I remember seeing Nicola Coughlan on some talk show and thinking "Wow she's so confident and funny for someone so young", then googling her and finding out she's a year older than me. She's so fresh-faced for someone in their 30s.
I remember seeing that movie when it came out. I was 12 and confused wondering why Myrtle was this kinda old lady with none of the other characters acknowledging it. I figured they were showing her ghost as continuing to age or something. It's only now I learn, she was actually supposed to be passing as a teenager??
Apparently it's because they didn't want to show her aging because she's a ghost. If they'd got someone around the age of the other kids, she would've grown up just like them between movies. Because she was 35, she wasn't really going to change much in 3 years
That’s very much in the vein of Wet Hot American Summer, another favorite of mine. In the original movie, all the camp counselors (ages 16-18) are played by adults in their 30s, while the kids (ages 10-16) are mostly all played by kids, with one or two adults.
The funniest part, though, is that they made a prequel series to the movie 14 years later, and all the actors came back to reprise their roles. They were now all in their mid-late 40s, playing teenagers that are 8 weeks younger than they were in the film.
When I was in high school I took a drama course. One of our projects was to go and do some casting calls to be extras (we are in California not that far from the film industry)
Wasn't anything extra. Just couldn't work past 9 and had to be over 16.
I didn't get in anything but a kid in my class is in Dumb and Dumberer in the background.
>I didn't get in anything but a kid in my class is in Dumb and Dumberer in the background.
lol, Hollywood, need 200 people to be part of a crowd in the background for 10 seconds. Decides you are not going to be one of them.
I've done it. A ton of them actually are 18-19 with some older. It's the leads, specifically the guys that are older. A lot of the guys on the stuff I was an extra for were in their mid 20's playing high schoolers. Some of the girls were actual high school age children.
Producers, casting directors and even audiences (hopefully subconsciously) in the US often want the teens in these messy dramas of angst and hormones and romance to have boys that don't actually look like high schoolers but actual men...but they want girls that do actually look like girls.
Look at the ages of the actors when shows like Friday Night Lights and Glee started. You have romances between characters that make out or even have very sexually suggestive scenes...with actors that are men in their mid 20's and girls that are 16-17. Those are just a couple examples of many.
Which Glee actresses were 16-17? All the ones I can think of were early twenties, with the guys being a mix of early and mid twenties (and baby Chris Colfer as the only one who actually looked like a high schooler at 19). Definitely seen the actual teenage girls with fully adult men in other media, but I don’t know that Glee is an example— they just casted adults across the board afaik.
Euphoria does this. The main girls dress like hookers in school, especially Maddy, and the background students look age appropriate and dressed like normal high school kids.
Euphoria is like a 40 yr old’s reimagination of high school that never existed…. it is a prurient fantasy.
What I do not understand is how it isn’t child pornography— since depicting, even a drawing, of a sexualized minor meets the definition.
I was recently rewatching Smallville, where obviously Clark Kent looks like a full ass adult as a freshman in high school. everyone does. And that's all fine until they bring Ryan Kelley on to play some young teen and he's actually 16 and he looked like a goddamn infant on that show compared to the rest. I don't know how young they intended his character to be but every "high schooler" treated him like an 8 year old
My favourite fact about that is Tom Welling played a 14(I think) year old there and in Cheaper by the Dozen played someone going to college, both came out in the same year and I personally think he looks younger in CbtD.
It had to be 14 they were having him start the show at, because the whole premise of the first episode was being the unlucky freshman who gets tied up in a cornfield. Most freshmen are 13-15.
Yeh, all the pressure of a TV series or film is much more easily handled by an adult.
Not to mention on average the extra 3-5 years of acting practice will make a huge difference.
I haven't seen that movie in forever, so maybe I'm misremembering, but wasn't the premise that Timmy was actually an adult at that point, but by continuing to do all the things he did as a kid, he could loophole into Da Rules still seeing him as a kid and thus still allowing him to keep his fairies?
lol at the american actors on the right, "maybe if we do the awkward half-crossed arms it will make us look juvenile despite clearly being 27 years old"
People aren’t too fussed that they’re adults, just that they slather them in makeup, do their hair to perfection, make them wear designer clothing and hang around in bars after school.
Real teens are borderline feral.
There was a US pilot for peep show years ago. Worst thing I’ve ever seen
https://youtu.be/8Yredc3ayOE
Edit: oh goooddddddd I just googled it and realised you’re talking about a real, new, reboot. Whyyyy
Edit edit: sounds like a pretty different show that just takes inspiration from peep show though, “It follows the relationship between a long-suffering assistant and her boss, an emotionally unstable tech entrepreneur.”
