MovieChat Forums > Madam Secretary (2014) Discussion > The only two things that bug me about MS...

The only two things that bug me about MS.........

posted 8 years ago by nickrees99
3 replies | jump to latest

1. The President's acting - he's too rigid, he over-acts all the time and I can't take him seriously. He spoils the show for me quite a bit but I'm trying to ignore it as much as I can.

2. The second point won't effect many of you but but they almost never get a Russian speaker to play a Russian speaking role. The actors are learning parrot fashion (and some of them aren't doing THAT badly actually) but I would have thought it would have been far better to get native Russian speakers for the roles. "The Americans" does this as much as they can and it actually makes a big difference.

Other than that, I'm really enjoy the show, especially Téa Leoni's excellent acting.

[–] senseofspace 8 years ago

the "Russians" in this show are as horrific as in every other movie or show in the US. Robin Williams spoke better Russian in 'Moscow on Hudson' than any of these turkeys! then again, I shouldn't be too upset about it, since every time they massacre the language, we have a laugh, and laughing is an important part of life :)

[–] mathmaniac 8 years ago

Apparently, most Americans do not come from other countries - this is what the producers think. If they thought people who were Russian speakers actually watched the show, it would be a different matter. They would of course hire Russian-speaking actors (or dubb) because it would not hurt your ears so much to hear the language mangled.

After years of studying Spanish and really listening to the pronunciation, I watched an old 'Alias' episode in which Jennifer Garner was supposed to be passing as a native Spanish speaker. It was atrocious. And this in a country where there are MANY Spanish speakers.

Television producers are an ignorant lot.

[–] graceb103 8 years ago

Hollywood has always taken great liberty in casting foreign parts. Audiences were much less sophicated in the 1950's -1970's and little thought was given to how insulting their casting decisions were. I recently binge-watched the entire series "Hawaii 5-0" from the 1960's and 1970's. I was rolling on the floor at the liberties taken in casting characters from other countries. Ricardo Montalbalm with weird prosthetics and makeup to play a Chinese character but still had his native Mexican accent! The same thing was done with many lesser known actors in that series. Then in "Love is a many Splendored thing" (1955) Jennifer Jones played a Eurasian doctor AND was nominated for Best Actress! In "Breakfast at Tiffany's" Mickey Rooney slaughtered the role of a Japanese man. By far the worst example is Peter Sellers in "Muder by Death" attempting to pull off an Asian man. I think they actually used tape to pull his eyes into slits. So yes, you are right, it would seem that MS could do better and cast Russian actors, but they are a far cry better than some of the casting decisions in the past.