Fair City - Worst Direction and Acting on the Planet?

Fore Iron

Prompted by last nights episode really, but been bubbling away inside me for a while now.

I often feel embarassed that people from other countries could see this show and think that's the level of attention to detail we apply to everything in Ireland!

Firstly, let me say I do not wish to take away from anyone suffering from domestic abuse, be it physical or mental, but my God that acting in that last episode was the worst I have ever seen. Before she started throwing the wobbly, Suzanne looked like a nervous and anxious actor worried about what she was about to try to portray. It was as though it was the first trial take that accidentally got on air. Absolutely sickeningly poor.

Earlier in the show, Damien appeared to forget his lines and started to head down the worng road, before pausing, thinking and correcting himself. Also, near the start of the show, two actors (detective dude I think it was and new guy - Neasa dad I think) talked over eachother as one of them forgot their timing and mubbled on regardless to finish the scene in the most uncomfortable way.

I can only blame the direction for the whole thing. It is embarassing. Is this really the best we can manage in this country? How do we pump out big name actors for the big screen but seem to have first time amateur quality on the TV? How can The Clinic be so good yet Fair City be poles apart?

Apparently this is what you get for 14 million euro in costs a year. Unbelievable.

Thank you for listening. Rant now over....:rolleyes:

Meeja Ireland

This is why we need the show back on iPlayer. I'd love to debate those actual scenes. I have a feeling you're being too harsh. I didn't notice any of those things, but I suspect that attributing nerves and anxiety to the actress rather than the character is an extremely unsympathetic way to view a scene.

My problems last night were with the script, but that's another story.

jmbkay

The domestic violence thing doesn't come across as credible. The actors don't seem to able to handle it. They are not having the desired effect, I have seen several people laughing at them. Sarah, (who plays Suzanne), is struggling, getting into the part, I mean, not just with Damian!

mloc123

Meeja Ireland wrote: »

This is why we need the show back on iPlayer. I'd love to debate those actual scenes. I have a feeling you're being too harsh. I didn't notice any of those things, but I suspect that attributing nerves and anxiety to the actress rather than the character is an extremely unsympathetic way to view a scene.

My problems last night were with the script, but that's another story.

Anyone know why its no on RTE PLayer?

Fore Iron

Meeja, maybe you're right in that I am quite heavily biased towards Fair City. I have always felt the acting and direction are terrible so I guess I inevitably try to find things that are wrong.

All the same, I really don't see how anyone could possibly find that last scene believeable and credible. At a school play I would have said it wasn't great, but these are professional actors? In theory at least, what we see on the screen should be the best of possibly many takes. If that is the best they could manage, then I am at a loss for words. Some may say that it's the storyline that matters and not to be so worried about how it's portrayed, but this is a TV show! Visuals are everything! It's not radio!!!

I really don't accept that the actor (don't know Suzanne's real name) put anxiety and nerves into her character prior to her wobbly. She simply is utterly incapable of that. You are asking me to believe that she managed something special and extremely difficult just before she completed the worst scene I have seen in a long time. She's just not good enough to be that variable!!

More likely I guess from the other scenes, that the directors simply shoot a scene and as long as they don't swear or laugh during their lines, it makes it's way onto the TV.

Look at Eastenders. Whether you like it or loathe it, the standard of acting is miles ahead of Fair City. The direction and camera work is of generally high quality. The way the camera slowly zoomed into Damien last night, dragged the whole scene out pathetically and destroyed an already poor scene. It looked like a handheld camera used by an amateur movie buff. I just don't get how a professional director can see that and be happy with it.

(edit) Just to make the point, given what is being discussed in the main Fair City thread, I am not talking about the script (which is a whole other story!) or the storyline. I am quite impressed that Fair City tries to bring up difficult or controversial topics even if they don't necessarily conclude them ideally. I am just talking about the standard of acting and direction and nothing else!!

PBPumpkin

Fair City - the best comedy RTE has ever produced!!:)

MrThrifty

I agree 100% with Fore Iron. To me, the quality of acting in Fair City is generally atrocious and quite embarrassing. There is only a small few people on the show whose acting ability can be respected. It really makes me wonder what the acting/drama schools are up to in Ireland? I'm also starting to think that the show just takes in actors based on the suitability of their looks to the characters that they will play rather than acting ability. I am an engineer and have never done any acting in my life - yet I'm fairly confident I could do a better job than a fair amount of the actors on the show. Note that by actors, I obviously mean actresses also here. However, I don't include young actors (~16 years or under) as I don't think it's entirely fair to judge them at this early stage of their acting careers. Anyway, to anyone who disputes my thoughts, just watch any of the English dramas (Emmerdale, Corrie, East Enders) and judge for yourselves how far behind our actors generally are here.

angel01

mloc123 wrote: »

Anyone know why its no on RTE PLayer?

