Reply With QuoteI couldn't agree more Ray. He got lucky with Dr Who but his performances in other roles (the recent Hamlet being a good example) have shown him to be actor of very limited abilities.
What is the appeal of this actor? I switch over from the BBC where he is being interviewed, and he is on ITV being interviewed as well. Maybe because I am not a fan of Doctor Who, but to me he always looks like a rabbit caught in the headlights with his staring eyes.
I couldn't agree more Ray. He got lucky with Dr Who but his performances in other roles (the recent Hamlet being a good example) have shown him to be actor of very limited abilities.
He can raise one eyebrow in an extraordinarily exagerated way though. That piece they keep showing where the Tardis is buried in snow and reindeers have to pull it out, that eyebrow really moves skyward.
It might not qualify as acting technically, but its served Roger Moore well for all these years.
Originally Posted by quippy
I forgot to mention that damned clip, which seems to be shown before every BBC programme. Quite a novelty when it was first shown, now I am sick to death of it, and the gurning Tennant,
Och, come now. He was superb in Takin' Over the Asylum. Stole the show.
Superb in everything I've seen him in (contraversially, I prefer to judge actors by their performances rather than their chat-show appearances). And praised by every single national newspaper critic for his stage Hamlet so it's a bit baffling at how his perfomance can have got so bad for tv (haven't seen it yet myself). As for getting lucky with Doctor Who - he's not been unemployed since he left drama school and he's also got lucky with leading roles at the NT and RSC as well as in a costume drama before he was cast. I doubt very much whether his career is now going to go into a slump.
There's no reason why we should all have the same tastes but having seen him in approximately 20 different roles on stage and screen, IMO he's a lot more versatile that plenty of actors much lauded on these boards. I await his US sitcom with interest (he does a good American accent)
He also popped up in all his gurning glory as Roger Lloyd Pack's son in Harry Potter & The Goblet Of Fire.
He was also on Desert Island Discs last week!!
Well back in 2005 I was quietly devastated when Christopher Ecclestone announced he was quitting Dr Who the day after the very first new series story had been broadcast.
So believing that Dr Who had yet again stalled before getting back on it's feet I was pleasantly surprised when David Tennant took control and made the show his own (not unlike the great Tom Baker had done so himself).
So Tennant can do no wrong by me and okay I haven't liked every story, but a good proportion have been outstanding.
Anyway the BBC will probably shove someone else in our faces next Xmas and as long as their British then I don't care.
What really makes me sick is seeing endless American movies with the same stars continually appearing like Tom Cruise, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler etc etc.
So leave Tennant alone.
I am not and never have been a Doctor Who fan - never seen a single episode, actually - but I have of late become increasingly aware of this Tennant person, mainly due to the BBC's incessant trailers which seem to feature him more often than not. Then I heard him today on Desert Island Discs and I have rarely heard such a numb-nuts on that programme - he seemed exceptionally dim, chose terrible recent music and then said, "I need the spoken word as well" so I thought, Richard Burton, John Gielgud, Orson Welles? No, it was Eddie Izzard!!!! Then it came to his book. It was Proust. Oh yes. That cliche of cliches so I guessed that his entire choice of records was put together by a BBC committee. What a total wanker.
Although not my favorite actor, I still say that David Tennent saved Christmas for the BBC because of his popularity and IMO he probably is one of our best young actors at the minute (but there`s not a lot of choice I admit!). So he has brought us a bit of quality this Christmas when you think about a lot of the rubbish that has been broadcast lately.
