posted
If that's what you call awkward dialogue, then I hope you never read anything by Isaac Asimov or Frank Herbert! (That's not intended to imply that JMS's work is on that level, just that their dialogue is even more complex.)
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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posted
It's all in the performance. That's why G'Kar was the only one in LoTR who sounded like he was speaking instead of reciting dialogue (there is a difference) while his co-stars sounded lost, bless'um.
Bruce Boxleitner can handle it.
Anyway, Sci-Fi dose indeed have a long history of awkward dialogue. Herbert & co aside, look at Star Wars & Star Trek, both chock full of stiff and awkward dialogue.
In the case of Star Wars, the only reason why it seamed less so in the original trilogy was because it was being delivered by the likes of Ford; who didn't take it seriously, Hamill; who spoke with utter the conviction of the chronically naive and Guinness; Who is...well GUINNESS!
quote:Originally posted by Mark Nguyen: Yes, but those guys specialize in the written word. This is TV dialogue!
And B5 has often been described as a novel for television.
I agree with Rev; if the actors can pull it off, it's great. But not all of them can. It's a problem that every show has to deal with; I'd rather B5 aim high and miss slightly than write for the lowest common denominator! And that's part of why it's such a great show.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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quote:Originally posted by Reverend: In the case of Star Wars, the only reason why it seamed less so in the original trilogy was because it was being delivered by the likes of Ford; who didn't take it seriously, Hamill; who spoke with utter the conviction of the chronically naive and Guinness; Who is...well GUINNESS!
What about Chewbacca?
-------------------- "Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica." - Jim Halpert. (The Office)
posted
Correction - the line above is spoken by a Centauri, not Sheridan. My opinion still stands - jms writes good dialogue for comics. He does not write good dialogue for TV.
posted
I suppose it's a matter of opinion. To be fair though, ALL tv dialogue isn't exactly natural. How many conversations have you had where all partisipants spoke in turn, finished their sentences without any hesitation, stutter, umm'ing or arrh'ing?
Realistic dialogue is hard to write, even harder to perform an cue and damn near impossible to listen to.
quote:Lost Tales was scheduled to shoot in 10 days, but he finished in nine. �Having edited all 110 B5 episodes, I know what I�m looking for and I only shoot what I need,� says Straczynski. �Often a director will come in and shoot multiple takes, say �that�s the one�, and then shoot 10 more to be safe.
But if I get it the first time or the second time, I�m done, and we turn the camera around and get the other side of it.� Consequently the crew was usually able to break on schedule or an hour early, meaning they could pre-light for the next day, saving additional time. Warner Brothers was pleased, and the crew was happy because instead of shooting 16-18 hour days, they shot a 12 hour day or less.
Rather worrying, this. Because while B5 often had some great performances, it also had some really bad ones. Put those peaks and troughs in the context of a really quick shoot with few takes by someone with creative control but also no-one to play devil's advocate, and you're really limiting your options.
posted
I'm still it "wait & see" mode. No use worrying to much at this point.
By the by, I'm felling rather stupid right now. I just got to watching Season 5 (for probably the 3rd time since buying the set in Jan '05) and I noticed the intro to "The Coup is Mother, The Coup is Father" was the standard B5 intro without the Psicorp twist I recall from the telly...then I get "The Fall of Centauri" and notice there's several minutes missing from the front of the episode. After a few rewinds and playback ot make sure my DVD player didn't skip a chapter or something, a quick google shows that it's a know issue! The stupid part is I didn't notice until just now (2 years after everyone else) and I doubt very much that the Warner Bros freepost address for the corrected discs is valid anymore. Grr.
quote:Lost Tales was scheduled to shoot in 10 days, but he finished in nine. �Having edited all 110 B5 episodes, I know what I�m looking for and I only shoot what I need,� says Straczynski. �Often a director will come in and shoot multiple takes, say �that�s the one�, and then shoot 10 more to be safe.
Time and internet cronies have done noting to diminish is ego, obviously.
I'm hoping it wont suck void, but am very much thinking it will.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
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I'm under the impression that it will be the same cruddy dialogue, wooden acting, and marginal production values we've known as hallmarks of B5, WITHOUT the five-year story arc (though you can bet that it will have clues for a future arc jms wants to use this as a pilot for). In other words, it'll be all the parts of B5 we sufffer through for an awesome multi-year story, without the awesome multi-year story.
posted
I've always liked the B5 dialogue. Yes, it's a bit unrealistic, but to me it's always been one of the most quoteable series out there.
By comparison, as much as I love Trek, its dialogue (and acting) was always too stiff for me. It's like everyone was afraid the Captain was going to have a conniption fit if someone dared to crack a joke.
If you want to combine realistic, quoteable, and all around great dialogue, I think Stargate and Firefly have to be in that category. I'd include Farscape as well, but I don't think that counts as there was only one human for the most part.
Registered: Jul 2002
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posted
Well, if you were watching any show about a real military organization, you'd probably be bored to tears after 20 minutes.
The military guys I know like, but cringe at themamzing lack of discipline on Stargate and Firefly was a civillian ship, so cant be held to the same standards of conduct at the others.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
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