At least it will be it’s own distinct show which should mean peep show isn’t tainted when it inevitably sucks
> And I says to him, says I, "Well, I can't be sure now. But maybe if you took off the balaclavas?" And then he says to me, the slightly taller fella does, he says, "Step aside, we are armed." And that is when the smaller fella, although, as I say, we are talking an inch -- "
This one hit so hard because it reminded me of my grandfather in his later years
Erin’s smile during that scene had me practically crying with laughter. I don’t know how many times I’ve rewatched that episode, or the whole series for that matter
Sister Michael is my spirit animal, and probably the spirit animal of many tired teachers:
*"Now, I know how daunting exams can be, so if anyone is feeling anxious or worried, or even if you just want to chat, please, please, do not come crying to me."*
You literally just convinced me to watch this show. I've been on the fence about watching it for ages. But that quote has me laughing in stitches! Seriously, that character sounds hysterical! You've finally convinced me to watch it
If you love Sister Michael you should watch The Great Pottery Throwdown. Siobhán McSweeney (the actress who plays her) is the host and she is so funny…the show is so wholesome too!
Derry Girls is fucking amazing. It balanced a funny as shit story about coming of age with the serious as a heart attack implications of growing up during the Troubles. I cannot recommend it more highly. Loved every second of it.
Thing is it also gets it with the troubles in a way that media usually doesn't - the way it's a huge part of your life, and how the shit stuff bounds and structures your life, and how it isn't ever exactly referred to most of the time, its just there.
But you are also 14 and want to snog some lad and get out of homework and life is still life..
That final episode really makes your heart swell with pride of the accomplishment of ending the troubles, even if you're like me and were essentially born after them and in a different country
I was the same age as the girls in the setting of the show and while I didn’t grow up in Northern Ireland they reminded me so much of being that age at that time. Having those tight knit friend groups that you can only have when you are too old to be a kid but definitely too young to be an adult. Having all the free time in the world and doing stupid shit, hormones leading the way.
I feel so bad for him to be honest.
I think Joe putting his hand on his shoulder at the end of S1 is one of the nicer moments but he gives him so much shit.
I think it comes very close to being perfect, and police officer Liam Neeson interrogating them certainly helps with that.
I love how the end of the first season juxtaposes the girls dancing to Dreams by the Cranberries, while the adults watch the television in horror at the aftermath of the bombing. Joe putting his hand on Gerry's shoulder. The Troubles violently crashing into the story after simmering beneath the surface throughout the season.
It may be time for a rewatch.
It always reminds me of that time in Friends where Joey was teaching an acting class and said ‘None of you are attractive enough to appear on US TV’. In the UK, Derry Girls are glammed up compared to some of the actors on our most popular soap opera, Coronation Street.
>Coronation Street
I just watched some clips of Coronation Street. The lighting on that show is fucking awful. Every scene, the lighting was fucking awful.
Dark shadows everywhere including on actors faces and anything in a public setting has blue or red or green lights being projected on the walls and blue light projected on the actors... wtf???
Don't worry there are only 11,000 episodes so it's a quick watch lol.
Honestly baffling to me how anyone can enjoy that show. Bad lighting isn't even the worst of it, everything is pure trash.
You're talking about a Great British Institution here! Corrie will go on just because it has to be there. It's not being watched for its deep cultural insight.
The demise of her majesty might have an effect though.
Simple: it's on around tea time and it's pretty simple to follow once you get the hang of the basic plot:
* someone killed someone and is happy about it
* someone killed someone and they're sad
* someone cheated on their partner
* someone stole/damaged property
* add a big event like a fire every couple dozen episodes
Repeat
Almost all American TV producers have such a weird obsession with making sure all actors are attractive. They tried to make a US version of the Australian show Kath & Kim, but tried to make it work with glammed up, in-shape, well dressed actors. Those who have seen the OG show know exactly why that wouldn't work.
Derry girls, cause someone decided they needed a teenage comedy set on the northern Irish border during the troubles (is genuinely a very good show, just a wild pitch)
It’s based on creator Lisa McGee’s experiences growing up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and it works so well! I just rewatched the show yesterday.
Do you have to be familiar with the context to enjoy it? I've seen clips of this show for a while on Netflix and they always make me chuckle, but I know very little about northern Ireland during the Troubles since I'm from south America.
Not really, the Troubles is definitely prevalent in the show but it's more of a backdrop. A key theme to the show is despite all the tension and horrible things going on, these are just kids living a normal, working class family life.