Sure, we have had him on overload but it does happen when a popular new actor arrives on the scene, and lets not forget his run won`t last forever,it never does in his line of work. So I wish him all the best on his lucky streak in getting work just now at a time when we see so many talentless people become `stars`, who lets admit it, make us want to vomit.
xx
I once saw David Tennant play a very sinister role in an episode of "The Bill" whereby he had Honeysuckle Weeks locked up in - I think a frozen goods van - and the police were racing against time to find her alive. The sequence whereby Tennnant was under surveillance by the police and leading up to his arrest was great suspense viewing and Tennant was excellent in his role. So he can act. I'm not an avid follower of Dr Who of modern times, but I will watch it. Personally I think Tennant brings an energy to the role and he is currently without doubt a major asset to the BBC.
It's very difficult for modern actors as they don't get the good scripts like they used to. I'm often in a dilemma as to whether an actor can act or not. For instance, during a period when I put myself through "Eastenders" - which like all soaps I'm not a fan of - I made up my mind that Steve McFadden was a terrible actor. Perhaps it's naughty of me because I can't stand the character of Phil Mitchell. Then I saw an episode of a great series called "Murder In Mind". The episode was largely so good because of Keith Allen's presence. A superb actor in my opinion. McFadden played a guy who hired Allen to murder his wife because she was having an affair with one of his work colleagues and Allen being unknown to everyone involved was supposed to be McFadden's alibi. He ended up implicating him however. Very cleverly too. McFadden's reactions to first going home and finding his wife and then realizing he had been set up were just so well acted that I was just so astonished. I have since seen him in "Eastenders" and thought "Oh my God! It must be the scripts." Maybe as well he just couldn't sustain that level of good acting for any length of time.
We do have many good actors today, even if they are in a minority. Sean Bean I personally think is very good. I'm not too fussy about James Nesbitt, even though I did enjoy the first two seasons of "Cold Feet" before that went off the rails.
One thing I have noticed is that the crew behind the scenes don't seem to be as good as they were, even if the special effects have improved. The lighting is poor, the continuity is all over the place, the colours are grotesque compared to the good old sixties and seventies, and the dodgy wobbly camera angles make my home movies look really professional! And that's some feat I can tell you!
I genuinely feel sorry for modern celebrities. There is talent there but it's more likely to be going completely unnoticed and our talentless talent shows are only making that more inevitable.
Wellendcanons.
I'm a massive Who fan, have been since 1969, and whist I can take or leave Tennants Doctor, he is very popular with the Kids and the Ladies (My Wife Loves him), so for looking after the role these past few years, I Thank you Mr. Tennant. Not sure if the new, even younger Doctor played by Matt Smith, will grow on me though!
We aren't sure about the new doctor either, but even if David's popularity is short lived we will look forward to seeing him on the Morrisons or M&S adverts.....
I think the Tennant and Tom Baker comparison is absolutely correct. Both actors have really defined that part for different generations.
Re: Same American actors. LOL Very true! Add the same tired screenplays, endless sequels, etc. and you've got the reason I rarely go to the movies.
An interesting new look, taking Roddy McDowall's role in the no doubt ill-conceived Fright Night remake.
Fright Night is one of my favourite vampire films. Roddy was so good any actor following him will have a hard job to equal, let alone better him. Although I am no fan of Tennant, I can see the logic behind his casting. If Tennant pulls it off (oo er), I will take my hat off to him and venture into re-evaluation land! A lot also depends on who is cast as the vampire, Chris Sarandon was excellent in the original.
ps - Fright Night 2 was rubbish, with Sarandon's presence sorely missed
pps - William Ragsdale (the young lad in the original film) is currently appearing in the wonderful Justified on 5-USA
Last edited by batman; 26-04-11 at 09:08 AM.
Thankfully I only caught but a few minutes of United the other evening (when switching on to find that MoTD2 was on later!), what do I see but Tenny doing his 'stunned mullet' gazing thoughtfully into the distance lips pursed. I'm with Ray here the appeal of Dave passes me by totally, he just seems to have one expression to convey whatever emotion is needed
his performances remind me of the spoofs of serious drama series on comic relief-i cannot take him seriously as an actor-he even made a sillier 'dr who' than that curly haired colin bloke from the 1980s!
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