It is an equity issue.

angel01

I am an addict to Fair City, I absolutely love it, I think it is the best soap on the box. If anyone has looked in on Eastenders lately, that has been nothing short of a comedy. Corrie is much the same.

I think the storylines are right up there with anything else, love the show, actors and the storylines. Seeing the set has given me another edge as a fan. I can recall all the places and I think it is a brilliant soap.

I know I am biased towards the show but it doesn't get the credit it deserves.

Fittle

Completely agree with the OP here.

Even the way it ended - what could have been a pretty powerful ending, had Damiens face hidden - we should have been able to see his face and his (supposed) fear and terror of the situation he finds himself in.

I've said it on the other thread, and domestic abuse is a very serious subject - but very unbelievable for these two characters.

And could anyone please explain to me why Charlie (another dreadful actor:rolleyes:) has a Dublin4 accent when he discusses books or anything intelligent...but reverts to his northside dublin accent when talking to Zumo....:rolleyes:

Fore Iron

Storylines really are separate issues here. Imagine taking the Eastenders camera and direction team along with Eastenders actors and having them reproduce the Fair City episode last night. It would be powerful and compelling by comparison. Even with the same dodgy script.

Now imagine taking Fair City actors and production team and having them redo the Billie death episode from the other week on Easty. They could never pull it off. The storyline may be good on FC but they have extremely poor talent there. I lost a family member recently and was quite upset watching that Easty episode. Not because of the storyline but because of the feeling of shock and confusion and raw emotion that the actors displayed along with attention to detail on behalf of the production team. Fair City could never do that. Instead they took a serious and important issue (domestic abuse) and gave it a half hearted stab with little interest or professional attention.

I saw "Tracy" at the Gaiety recently in "little Gem". It was a fantastic show overall, but Tracy was blown away by the older woman who was incredible. It felt like you were in conversation with her one to one. How do those people or that level of talent not get on the show instead?

blondie7

i do enjoy Fair City but i have to agree here the Acting last night was terrible and found myself laughing at the final scene. Not because of the storyline but the shockingly bad acting from Sarah Flood. I think Maclean Burke is a fine actor but acting alongside Sarah she is bringing him down!

Pupito

Fittle wrote: »

And could anyone please explain to me why Charlie (another dreadful actor:rolleyes:) has a Dublin4 accent when he discusses books or anything intelligent...but reverts to his northside dublin accent when talking to Zumo....:rolleyes:

There are people like that, maybe the actor is hinting at the character's Wandering Accent Syndrome and how it changes depending on what company he finds himself in?

Fore Iron

The cynic in me says Charlie has a wandering accent precisely because he is unable to get into character in the first place.

It's no good trying to explain a poor performance as artistic licence. Yis can talk all you want about Sarah Flood (I know her name now!) attempting to make her character appear anxious or worried or Charlie trying to portray a under confident individual who subconsciously adjusts his accent depending on who he is talking to, but it just doesn't cut it.

Soaps are supposed to be about believable characters with realistic behaviour and relatively easily determinable psychology. Last night was as unbelieveable and unrealistic as any performance I have ever seen, TV or otherwise. It was "professional" actors doing nothing more than reading lines and following a script. There was no emotion, unrealistic body language, poor physical acting, etc, etc. They looked like utter amateurs on a cheap one shot per scene video from youtube. Absolutely appalling. I don't whether to blame the actors or the directors more, but either way, this countrys pool of talent is significantly better than that show. Is it simply jobs for the boys & girls that stops those with real talent getting onto the cast?

Pupito

Well, yeah, I was probably giving him a bit too much credit.

Namabillion

Fore Iron wrote: »

Prompted by last nights episode really, but been bubbling away inside me for a while now.

I often feel embarassed that people from other countries could see this show and think that's the level of attention to detail we apply to everything in Ireland!

Firstly, let me say I do not wish to take away from anyone suffering from domestic abuse, be it physical or mental, but my God that acting in that last episode was the worst I have ever seen. Before she started throwing the wobbly, Suzanne looked like a nervous and anxious actor worried about what she was about to try to portray. It was as though it was the first trial take that accidentally got on air. Absolutely sickeningly poor.