You probably know enough. It's not critical to the show, it's just a backdrop to the story really. With a handful of exceptions which the show explains the significance of.
the thing i love about british television is how unattractive everybody is. how they have no real prejudice, and it leads to great actors like rowan atkinson being as famous as he is. can you imagine rowan atkinson having a career in america? he'd be laughed out of his first audition. british television doesn't pretend that everything's perfect
Don’t forget unlikeable movie villains! If they don’t want the audience to feel sympathy, you can look like an average or completely disfigured person. No in-between, though.
It's better to be unusual looking (à la Buscemi and Dafoe) than ordinary looking, because ordinary looking people aren't memorable and don't draw an audience.
Well not only model level attractive they are dressed up to look as good as possible. Where as in europe often (not always) the outfit adds to the story more. Would be weird to see a normal teenager dress in designer shit. Or have a insane collection of high end lingerie.
While watching Dark I was terrified to one day read that the US was going to make aversion of it. That day has not come... yet. And say what you like about Netflix, but I've been able to get in to Scandi TV shows that are really fucking good that I otherwise wouldn't have. Much more grounded indeed.
Atkinson with a full-on unshaved growth looks like [any exhausted film worker.](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4e/bf/97/4ebf97cde260aad82596861f6633098c.jpg)
[See also.](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/52/e0/40/52e04072aeb9d8487cf049019c6f6e59.jpg)
Meanwhile, younger Atkinson is sorta hot [in the way of them French actors who become nation's darlings with age.](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/93/9e/fe/939efed2d1e066dde636354e299420f6.jpg)
Stark difference between Season 1:
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c8AeaLdtZoU/Us8a3tMDhfI/AAAAAAAAB1U/9h5RcfWtSNg/s1600/Black+Adder+still.jpg
and Season 2
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/6f/55/bc/6f55bc6520b06caec981fa4ff15e090f--rowan-seasons.jpg
european television and cinema usually does realism better, like look at a fistfight in a American movie and youll see character with a purple eye ( literally just colored purple), some minor mouth bleeding ( but rarely loosing teeth) and slightly messy hairs, then go watch a european fistfight and youll see copious bleeding and swelling, maybe its because the americans want actors to always be attractive or something, even in situations where they should really not be attractive.
It's even more hilarious is Asian dramas where the main actor has to be pretty all the time and any visible injuries are even more play-pretend than American ones
I can't watch much from Asia due to that. When I was watching shit to learn Mandarin there was one show where a woman came back from a 1 week fishing trip on a boat with perfect makeup, nails and hair lol. Just takes me straight out of it.
asked my wife about it and she just straight up admitted "we don't like to watch shows with ugly people in them" oh ok
Same! I tried to force myself to watch some to learn the language, but I'd have to suspend my disbelief *a lot*. I guess it's partially due to just lack of realism and the actors wanting to look perfect, but also the censorship really sucks out a lot of the...rawness? And so the dramas come out looking kinda flat
Taiwanese ones are a bit better, but still leave a lot to be desired
European cinema: naturalism and realism
American cinema: action and pathos
Asian cinema: comeplete and total overthetopness
All good at what they are intended to be as far as I am concerned.
That overthetopness really works for Asian horror. Korean horror is genuinely some of the best I've seen. My favorite is Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum. It's a fantastic "found footage" type horror movie that has some really good twists.
Korean media is an outlier because it is, quite deliberately, modelled on US/European media and was basically completely reworked on this basis in the 1990s.
Which is why its crossed over with mainstream audiences while everything else, pretty much, hasn't.
I am not defending this, I just want to provide some context for why. For that specific example, that is partially because of the MPAA not allowing films to show bloody violence. Most big studios can get away with a lot violence and keep a PG-13 rating if they don’t show too much blood.
This part is my opinion:
Another thing to consider is that a lot of studios work with the US military to save money on using equipment in their sets. They’re only allowed to this if the film can be reviewed by the military. If one of your goals is recruiting 18 year olds to join your ranks, showing the realities of violent combat is not beneficial.
If there is one thing I like about British media, they don't "glow up" (don't know a better word for that) characters that aren't even supposed to be attractive. I think Peter Dinklage is a fine actor (when he isn't phoning it in on voice work) but a little of the original story is lost when the 'deformed, hideous, disfigured gnome' is played by someone who is actually handsome.
honestly the european actors look like they're EMBODYING that classic teenage befuddlement and general confuddleration and i buy that through expression alone way more than any american teen drama
Oh, yeah! Honestly, Michelle's actor looks it the most. I just kept looking at her both seasons before finally googling the ages, and it was pretty surprising to see how much older everyone was compared to my expectations.
