Worst Acting In A Sitcom

[Replies From View]

Well, I mean portraying an emotionless robot is not exactly a herculean task, is it?

I didn't even know he'd done panto.

[St_Eddie]

I've just asked him

I both admire and applaud your gumption.  Thank you.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Understandable.  I don't think that I could take John Cleese's sarcastic dismissal.  To paraphrase Street Fighter: The Movie (of all things)...

I always knew the day would come when a quote from Street Fighter: The Movie would pertain to my life in some way.

[Ferris]

Mine was CBBC's  Aliens In The Family. Although that wasn't a comedy (at least not intentionally). There seems to be a later US show with the same name.

Pollygate:
I've asked around about this. I've not encountered anyone other than on this forum who thinks she's anything other than American.
Is it just American viewers who think she's British? (I haven't noticed many Americans on here).
She does, after all, have a largely American accent, is played by an American and has an American surname. And then there's Basil's impression.
Why is there any doubt?

An American accent? I don't think so - it sounds like an affected posho English accent to me. The fact she trips over it is due to Connie's nationality more than where the character is meant to be from. Manuel is played by an English guy but his Spanish inflection is less than authentic.

That just leaves Basil's impression, but I wouldn't put much stock in that as he also thinks his hotel is a few touches away from the pinnacle of class, and hits his employees with spoons.

[QDRPHNC]

[Replies From View]

I'm such an obsessive, I actually contacted John Cleese's website to ask about Polly.
I got this response:

I am John's PA. Thank you for your enquiry.
Here is an extract from public domain Wikipedia.
"Constance Booth is an American-born writer, actress, comedian and psychotherapist based in Britain."
Best Regards,

So that settles it. Because the main issue was, after all, that none of us really knew who Connie Booth was.
(she is known as Connie Box in the UK).
I'm off to find a branch to hit my laptop with.

I love the passive-aggressiveness of "public domain Wikipedia" as well, which amounts to dickishly saying "let me google that obvious thing for you".

SO OBVIOUS THAT YOU DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION YEAH CUNT?

[Ferris]

I love the passive-aggressiveness of "public domain Wikipedia" as well, which amounts to dickishly saying "let me google that obvious thing for you".

Yes that made me chuckle as well.

Ironically, that level of "grumpy pseudo-competence and actually getting it completely wrong" would drive Basil Fawlty bonkers (though I concede it would make for a very boring episode of FT).

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

The worst case scenario here is that Cleese sarcastically replies to The Science Eel's tweet while also misunderstanding the question. Imagine that.

[Ferris]

The worst case scenario here is that Cleese sarcastically replies to The Science Eel's tweet while also misunderstanding the question. Imagine that.

Best case scenario is that he dictated the shonky response to his PA, in a fit of Fawlty-esque rage caused by the question itself.

[Huxleys Babkins]

I remember Mike & Angelo reasonably fondly, although I was amazed to find out it ran for 12 series. It felt like it was running out of steam in the mid-90s so fuck knows how they made it to 123 episodes.

The show changed it's entire cast multiple times; Angelo regenerated like Doctor Who and the American-accented family simply moved back home. One thing I was delighted to discover was that the original mum was played by Shelley Thompson who plays Barb Lahey in Trailer Park Boys.

[St_Eddie]

I remember Mike & Angelo reasonably fondly, although I was amazed to find out it ran for 12 series. It felt like it was running out of steam in the mid-90s so fuck knows how they made it to 123 episodes.

The show changed it's entire cast multiple times; Angelo regenerated like Doctor Who and the American-accented family simply moved back home.

Bloody heck fire!  Now I'm imagining a retirement home inhabited by several of the previous 'Angelos', wistfully watching the newer series and saying "I would have played that differently".  Desolation.

[gmoney]

"I walked up the wall ten times better than that dreadful ham."

[Twed]

I remember Mike & Angelo reasonably fondly, although I was amazed to find out it ran for 12 series. It felt like it was running out of steam in the mid-90s so fuck knows how they made it to 123 episodes.

