If you ever want to get a good idea about how a TV series comes into being, see the movie The TV Set, which stars David Duchovny as a schlumpy writer whose autobiographical series gets picked up by a network. One of the most telling scenes is where Duchovny presents an over-the-top ham that he thinks is so bad that he knows the network will reject him in favor of the more subtle actor he wants to play the lead. Unfortunately, the ham makes the network execs laugh and the subtle guy comes off as weird. Guess who the network picked to star in the show?The reason why I mention this is that is but one of many reasons why even starring roles in television series get severely miscast. The most widely-cited case this year was Michelle Ryan on Bionic Woman; she was so busy trying to squelch her British accent that she came off as charmless and boring. But there have been other casting boners during the 2007-08 season, such as the otherwise-great Parker Posey choking on Amy Sherman-Palladino's words in Jezebel James. Also remember that not a lot of people liked the appearance of Britney Spears on How I Met Your Mother. And, heck, the Law & Order family must have a casting mistake in there somewhere, after all, they did unleash the horrible Elizabeth Rhöm on an unsuspecting public.
What are your choices for the season's most severe miscasting? Let me know in the comments.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-22-2008 @ 1:48PM
LC said...
I still think Ryan takes an unfair rap for BW. I didn't even know she was British until I saw an interview with her. It was just awful writing. The plot was absurd, especially for a Sci-Fi show.
A guy who is a genius, dates a bartender, she gets into a car wreck and he decides to take her to a covert secret agency and put millions, if not billions, in equipment and research into her body to repair her. The writers then decide to make him kind of evil by making him deliberately pick her because she was accepted to Harvard and did well on some tests.
Then they have to saddle her down with an annoying sister. They could have put Meryl Streep on this show and she would have looked wooden.
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5-22-2008 @ 1:48PM
Mimi said...
Even though I enjoy the show, based soley on historical accuracy, I would say Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry VIII on the Tudors. Very nice to look at but nothing like the plump, overweight Henry we know from history.
I'll probably get grief from this but I think Sophia Myles, while a lovely actress was miscast for Moonlight.
Susan Misner from New Amsterdam - she never really fit in as the 'boss'.
Anjelica Houston as Cynthia Keener on Medium - I really expected more from her than her drab performance on the show.
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5-22-2008 @ 4:17PM
goldie68 said...
Ohh..good one, I have to second Susan Misner on New Amsterdam. She really bugged me in that role, and she never seemed to get that whole boss, mean thing down. Just weird.
And, I've never been crazy about Jeremy Sisto as Det. Lupo on Law & Order. Just never worked for me.
5-22-2008 @ 11:04PM
Jim said...
Of course, Henry VIII *was* slim and trim until an accident (shown in the most recent episode). Unlike JRM (whose fictional Henry bounced back almost immediately from the accident), in real life it took Henry VIII several months to recover from the accident. During this time, he did nothing but lie in bed and eat, and that's where the "big fat Henry VIII" image comes from.
In this matter, history has been unfair to Henry. For most of his life, he was slim and handsome, and it wasn't until much later on that he became fat. It's almost as if future generations of Americans remembering Mary Tyler Moore as the plastic surgery disaster she is today instead of the cute lil' pixie she was on "The Dick Van Dyke Show".
Now if you want to argue about JRM's lack of ginger hair and his overall inability to act.. well, I'd agree with you there.
5-22-2008 @ 2:03PM
Ganesh said...
as much as i love battlestar galactica, i think the guy playing baltar is awful as an actor.
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5-22-2008 @ 3:09PM
I miss my stars! said...
I have to respectfully disagree. I think James Callis does a great job as the slimeball-nutjob Baltar.
5-22-2008 @ 3:57PM
0megapart!cle said...
Disagreement++
Oh my god, you are so wrong! James Callis is fantastic.
5-22-2008 @ 4:02PM
Ganesh said...
to each his or her own. callis plays baltar as a super wimpy, somewhat boring, and constantly whining jerk. he rarely comes off as cunning or smart, let alone a genius.
5-22-2008 @ 10:19PM
nattyff said...
Dude!!!
5-22-2008 @ 2:05PM
KMF said...
I have to nominate Britney Spears, though I knew what they were thinking "Ratings! Ratings! Ratings! Renewal! Cha-ching!"
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5-22-2008 @ 2:18PM
shmuffin123 said...
Britney Spears on HIMYM..like NPH said...THEY DON'T NEED STUNT CASTING!!!
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5-22-2008 @ 2:39PM
Ryan said...
Kristen Bell on Heroes. She was fine on Veronica Mars and it's not her fault that her character came off as annoying, but there it is.
Thomas Dekker on Terminator. Everyone else have exceeded my expectations. He, on the other hand, leaves me cold as the future savior of mankind.
Michelle Trachtenberg on Gossip Girl. No. Just... no.
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5-22-2008 @ 10:13PM
nattyff said...
actually i like dekker as connor :)
5-22-2008 @ 2:58PM
LC said...
I second Ryan's choice of Kristen Bell. Her acting was like watching an animated mannequin.
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5-22-2008 @ 3:55PM
Dave said...
Jim Parsons on Big Bang Theory.
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5-22-2008 @ 10:14PM
nattyff said...
WHAAT!!!! c'mon he is the perfect nerd!!!
5-22-2008 @ 4:00PM
0megapart!cle said...
I think a lifetime achievement award should go to the casting of Bakula in Enterprise for this category. I know it was a couple years ago, but it was so horrifically bad, it deserves to be honored.
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5-22-2008 @ 8:23PM
Sam said...
Too bad Bai Ling on Lost was last season.
I happened to like Kristen Bell just fine on Heroes.
I will nominate Alyssa Milano on My name is earl.
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5-22-2008 @ 8:26PM
Bash said...
Bob Sassone on TV Squad
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5-22-2008 @ 10:04PM
Wii60 said...
Woah dude, party foul.