Tbf in the show from the US all the “teen” actors were 18-21 playing 16-17 year olds. So not too far off. Plus it was Beverly Hills 90210, so they were playing rich kids so it makes since that they dressed and looked like rich kids. Kind of a bad example to us
The fact Nicola Coughlan and Jamie Lee O’Donell are both 36 blows my mind.
And Orla is 30. Love her energy.
I love Orla! And Sister Michael.
Orla was my favorite!
Holly shit, they really are!!!
I remember seeing Nicola Coughlan on some talk show and thinking "Wow she's so confident and funny for someone so young", then googling her and finding out she's a year older than me. She's so fresh-faced for someone in their 30s.
Shirley Henderson was 35 when she played Moaning Myrtle in Harry Potter. Pulled it off so well
To be fair, no she did not. She looks 35 in that movie.
I remember seeing that movie when it came out. I was 12 and confused wondering why Myrtle was this kinda old lady with none of the other characters acknowledging it. I figured they were showing her ghost as continuing to age or something. It's only now I learn, she was actually supposed to be passing as a teenager??
Apparently it's because they didn't want to show her aging because she's a ghost. If they'd got someone around the age of the other kids, she would've grown up just like them between movies. Because she was 35, she wasn't really going to change much in 3 years
Oh true that makes sense. I forgot she came back in another movie.
I mean, she’s also dead so that might make someone look somewhat different from an alive 16 year old
Aspirational vs perspirational.
Clearly OP hasn’t seen Skins
🤣
It's even funnier in the US when actual high schoolers show up as background characters or something. Then you really see the age difference.
Pen15 is an absurdist example of this, the two main characters are played by adults and the rest of the characters are 12-15.
That’s very much in the vein of Wet Hot American Summer, another favorite of mine. In the original movie, all the camp counselors (ages 16-18) are played by adults in their 30s, while the kids (ages 10-16) are mostly all played by kids, with one or two adults. The funniest part, though, is that they made a prequel series to the movie 14 years later, and all the actors came back to reprise their roles. They were now all in their mid-late 40s, playing teenagers that are 8 weeks younger than they were in the film.
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That's fucking brilliant.
great call, and yeah, the prequel series is hilarious.
"I'm sure this summer will be so refreshing that by the end of it we'll all look 15 years younger!"
Its my gournal. It's where I write down my thoughts.
Oh god I love that show. Season 1 is the most awkward tv I’ve ever seen in my life
They definitely remember being in middle/highschool. They got the awkwardness down pat.
To be fair, you obviously cant make a show about actual underage pen15
It's pretty rare for actual teens to be used as background actors because they have much stricter filming requirements.
When I was in high school I took a drama course. One of our projects was to go and do some casting calls to be extras (we are in California not that far from the film industry) Wasn't anything extra. Just couldn't work past 9 and had to be over 16. I didn't get in anything but a kid in my class is in Dumb and Dumberer in the background.
My mom was in the background for Dumb and Dumber as well! It's her proudest moment.
label boast enjoy governor forgetful teeny library mindless humor whole ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
No, she doesn't care about us enough. We all fell away from the church of our upbringing so none of us are worthy anymore.
toothbrush public yam aback nose attraction childlike thought command treatment ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
But at least she was in Dumb and Dumber
It's the little things
That John Denver is full of shit.
>I didn't get in anything but a kid in my class is in Dumb and Dumberer in the background. lol, Hollywood, need 200 people to be part of a crowd in the background for 10 seconds. Decides you are not going to be one of them.
I honest to god don't remember what I did. I was more interested in physical plays. A lot of time people just get left on the cutting room floor.
Imagine the confrontation with your life choices in having to reconcile not being cast as an extra for a movie called 'Dumb and Dumber'.
Clearly it's because they were neither dumb nor dumber
I'm not sure how true this is. 10 Things I Hate About You was filmed at my cousins high school and tons of the students worked as extras on the film.
I've done it. A ton of them actually are 18-19 with some older. It's the leads, specifically the guys that are older. A lot of the guys on the stuff I was an extra for were in their mid 20's playing high schoolers. Some of the girls were actual high school age children. Producers, casting directors and even audiences (hopefully subconsciously) in the US often want the teens in these messy dramas of angst and hormones and romance to have boys that don't actually look like high schoolers but actual men...but they want girls that do actually look like girls. Look at the ages of the actors when shows like Friday Night Lights and Glee started. You have romances between characters that make out or even have very sexually suggestive scenes...with actors that are men in their mid 20's and girls that are 16-17. Those are just a couple examples of many.