Earlier in the show, Damien appeared to forget his lines and started to head down the worng road, before pausing, thinking and correcting himself. Also, near the start of the show, two actors (detective dude I think it was and new guy - Neasa dad I think) talked over eachother as one of them forgot their timing and mubbled on regardless to finish the scene in the most uncomfortable way.

I can only blame the direction for the whole thing. It is embarassing. Is this really the best we can manage in this country? How do we pump out big name actors for the big screen but seem to have first time amateur quality on the TV? How can The Clinic be so good yet Fair City be poles apart?

Apparently this is what you get for 14 million euro in costs a year. Unbelievable.

Thank you for listening. Rant now over....:rolleyes:

100% agree with you.

Meeja Ireland

Fore Iron wrote: »

Storylines really are separate issues here. Imagine taking the Eastenders camera and direction team along with Eastenders actors and having them reproduce the Fair City episode last night. It would be powerful and compelling by comparison. Even with the same dodgy script.

I'm a huge fan, but I have to agree with the gist of what you're saying here. Very often the Fair City scripts in a given week are better than anything the other soaps have to offer. But it is badly let down by the directing. The camera seems to move a lot less in Fair City, and scenes where the dialogue is sparky are sometimes played at a funereal pace.

There was a scene in Damien's on Sunday night where Dean and the boys were talking over each other, and it was like a jolt of reality. It should be the basic standard of realism, but it stood out like one colour sequence in a series of black and white.

Mind you, I would give the actors a pass on this. There's a couple of reasons. One is that I think they are often very good. The other is about the directing. If the cameras are so badly directed, what must it be like for the actors?

If only we could settle this with an inter-soap act-off. Round one: Paul Brennan and Jack Duckworth - Tony Tormey versus his long-lost uncle Bill.

Laois_Man

Contreversial perhaps, but I have given each Fair City actor a category of acting skills
5 categories ranging from outstanding to "utterly atrocious"


Utterly Atrocious!
_________________
Avi
Charlotte
Leo
Adam
Felix
Rachel
Zumo


Borderline OK/Atrocious
______________________
Sean
Vivienne
Suzanne
Zak
Neasa
Caoimhe
Dearbhla
Denzo
Keith
Charlie

OK, but nothing special
_______________________
Dean
Jennifer
Deegan
Doug
Decco
Judith
Tommy
Eileen
Wayne
Mark
Jo
Sarah
Duncan
Carol

very Good
__________
Louis
Barry
Robert
Damien
Dermot
Paul
Christy
Bella
Cleo
Niamh
Delores
Ester
Yvonne
Pete
Ray


Outstanding
_____________
Bob!


I wouldn't expect anyone to agree with everything!

MrThrifty

That's an impressive list Laois Man! Don't go telling me you're not an avid fan!! Anyway, from the character names I recognise, the list looks to be on the ball. I wonder if someone from RTE will intercept this thread soon!!

Pupito

Ah, here! Leo's great. The scenery provides 90% of his dietary needs, he's compelled to overact.

Laois_Man

MrThrifty wrote: »

That's an impressive list Laois Man! Don't go telling me you're not an avid fan!! Anyway, from the character names I recognise, the list looks to be on the ball. I wonder if someone from RTE will intercept this thread soon!!

Oh I am a fan
And I have to confess to building the list with the help of the RTE website or I'd have forgotten 80% of them!

heavyballs

from a pure comedy and point of view i would love to see Fair City follow Eastenders live performance effort from last year.
That proved the actors in Eastenders had a bit of quality and timing to their acting
i think it would be classic but way too cringy
btw i'm a fan,i think Deco,Robert and Bob are the best actors.

Namabillion

It's a shame Bob is gone. He was the reason i watched it. Not so much now

Elmo

I didn't read the full rant but I really hate the way people feel "embarrassed because I am Irish because.... " get over yourself.

IMO the current Fair City storyline involving Damian and Susanne is actually quite good. I tend not to watch soaps in full, half in, half out type of watcher of most. I used to annoy my sister with; why did they do that? and why is that happening? she'd reply FFS you don't even like these shows why are you asking so many questions?