The best Angelo was the one who looked like Rimmer, but for children

[BritishHobo]

I like that My Parents Are Aliens came up a page after people nominated Barbara Durkin from IAP, as I loved her in the former, and I remember being furious as a kid when she left, and someone else came in to play Sophie. I really liked her airheaded performance, although Carla Mendonça grew on me a lot.

[St_Eddie]

The best Angelo was the one who looked like Rimmer, but for children

Rimming children?

#cancelled

[SteveDave]

I like that My Parents Are Aliens came up a page after people nominated Barbara Durkin from IAP, as I loved her in the former, and I remember being furious as a kid when she left, and someone else came in to play Sophie. I really liked her airheaded performance, although Carla Mendonça grew on me a lot.

I've just discovered that Carla Mendonca is married to TV's Clive Mantle!

[gilbertharding]

I love the passive-aggressiveness of "public domain Wikipedia" as well, which amounts to dickishly saying "let me google that obvious thing for you".

SO OBVIOUS THAT YOU DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION YEAH CUNT?

The fictional character Polly Sherman also has a wikipedia page. Take a look, if you have a minute.

I had a listen to bits and bobs of Polly speaking. It's an odd accent alright. Not American though, I don't think. It's not RP either. There are rhotic 'R's which could be American OR Devonish.

[Virgo76]

I've just discovered that Carla Mendonca is married to TV's Clive Mantle!

I saw Clive Mantle in an Indian restaurant in Bristol once (early 2000s).
The amount of female attention he was getting was quite impressive.
I don't know if the women were British or American or not. I can't always tell.

[Huxleys Babkins]

Ha, I saw Clive Mantle in an Italian restaurant in Bristol at about the same time. He gave my then girlfriend the right horn but she couldn't really explain why. She excitedly tuned into Casualty the next Saturday, ready to get those Mantle gallops all over again, but felt absolutely nothing.

[bgmnts]

Has anyone said Rob McElhenney from Its Always Sunny yet?

He is quite shit, but its acceptable.

[SteveDave]

He's 6 foot 5. He could wear most women like a forward facing backpack whilst making passionate love against a wall.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

Has anyone said Rob McElhenney from Its Always Sunny yet?

He is quite shit, but its acceptable.

Perfectly good actor, and quite a looker,  too.
What's your problem ?

[Endicott]

The fictional character Polly Sherman also has a wikipedia page. Take a look, if you have a minute.

I had a listen to bits and bobs of Polly speaking. It's an odd accent alright. Not American though, I don't think. It's not RP either. There are rhotic 'R's which could be American OR Devonish.

I took a look and I can't see anywhere on either the Polly Sherman page or the Fawlty Towers one that mentioned her nationality. I always assumed she was American from her slightly American accent. Just some of her words, she's obviously also spent a lot of time in the UK. Emigrated before she was 10 I reckon.

[St_Eddie]

I took a look and I can't see anywhere on either the Polly Sherman page or the Fawlty Towers one that mentioned her nationality.

The Polly Sherman Wikipedia page lists her nationality as English.  As has been said before though, that doesn't mean much, given that it's user created content.

[Darles Chickens]

It also said American in a recent edit. And also British. And also, nothing.

I've never thought of Polly as anything other than English - I never even considered that she might be American.  To my ears, she doesn't even sound slightly American.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

It also said American in a recent edit. And also British. And also, nothing.

I've never thought of Polly as anything other than English - I never even considered that she might be American.  To my ears, she doesn't even sound slightly American.

It's that Basil impression that muddies the waters, you see.

[bgmnts]

Perfectly good actor, and quite a looker,  too.
What's your problem ?

He may be a decent actor, i've never seen anything he's been in, but he is constantly corpsing in Sunny.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

He may be a decent actor, i've never seen anything he's been in, but he is constantly corpsing in Sunny.

Most of them are , too be fair. Yer man who plays Dennis is just as bad as Mac in this respect.

[magval]

I've just discovered that Carla Mendonca is married to TV's Clive Mantle!

She's also the sister of Satan-fond extreme metallers Akercocke's singer, Jason Mendonca.

[Virgo76]

THE ANSWER!
The Cleese website got back to me! (I complained about their first response):

"John says the role of Polly is an english character."

Settled!
I was wrong.