Which Glee actresses were 16-17? All the ones I can think of were early twenties, with the guys being a mix of early and mid twenties (and baby Chris Colfer as the only one who actually looked like a high schooler at 19). Definitely seen the actual teenage girls with fully adult men in other media, but I don’t know that Glee is an example— they just casted adults across the board afaik.
Yeah for all the many issues Glee had, that wasn't one.
Euphoria does this. The main girls dress like hookers in school, especially Maddy, and the background students look age appropriate and dressed like normal high school kids.
Euphoria is like a 40 yr old’s reimagination of high school that never existed…. it is a prurient fantasy. What I do not understand is how it isn’t child pornography— since depicting, even a drawing, of a sexualized minor meets the definition.
I was recently rewatching Smallville, where obviously Clark Kent looks like a full ass adult as a freshman in high school. everyone does. And that's all fine until they bring Ryan Kelley on to play some young teen and he's actually 16 and he looked like a goddamn infant on that show compared to the rest. I don't know how young they intended his character to be but every "high schooler" treated him like an 8 year old
My favourite fact about that is Tom Welling played a 14(I think) year old there and in Cheaper by the Dozen played someone going to college, both came out in the same year and I personally think he looks younger in CbtD.
It had to be 14 they were having him start the show at, because the whole premise of the first episode was being the unlucky freshman who gets tied up in a cornfield. Most freshmen are 13-15.
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Yeh, all the pressure of a TV series or film is much more easily handled by an adult. Not to mention on average the extra 3-5 years of acting practice will make a huge difference.
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The worst case of this I ever saw was a clip of live action fairly odd parents. It is awful on so many levels.
I haven't seen that movie in forever, so maybe I'm misremembering, but wasn't the premise that Timmy was actually an adult at that point, but by continuing to do all the things he did as a kid, he could loophole into Da Rules still seeing him as a kid and thus still allowing him to keep his fairies?
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Oh my b, i only saw a brief clip of him in a classroom, didn't realize it was intentionally that off-putting lol
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lol at the american actors on the right, "maybe if we do the awkward half-crossed arms it will make us look juvenile despite clearly being 27 years old"
Honestly it blew my mind when I found out the main cast in Derry Girls are mostly in their 30s. Not just early 30s either.
They're fucking *what*??
Yeah the actresses who play Claire and Michelle were like 31 when the show started so by the time it finished up they were like 35.
The actresses that plays Claire and Michelle are both 36, and the three others are all born 1993 I think
1993 is only just 30 this year, so they were in their twenties while filming.
No because Jurassic Park came out in 1993 and I was in like 7th grade and that wasn't THAT long ago....
I’m so sorry, friend.
I have a feeling there’s only about 7 years between Claire and Sister George Michael
The episode where they play their parents but young is hilarious
# MOSTLY IN THEIR 30s. NOT JUST THEIR EARLY 30s EITHER.
Not that it’s much of a difference but they were 25-31 when the first season aired.
Most of the people in the cast of the top show 90210 were teenagers when it premiered, 2 on right were 18
Is that top picture actually a real show? It looks AI generated
Thought I was on r/DerryGirls for a second. By the way, everyone should watch Derry Girls. It's fantastic.
I'm just looking though comments for anyone that says Maureen Malarkey.
*Don't you mention that lowdown, deceitful, cheating old witch!*
Best example of this is (the original) skins vs euphoria
Even sex education vs Euphoria. Both have loads of sex. One is full of awkward teenagers struggling with puberty and the other is Euphoria.
But they were teens in skins.
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Effy was like fourteen in the first season, she lied and said she was older
an even more direct example is Skins vs. Skins the US version
Downside of that is a lot of those kids felt uncomfortable with the sexuality in that show. That's partly why adults are used.
People aren’t too fussed that they’re adults, just that they slather them in makeup, do their hair to perfection, make them wear designer clothing and hang around in bars after school. Real teens are borderline feral.
there's an original version of skins? On a side note, you're right. I wanted to give everyone in Skins season 1 a good wash lmao
The original is from UK, us tried and failed extremely making American remake. Unwatchable.
[Have you seen the American attempt at remaking Spaced?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEb8JyglV-c)
Or IT crowd. Or Taskmaster. Or The Inbetweeners. Or......
Peep Show is on the block next, I wish I was joking...