I think Fair City is a Soap no more no less. If I was to think it was a great drama I would be kidding myself. The same goes for so many soap operas around the world. As for the UK ones

Corronation Street - over the last decade it has either gone all out EastEnders or bored people to tears with Norris storylines.
EastEnders - So we are going to kill of one of the character when? 2 years time should give enough time to develop the story as to why we are killing them, followed by a who dunnit for another 2 years, followed by a 2 year court case.... We'll get 6 years out of one stroyline
Emmerdale - A rural based soap that is now no more than Hollyoaks. Dead pan acting at its best
Hollyoak - OMG its a teen drama from the UK
Casulty/Holby City - Oh look I am driving my car, oh look I am drinking a coffee while driving my car, oh look the phone is ring I must pick it up, oh look it has fallen to the floor, oh **** I should have put down the coffee before I tried to pick up the phone from under the seat, OH **** I AM GOING GO CRASH INTO THE ACCIDENT A FEW YARDS UP THE ROAD...
Home & Away - Let's get married .... But we are only 19.
Neighbours - Nothing much happening down this street and whats with the shakey sets
Shortland Street - Have you seen where Doctor X put me on the hospital timetable wait until I tell Nurse X (Add New Zealand vowle sounds for effect).
And then there are the American ones :eek:

So no Fair City isn't all that bad, stop being so embarrassed its a fecking soap.

As for the money that Fair City gets, it a pittance in comparison to other soaps. Basing it on your 14m a year 1 ep cost €70,000 to produce. Here is Charlie Brook on making a cheap programme for TV (generally a presenter is all that is required). According to the Daily Mail EastEnders has a budget of £200m thats nearly 1million per ep, Its not worth it IMO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXOPIbb8ZjA

angel01

Namabillion wrote: »

It's a shame Bob is gone. He was the reason i watched it. Not so much now

He will be back. He is filming again this month.

ynul31f47k6b59

Fittle wrote: »

And could anyone please explain to me why Charlie (another dreadful actor:rolleyes:) has a Dublin4 accent when he discusses books or anything intelligent...but reverts to his northside dublin accent when talking to Zumo....:rolleyes:

I call my Mother's telephone voice her Charlie Kelly voice. It's bizarre.
I actually enjoy Fair City - I get so sick of the other soaps, (in particular the Corrie storyline involving John bloody Stape) and I thought the domestic violence storyline was done really well, if a bit long. Last night's episode was good (Mark and Dolores in particular) and as if I didn't love Dean enough before now *swoon* - I seriously love the man, LOVE him.

I'd be quite happy if I never saw Felix, Avi, Charlotte (there'd be more life in the floor of a sawdust factory), Tommy (constantly sounds like he's dubbed) and Jo again. Leo actually amuses me, I like to see what new hand gestures he comes up with. I love Bob, hope he's back soon. Louis is a brilliant character too, as is Philip. A lot of potential with him.

I'd completely forgotten about Una - I was genuinely looking at that picture thinking "who the hell was Una?!" But I hope that neither her, Robyn or Jimmy ever return. I'd like to see Louise Doyle back, and Laura Halpin - although, again, not that nasal actress who played her before - someone who can say "Mark" instead of "Mborck" would do grand, ta.

Elmo

Simeon Delightful Tenseness wrote: »

I call my Mother's telephone voice her Charlie Kelly voice. It's bizarre. .

You mean the Charlie Kelly History Voice.

ynul31f47k6b59

Elmo wrote: »

You mean the Charlie Kelly History Voice.

*adjusts glasses* Indeed. That one.

MJ23

Bella Doyle is the worst actor ever. I'm glad he got rid of that brown suade jacket, I'd say he had it on him in the first episode 20 years ago. And that stupid limp he puts on, i've never seen anyone with a limp like that in my life.

Elmo

MJ23 wrote: »

And that stupid limp he puts on, i've never seen anyone with a limp like that in my life.

AFAIK He had a stroke and that is the way he walks, in real life.

angel01

Elmo wrote: »

AFAIK He had a stroke and that is the way he walks, in real life.

You are correct

Elmo

1. Why does nobody in the soap suffer from the recession, they are all in good jobs, decent flats, plenty of nice clothes and enough money to drink in the local EVERY SINGLE NIGHT OF THE WEEK? That bird who came back a few weeks ago even managed to get an interview and a job offer in the space of one day, that would never happen

Bob was made homeless as was Niamh's Cousin.

2. Every single episode will have characters who just happened to meet as one is entering/exiting the pub or shop, what a weak way to set up a scene instead of being more natural like a phone call or meeting inside a pub. Watch the next ep, i promise there will be a scene with 2 main characters just bumping into each other....

Happens in all soaps, I told a friend of mine how Detective Degan didn't know some of the characters and had to ask who so and so was, (I think it was Bella), this would never happen in any other soap. My friend thought this was ****????

