This is ridiculous

[selenak]

Or, to paraphrase Tallyrand about the execution of the Duke of Enghien ("worse than a crime: a stupidity"), it's worse than ridiculous: it's unprofessional.

So, one of the shows I stopped watching during the season that has just finished was The Good Wife. Mostly because a truly excellent season (the fifth one) was followed by a very mediocre one

Comments

And Orphan Black does this for every episode -- successfully

[anonymous]

In action scenes, no less! How embarrassing, that they couldn't manage the visual continuity for a brief static conversation, quite apart from the drama and lack of personal professionalism it reveals, they don't have the technical profession to even do it properly.

Re: And Orphan Black does this for every episode -- successfully

[selenak]

very true. My suspension of disbelief in Tatiana Maslany's various characters interacting (and having chemistry with each other!) has never been broken in more than two seasons. And I bet Orphan Black has less of a budget.

Re: And Orphan Black does this for every episode -- successfully

[reverancepavane]

Someone raised the question of what Dollhouse would have looked like with Ms Maslany in the lead, with her ability to not only portray different characters but to let their character evolve in the process. A very talented actress.

[abigail_n]

The example I keep thinking of is Michael Vartan continuing to play opposite Jennifer Garner on Alias - and playing her one true love, no less - even after they broke up and she married and had a baby with Ben Affleck (a baby that, on the show, was fathered by Vartan's character). I have no idea what the deal between Margulies and Panjabi was, but I agree that it's been disappointing to hear that they let it affect the show so much. As for the producers putting their foot down, though, the fact that they didn't leads me to believe that Margulies was the problem - she is the show, so there's probably a limit to what they can demand of her.

[selenak]

Very good counterexample. I don't recall the Syd/Vaughn scenes being written or acted any differently after the breakup. Now that's what I call professionalism.

re: Margulies being the problem - most likely, since anyone but the lead after whom the show is named could be replaced if they do something like this. Though the producers could always reveal Alicia is really a Time Lady and let her regenerate, I suppose...

[alethialia]

What's most striking is that they've been able to keep what happened under wraps. Nothing ever stays secret in Hollywood for long, so the fact that no hint has gotten out is a bit shocking.

But man, industry response to this has been scathing.

[selenak]

Deservedly so. abigail_n above mentions Michael Vartan in Alias, who used to be an item with Jennifer Garner, continuing to play her love interest on the show after she broke up with him, got together with and had her first child by Ben Afflek, and the state of Vartan/Garner throughout had no influence on the state of Syd/Vaughn (their characters). Good lord, Hollywood is full of exes who have to work with each other, feuding rivals who have to work with each other, and most of them aren't lucky enough to do so in what was until this season one of the best regarded and loved shows currently on the air.

...I suppose once it's OFF their air, there might be a tell-all by someone? Though perhaps these days you have to sign non-disclosure agreements as part of your working contract for all I know.

[londonkds]

I remember a comment from someone on Babylon 5 about how you could tell Michael O'Hare's relations with the rest of the cast from who very noticeably didn't have any scenes with him in "War Without End". (Which since the subsequent revelations about the tragic true story behind O'Hare's departure from the show [that he was struggling with severe mental illness] is another reason to dislike Doyle beyond his extreme-right-wing politics.)

[selenak]

Yes, I've heard that the Doyle-O'Hare relationship in particular had been bad, on a Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe level. (I'm not keen on Jerry Doyle, either, but in fairness he did not know about Michael O'Hare's struggle - I think JMS was the only one who knew.) However, it didn't impact the way their characters' relationship was depicted on the actual show, and because War Without End was just a two parter, not an entire season (let alone several), Sinclair not meeting he knew anyone but Delenn and Lennier felt justified within that particular story.

[sonetka]

Yeah, I have a hard time blaming Jerry Doyle for that one. The fact that O'Hare was fighting a horrible mental illness doesn't negate the possibility that he was also deeply unpleasant to work with. I know a few people who are affected that way, albeit not as severely, and while I love them, they can be exhausting and occasionally mortifying company -- and that's while *knowing* what they're dealing with! If Doyle really was seeing O'Hare hassling an intern and punching an actress and receiving no apparent blowback for it (and JMS said it was a huge secret which only he knew, so presumably Doyle wasn't told that O'Hare had hidden issues) then I really can't fault him for getting angry at the guy.

[cherrytide]

I've only seen a couple of episodes of The Good Wife, but I did like it and admire the acting of both women... it's a pity, this level of pettiness is off putting.

[selenak]

I loved the first five seasons of the show, and their actings and characters were great. Now nobody is required to be their character off screen - that's what acting is all about, after all -, but I think not to be petty at the workplace is something you can demand of everyone, so... yeah.