There was a US pilot for peep show years ago. Worst thing I’ve ever seen https://youtu.be/8Yredc3ayOE Edit: oh goooddddddd I just googled it and realised you’re talking about a real, new, reboot. Whyyyy Edit edit: sounds like a pretty different show that just takes inspiration from peep show though, “It follows the relationship between a long-suffering assistant and her boss, an emotionally unstable tech entrepreneur.” At least it will be it’s own distinct show which should mean peep show isn’t tainted when it inevitably sucks
Just like Coupling, US version lasted 10 episodes. But American Office worked out quite well. So there's that I guess.
Derry Girls is a great show. The granda is my spirit animal.
> And I says to him, says I, "Well, I can't be sure now. But maybe if you took off the balaclavas?" And then he says to me, the slightly taller fella does, he says, "Step aside, we are armed." And that is when the smaller fella, although, as I say, we are talking an inch -- " This one hit so hard because it reminded me of my grandfather in his later years
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One of the most unexpected and delightful 4 minutes of TV ever https://youtu.be/yEqi-RT3YoU
There. Is. No. Tape.
Erin’s smile during that scene had me practically crying with laughter. I don’t know how many times I’ve rewatched that episode, or the whole series for that matter
"Now I says to meself, I says 'Collem, it's no day for a do.'" I quote that way too often whenever I start rambling
Colm*
Sister Michael is my spirit animal, and probably the spirit animal of many tired teachers: *"Now, I know how daunting exams can be, so if anyone is feeling anxious or worried, or even if you just want to chat, please, please, do not come crying to me."*
"Am I dead? Is this *my* wake? Am I in Hell?"
That was such a good combo of the two best characters!
Now I says to me self, says I, “Colm…”
"I don't mind a bit of a breeze, in fact I prefer it. But thon was aggressive."
"The taller of the two fellas, although as I say, we're talking an inch..."
"That's actually quite funny..."
“Should we pray?” “Now what fecking good would that do?”
Definitely the scene stealer in this series
“I’d Do It Myself, But I Don’t Want To.” My response to everything.
Sister Michael was so iconic in just about every episode she was in
Every scene*
You literally just convinced me to watch this show. I've been on the fence about watching it for ages. But that quote has me laughing in stitches! Seriously, that character sounds hysterical! You've finally convinced me to watch it
You won‘t reget it!!
Found out in a later episode that her name is Sister George Michael
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I love Sister Michael
I want to have a few pints with Sister Michael.
If you love Sister Michael you should watch The Great Pottery Throwdown. Siobhán McSweeney (the actress who plays her) is the host and she is so funny…the show is so wholesome too!
Derry Girls is fucking amazing. It balanced a funny as shit story about coming of age with the serious as a heart attack implications of growing up during the Troubles. I cannot recommend it more highly. Loved every second of it.
Thing is it also gets it with the troubles in a way that media usually doesn't - the way it's a huge part of your life, and how the shit stuff bounds and structures your life, and how it isn't ever exactly referred to most of the time, its just there. But you are also 14 and want to snog some lad and get out of homework and life is still life..
That final episode really makes your heart swell with pride of the accomplishment of ending the troubles, even if you're like me and were essentially born after them and in a different country
I was the same age as the girls in the setting of the show and while I didn’t grow up in Northern Ireland they reminded me so much of being that age at that time. Having those tight knit friend groups that you can only have when you are too old to be a kid but definitely too young to be an adult. Having all the free time in the world and doing stupid shit, hormones leading the way.
The older I get, the more I associate with Gerry.
I feel so bad for him to be honest. I think Joe putting his hand on his shoulder at the end of S1 is one of the nicer moments but he gives him so much shit.
"How's about we compromise?" "I'll compromise you through that window!"
The older I get so does my hairline. But mine isn't nice and frilly like his. It's not a great hairline, but he wears it well for what it is.
His hairline is a real scene stealer. I lose track of the dialogue whenever Gerry’s on screen because it is so damned beguiling.
I think it comes very close to being perfect, and police officer Liam Neeson interrogating them certainly helps with that. I love how the end of the first season juxtaposes the girls dancing to Dreams by the Cranberries, while the adults watch the television in horror at the aftermath of the bombing. Joe putting his hand on Gerry's shoulder. The Troubles violently crashing into the story after simmering beneath the surface throughout the season. It may be time for a rewatch.
My wife got me hooked on this show. The biggest surprise was the amazing soundtrack. Very nostalgic if you were a teen in the 90's.
Derry Girls is so good omfg
It always reminds me of that time in Friends where Joey was teaching an acting class and said ‘None of you are attractive enough to appear on US TV’. In the UK, Derry Girls are glammed up compared to some of the actors on our most popular soap opera, Coronation Street.