3. The cheap sets- houses look tacky and nasty and plenty of mistakes are evident like microphone booms visible and sound echoes.

I never notice these things but booms etc should be out of shot, but again it happens in most soaps. Again this show is run on €70,000 an ep, in comparision to €1m for EastEnderds and their sets shake just as much. I thought you said they were in decent houses and flats????

4. Quality of acting, most people on FC just phone in their performace and it simply doesnt feel realistic or gripping in any way, they just look bored and like they want to be somewhere else.

It is a soap, no soap does this. You are just being bias towards FC. As one British actor in the US said, I would have stayed in the UK but you have 2 choices 1. Work on the many soaps or 2. Don't work.

5. Characters just vanish for months at a time with no explanation and then re-appear one day as if nothing has happened and nobody ever saya "Oh, where is so-and-so, havent seen them in a while"!

Again this is something that happens in all soaps.

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

You are right, sets are limited and i respect that, but having characters just conveniently 'bump into each other' as one is heading for/leaving the pub/shop/park just doesnt feel organic and comes across as forced and fake. The start of Thursdays ep had Suzanne and Nassa just bump into each other on the street as Suzanne left the flat and Nassa came back from the shop- they couldnt have had their conversation in a more private place like, oh, the very flat they just spent the whole night in?? The only way i can describe it is that you can almost see the characters frozen before "Action!" is shouted and they then bump into each other and start talking- stilted, jerky and unnatural.

Franky, no. We are expected to believe that Damien, who was a rough debt collecter, becomes a snivelling wreck who never stands up to his (very unnatractive) wife. We are expected to believe that Suzanne went from snappy wife to abuser in the space of ONE EPISODE (the one where she starts comically hitting the back of the chair when Damien is cowering), instead of the slow burner that usually happens with these cases. I know she broke the cue off him but the evolution from tense woman to psychopath was way off kilter and smacks of a rushed script. I found myself laughing very hard at the beating scenes, my mates did the same, thousands of people up and down the country also found it very amusing. There is even a thread dedicated to how funny the story is on these boards! So, many people out there think the story is so bad that its funny and i am one of them, that viewpoint exists whether you want to accept it or not. Sarah Flood looks really uneasy delivering the scenes, there is a real awkwardness about the hitting scenes in that i bet they only did one take it looks that amatuer, and Damien is now moping around with Dolores (it gives her character something to do, i suppose). I accept it takes time to recover but these 2 characters, from start to finish, have made a pigs ear of such an extremely serious issue and if half the county are laughing then we have a very bad failure on our hands.

As for the other characters you mentioned, i never felt they were particularly brilliant. FC doesnt know the meaning of the phrase "change is as good as a rest" Tony Tormley is in it since day one and had every job, bedded every woman and done everything you can do in a small town, why is he still there? Its boring as they are just forcing him back with Niamh, another characters who is there years. These old hands are just window dressing and they are just there for background purposes. The producers should hand a few of these people their P45s and get some fresh faces in for a few new storylines rather than the whoe "Oh, Paul is getting together with a new female character.....thats not at all boring and predictable :rolleyes:

Glenroe managed more affecting performances in one show a week than FC does 4 times a week.

I will give you an example now- where has Keith and his brother vanished to? They had a few storyines recently and have not been seen in a few weeks, it happens all the time in FC where characters just up and disappear and then come back a few months later with no explanation as to what they were up to, it smacks of a bloated cast when they have to send a good chunk of them away for months at a time.

Ha, rejected writer? Nope, im very lucky to have a ful time job i enjoy and keep my head above water. I was just saying that if anyone did want to write scripts, the standard in FC is quite low so you have a chance!

Damien was never supposed to be a good debt collector, he took the job because he could get no other one and he was pretty much forced by his wife to take it and the next job he took. It was a slow burn just like in so many soaps, perhaps too slow.

In relation to Tony Tormey ehhh Ken in Corronation Street.

Glenroe had more money poured into it than Fair City and most Soaps in the 1990s and before had less episodes than a 4 day week, just because something is on 4 days or even 7 days a week doesn't make it better. Emmerdale was actually better and more realistic as Emmerdale Farm. Most soaps have gone down the road of too many episodes a week.

And then you say you have a job how realistic is that in this recession. Keith was in it there not long ago asking his gf to go to the pub.

One word for the pub where everyone meets up Rovers Return, they go their for lunch, dinner and a night out.

Stuxnet

bring back dolores's sister she was hot !!