vaguely interesting. BUT I was struggling with John Constantine's accent. What was it supposed to be? Irish? British? A tiny bit Scouse at times? I dunno. I looked up the actor - he's Welsh. So perhaps a touch of Taffy in there.

I start watching Episode 2 - set in a Welsh mining town in Pennsylvania (stretching my credulity already here, but okay, if you can have a Welsh-speaking enclave in Patagonia, then why not in the USA?). Bar scene, Constantine talking to a local yokel. Says he was born and brought up in Liverpool. OMG!!!! He IS supposed to be a Scouser. Fuck me sideways, but that has to be one of the worst Scouse accents EVER. Even I could do better than that.

I will try and carry on watching but I don't know if I can get past this. First Patrick the Irish witch, then Crowley's supposed Scottish son and Rowena the Scottish witch in SPN - what is it with US TV that won't allow these poor actors to use their own PROPER accents????

Breathes deeply. I'm fine.

Comments

[alexisjane.livejournal.com]

That was my exact reaction! WHY DOES HE KEEP SAYING LIVERPOOL!!!!???? It drove me mad at first but it's becoming less of an issue. But yeah that second ep...the fucking Welsh Dragon is RIGHT THERE *points*

I don't know the graphic novels (although I was super excited to see the art in the second ep as that was straight from the Hellblazer: Original Sins volume that's languishing unread on my shelf) so I don't know if the character is a Scouse but still...he's not even trying an accent!

Just. Welsh.

Still enjoying it though : ) xx


Also...this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYxWY1r7BiM : ) xx

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

It's not even a Welsh accent - it's all over the place! I'm assuming he was told the same as the SPN actors are - to enunciate in that weird way so the US audiences can understand him. But in that case why not just go for a straight British BBC-like voice. Ugh.

[alexisjane.livejournal.com]

To me it sounds like a Welshman who's like in the US for a long time. I have to say I'm really bad at absorbing the accent of wherever I am. I think a lot of my language is americanized as I watch so much tv from the US : )

Oh and the BBC english wouldn't work...too much 80's villian, I think. Elementary pulls it off but I'm not sure it would work for this. I'm on ep 9 (?) and my enjoyment of the story is taking over from my whyinthefuckareyoutalkinglikethat! brain rant : ) x

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

I'll give it a go, I am liking it otherwise...after 2 episodes.

[septembers-coda.livejournal.com]

I've often wondered what British people thought of some of the accents in American TV. Is Rowena's Scottish accent as terrible as I think it is?

*Occasionally* the reverse happens. Do you watch Doctor Who? Mark Sheppard is a BRILLIANT actor, as we all know, but his Nixon-era "American" accent on Dr. Who made me laugh out loud. COMPLETELY unconvincing. Robert Pattinson can't pull off an American accent, either.

Do you watch Agents of Shield? What do you think of Fitz-Simmons' accents? They sound great to me, (especially the Scottish one) but I have no idea if the actors are actually English and Scottish or not. I should look it up.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Ha ha even I noticed Mark Sheppard's US accent was naff. I've never watched enough Pattinson to form an opinion one way or another, though I confess, I find Hugh Laurie's accent convincing as House. Um yes, Rowena's accent isn't right - the actor who played Gavin (who's name escapes me at the moment) told us at Asylum that he was told to talk like that otherwise the US audience wouldn't understand him - so I'm assuming Rowena has been given the same instruction. Though hers isn't as bad as his was - but then she is Scottish and the actor playing Gavin isn't so that would explain that!

Fitz-Simmons - is that the scientist girl in Shield? She's ok, if a little clipped - she sounds like Keira Knightley to me but then she is British.

I just wish they'd let the actor talk as they would naturally talk instead of messing around. There aren't actually that many actors who are genuinely great at accents - David Tennant is one who is, Hiddleston I think can do anything, but otherwise, they are few and far between.

[septembers-coda.livejournal.com]

Hugh Laurie's accent on House is quite good. On very rare occasion, I can hear a little British if I'm listening for it. But when I first started watching House, I didn't know Hugh was British, so that speaks well of it.

Fitz is the Scottish guy scientist and Simmons is the English girl scientist (Uh, unless I'm getting them confused, which I did a lot at first). They call them Fitz-Simmons collectively. :-) funny that you mention Keira Knightley; I actually think she LOOKS like her, too! BL and I both commented on that.

MAN I LOVE DAVID TENNANT. He can indeed do anything. Yeah, I generally prefer people speaking in their natural accents-- I kind of don't get why they don't just cast actors with the correct accent! There are enough of them that they could most of the time, though I expect in Vancouver that might be tough. So funny that the Rowena actress actually IS Scottish, and that you think she sounds better than Gavin-- I liked Gavin's accent much better, though I can't be sure since it's been longer since I heard it. Maybe it's just Rowena's acting that bugs me so much. :-}

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

It's weird listening to David Tennant him talk as himself because he's really strongly Scottish, and yet he can switch to a totally neutral British accent at the drop of a hat.

[septembers-coda.livejournal.com]

I know-- I loooove the way he talks as himself, but I love the way he talks as the Doctor, too! His voice is just divine, either way; he's got a great vocal life AND physical life; he's just such a good actor. (Not to mention, an opinion you might be able to guess from my tone, SUPER HOT.) ;-) Yes, I was really surprised at his very Scottish accent when I watched my first Doctor Who BTS footage. I watched a feature where he went and watched the Christmas special with his parents; that was sooo interesting, hearing them talk and getting a window into that world!

[ladywillin.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen Constantine but I do know there is nothing worse than a scouse accent done badly and I too would find that difficult to get past.

Hopefully if you keep watching it, it'll wash over yoo (double o intended) :-)

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

It's the weirdest accent ever - just a total mix up. And very distracting... But I'll persevere a bit longer.

[anactoria.livejournal.com]

It sounds really noticeably Welsh to me, though that could just be because it's my accent. ;) I started enjoying it after the first couple of episodes, though. I'm just telling myself that, IDK, one of his parents was from the Valleys or something...

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Which of course is very possible in Liverpool - we have a good mix of Irish and Welsh there...

[ex1led-nyer.livejournal.com]

That's Ruth Connell's real accent. At least that's what she's said, and how she sounded in a lengthy podcast interview she did. Personally, I love her accent. Don't know about the other people. Mark S., wonderful as he is, can't do an American accent, period. But that's okay, he has many other fine talents.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Rowena's accent isn't an issue, I'm assuming because that is how she speaks normally - that fairly clipped Edinburgh accent is pretty comprehensible anyway so probably she didn't get told to mess about with it. Very Miss Jean Brody.

[herminekurotowa.livejournal.com]

Pfff. Just try watching American shows where they speak German. It makes my toenails curl every. Single. Time.

AND NO GERMAN PERSON USES THE TERM LIEBCHEN EVER! AAArRRggHHH!

You just don't know how many Marvel comics I ripped because of Kurt Wagner using that fudging term.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

ha ha I thought all Germans say liebchen all the time...

[milly-gal.livejournal.com]

I haven't actually seen any of it, so should I? Or will it drive me bonkers?

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

It's not bad - though I haven't got past episode 2 yet. I'm told it gets better too. The Welsh bloke who plays Constantine (apart from his weird accent) isn't bad, and quite nice to look at.

[milly-gal.livejournal.com]

I'll take it under advisement lol