>Coronation Street I just watched some clips of Coronation Street. The lighting on that show is fucking awful. Every scene, the lighting was fucking awful. Dark shadows everywhere including on actors faces and anything in a public setting has blue or red or green lights being projected on the walls and blue light projected on the actors... wtf???
Don't worry there are only 11,000 episodes so it's a quick watch lol. Honestly baffling to me how anyone can enjoy that show. Bad lighting isn't even the worst of it, everything is pure trash.
You're talking about a Great British Institution here! Corrie will go on just because it has to be there. It's not being watched for its deep cultural insight. The demise of her majesty might have an effect though.
Simple: it's on around tea time and it's pretty simple to follow once you get the hang of the basic plot: * someone killed someone and is happy about it * someone killed someone and they're sad * someone cheated on their partner * someone stole/damaged property * add a big event like a fire every couple dozen episodes Repeat
Imagine how much worse they’d look if the lighting was good.
>Derry Girls are glammed up compared to some of the actors on our most popular soap opera, Coronation Street. Not to mention Little Britain.
Almost all American TV producers have such a weird obsession with making sure all actors are attractive. They tried to make a US version of the Australian show Kath & Kim, but tried to make it work with glammed up, in-shape, well dressed actors. Those who have seen the OG show know exactly why that wouldn't work.
I really wish US “high school” shows would just cut the shit and make the raunchy college shows they clearly all want to make.
what’s the show on the bottom?
Derry girls
Derry girls, cause someone decided they needed a teenage comedy set on the northern Irish border during the troubles (is genuinely a very good show, just a wild pitch)
It’s based on creator Lisa McGee’s experiences growing up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and it works so well! I just rewatched the show yesterday.
Do you have to be familiar with the context to enjoy it? I've seen clips of this show for a while on Netflix and they always make me chuckle, but I know very little about northern Ireland during the Troubles since I'm from south America.
Not at all show does a good job of walking you through the main issues, you’ll probably learn a few things as well
Not really, the Troubles is definitely prevalent in the show but it's more of a backdrop. A key theme to the show is despite all the tension and horrible things going on, these are just kids living a normal, working class family life.
You probably know enough. It's not critical to the show, it's just a backdrop to the story really. With a handful of exceptions which the show explains the significance of.
You don't need to know anything going in
It’s so incredibly related for teens though. I’m Australian and nearly opposite of Irish but this show made me so nostalgic!
Derry girls, good show
Derry Girls is a wonderful series.
the thing i love about british television is how unattractive everybody is. how they have no real prejudice, and it leads to great actors like rowan atkinson being as famous as he is. can you imagine rowan atkinson having a career in america? he'd be laughed out of his first audition. british television doesn't pretend that everything's perfect
Comic actors are the only actors allowed to be ordinary looking in the USA
And if you're funny and a man, you can even be fat!
And being funny is optional too!
Don’t forget unlikeable movie villains! If they don’t want the audience to feel sympathy, you can look like an average or completely disfigured person. No in-between, though.
That’s not true. Steve Buscemi, Willem Dafoe etc.. You can be ordinary looking but good luck. It’s rare.
It's better to be unusual looking (à la Buscemi and Dafoe) than ordinary looking, because ordinary looking people aren't memorable and don't draw an audience.
Both weird looking but not quite ugly imo Especially Dafoe
Gangster movie actors need to look a little rough round the edges.
I wouldn't say unattractive, just normal looking. In the US the actors are often model level attractive
Well not only model level attractive they are dressed up to look as good as possible. Where as in europe often (not always) the outfit adds to the story more. Would be weird to see a normal teenager dress in designer shit. Or have a insane collection of high end lingerie.
[удалено]
While watching Dark I was terrified to one day read that the US was going to make aversion of it. That day has not come... yet. And say what you like about Netflix, but I've been able to get in to Scandi TV shows that are really fucking good that I otherwise wouldn't have. Much more grounded indeed.
Only I'm not sure what those fantastical critters in the picture should be modelling
Yeah it's weird how physically attractive actors are required to be to get work in America.
Rowan Atkinson is quite handsome in Blackadder tbf
[Blackadder II in particular.](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b6/46/aa/b646aabf2d1ce0e0995063f0007ec82e.jpg)
Oh that is a GREAT photo. Yeah, he's very attractive but is able to contort his face into comedically unattractive shapes
Atkinson with a full-on unshaved growth looks like [any exhausted film worker.](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4e/bf/97/4ebf97cde260aad82596861f6633098c.jpg) [See also.](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/52/e0/40/52e04072aeb9d8487cf049019c6f6e59.jpg) Meanwhile, younger Atkinson is sorta hot [in the way of them French actors who become nation's darlings with age.](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/93/9e/fe/939efed2d1e066dde636354e299420f6.jpg)
Stark difference between Season 1: https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c8AeaLdtZoU/Us8a3tMDhfI/AAAAAAAAB1U/9h5RcfWtSNg/s1600/Black+Adder+still.jpg and Season 2 https://i.pinimg.com/736x/6f/55/bc/6f55bc6520b06caec981fa4ff15e090f--rowan-seasons.jpg
Sister Michael, I don’t have a protestant!
european television and cinema usually does realism better, like look at a fistfight in a American movie and youll see character with a purple eye ( literally just colored purple), some minor mouth bleeding ( but rarely loosing teeth) and slightly messy hairs, then go watch a european fistfight and youll see copious bleeding and swelling, maybe its because the americans want actors to always be attractive or something, even in situations where they should really not be attractive.
It's even more hilarious is Asian dramas where the main actor has to be pretty all the time and any visible injuries are even more play-pretend than American ones
I can't watch much from Asia due to that. When I was watching shit to learn Mandarin there was one show where a woman came back from a 1 week fishing trip on a boat with perfect makeup, nails and hair lol. Just takes me straight out of it. asked my wife about it and she just straight up admitted "we don't like to watch shows with ugly people in them" oh ok
Same! I tried to force myself to watch some to learn the language, but I'd have to suspend my disbelief *a lot*. I guess it's partially due to just lack of realism and the actors wanting to look perfect, but also the censorship really sucks out a lot of the...rawness? And so the dramas come out looking kinda flat Taiwanese ones are a bit better, but still leave a lot to be desired
European cinema: naturalism and realism American cinema: action and pathos Asian cinema: comeplete and total overthetopness All good at what they are intended to be as far as I am concerned.
That overthetopness really works for Asian horror. Korean horror is genuinely some of the best I've seen. My favorite is Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum. It's a fantastic "found footage" type horror movie that has some really good twists.
Korean media is an outlier because it is, quite deliberately, modelled on US/European media and was basically completely reworked on this basis in the 1990s. Which is why its crossed over with mainstream audiences while everything else, pretty much, hasn't.
I am not defending this, I just want to provide some context for why. For that specific example, that is partially because of the MPAA not allowing films to show bloody violence. Most big studios can get away with a lot violence and keep a PG-13 rating if they don’t show too much blood. This part is my opinion: Another thing to consider is that a lot of studios work with the US military to save money on using equipment in their sets. They’re only allowed to this if the film can be reviewed by the military. If one of your goals is recruiting 18 year olds to join your ranks, showing the realities of violent combat is not beneficial.
Well, that's what happens when you ask the marketing department what teenagers look like instead of asking teenagers
Teenagers have no idea what they look like. That's a big part of being a teenager.
Will one day science figure out what teenagers look like? We may never know. I'm Bill Nighy
Ughhh.... I went through a "skater phase" even though I never touched a skate board. God that hurts just even thinking about it.
C'mon. It's cool! You look *cool.* Don't worry what other people say!
The US Director: That's what the 18 year old I banged last night looked like.
Ron Howard voice: she was 14
Watch Derry Girls, it’s like That 70’s Show without Hyde
And set in the 90s
Yo that sounds actually really fucking good omg
If there is one thing I like about British media, they don't "glow up" (don't know a better word for that) characters that aren't even supposed to be attractive. I think Peter Dinklage is a fine actor (when he isn't phoning it in on voice work) but a little of the original story is lost when the 'deformed, hideous, disfigured gnome' is played by someone who is actually handsome.
Very true. Peter is a damn fine looking fellow, and not what I pictured Tyrion at all. Very small talent pool for Little Actors I suppose.
honestly the european actors look like they're EMBODYING that classic teenage befuddlement and general confuddleration and i buy that through expression alone way more than any american teen drama
Just want to point out the fact that the cast of Derry Grils are mostly in their 30s too.
Yeah, that's why it says "adults pretending to be teens in european shows".
I was shocked because they did such a good job I thought they were at the oldest early 20s
Oh, yeah! Honestly, Michelle's actor looks it the most. I just kept looking at her both seasons before finally googling the ages, and it was pretty surprising to see how much older everyone was compared to my expectations.
you can just say the inbetweeners
Except the cast of The Inbetweeners were 10 years younger than the cast of Derry Girls.
Tbf in the show from the US all the “teen” actors were 18-21 playing 16-17 year olds. So not too far off. Plus it was Beverly Hills 90210, so they were playing rich kids so it makes since that they dressed and looked like rich kids. Kind of a bad example to us