The part or the person by FutureMrsFIllion

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

The part or the person

POSTED BY: FUTUREMRSFILLION
UPDATED: Thursday, May 3, 2007 07:19
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Wednesday, May 2, 2007 2:08 PM

It is safe to say that this board is full of Joss Whedon/Tim Minnear nuts. Saying that, was it the part or the person? Would Firefly have been just as good with someone else playing Mal, or was it the combination of Nathan and the writing? Was Sarah Michele the catalyst that made Buffy so fantastic?

FMFwonderingisall

---- plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose

Bestower of Titles, Designer of Tshirts, Maker of Mottos, Keeper of the Pyre, Owner of a too big Turnippy smelling coat with MR scratched in the neck (thanks FollowMal!)

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"We don't fear the reaper"

FORSAKEN original

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Wednesday, May 2, 2007 2:13 PM

PENGUIN

I say a bit of both...I think a lesser actor without Nathan's presence would have been lost in the role.

I think Firefly was a cosmic convergence of the right actors and the right scripts...

King of the Mythical Land that is Iowa

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Wednesday, May 2, 2007 2:48 PM

ALLIETHORN7

Pretty much ditto with Penguin- 'Verse just wouldn't be the same without Nathan or Sean or Jewel. Anyone else would just be kinda... unnatural, eh?
But that's just me...

-Danny

A Ghost is all that's Left,
Of everything we Swore we Never would Forget,
Tried to bleed the Sickness,
But we drained our Hearts instead,
We are... We are the DEAD!!!!!!!!!!
THRICE RULES!!!!!!!!!
My Master went to the Moon in a Rocket of Flamin' Cheese!
I LIKE CHEESE!!!

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Wednesday, May 2, 2007 3:06 PM

DAVESHAYNE

Quote:
Originally posted by FutureMrsFIllion:
It is safe to say that this board is full of Joss Whedon/Tim Minnear nuts. Saying that, was it the part or the person? Would Firefly have been just as good with someone else playing Mal, or was it the combination of Nathan and the writing? Was Sarah Michele the catalyst that made Buffy so fantastic?

In general I think Joss did a very good job casting all of his series' so that it is very hard (for me at least) to imagine most of his characters being played by any other people. The one big exception I see is Buffy. No offense meant to Sarah but I think a lot of people could make that role work.

David

"Not completely as well as the series of Firefly..." - From a review of Serenity at amazon.de

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Wednesday, May 2, 2007 3:12 PM

DEEPGIRL187

I'll have to disagree, daveshayne. I'm not a SMG fan by any means, but I think that the show wouldn't have been the same without her, and the same goes for the other series. There was something engaging and unique that each actor brought to their roles, qualities that I don't think could have been duplicated by other actors.

*************************************************

"If you want to win a war, you must serve no master but your ambition."

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Wednesday, May 2, 2007 3:25 PM

DAVESHAYNE

Quote:
Originally posted by deepgirl187:
I'll have to disagree, daveshayne. I'm not a SMG fan by any means, but I think that the show wouldn't have been the same without her, and the same goes for the other series. There was something engaging and unique that each actor brought to their roles, qualities that I don't think could have been duplicated by other actors.

For most of the other cast members I agree with you - it's hard to imagine anybody but Allyson playing Willow or Nick playing Xander - but Buffy is such an everywoman sort of character (with the addition of super powers) that any reasonably talented actress would have done a good job of it. And I'd count myself as a fan of Geller.

David

"Not completely as well as the series of Firefly..." - From a review of Serenity at amazon.de

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Wednesday, May 2, 2007 11:26 PM

PEULSAR5

We sniff the air, we don't kiss the dirt.

Quote:
Originally posted by daveshayne:
Quote:
Originally posted by deepgirl187:
I'll have to disagree, daveshayne. I'm not a SMG fan by any means, but I think that the show wouldn't have been the same without her, and the same goes for the other series. There was something engaging and unique that each actor brought to their roles, qualities that I don't think could have been duplicated by other actors.

For most of the other cast members I agree with you - it's hard to imagine anybody but Allyson playing Willow or Nick playing Xander - but Buffy is such an everywoman sort of character (with the addition of super powers) that any reasonably talented actress would have done a good job of it. And I'd count myself as a fan of Geller.

David

"Not completely as well as the series of Firefly..." - From a review of Serenity at amazon.de

I do see your point, but try this: SMG originally tried out for Cordelia and Charisma Carpenter tried out for Buffy. Can you see either one in that role? I have a hard time doing it.

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Wednesday, May 2, 2007 11:28 PM

PEULSAR5

We sniff the air, we don't kiss the dirt.

Of course, for that matter, Nathan Fillion tried out for Angel--close you eyes and picture THAT!

Would that mean David Boreanz could have been our fearless captain?

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Wednesday, May 2, 2007 11:30 PM

PEULSAR5

We sniff the air, we don't kiss the dirt.

Quote:
Originally posted by Penguin:
I say a bit of both...I think a lesser actor without Nathan's presence would have been lost in the role.

I think Firefly was a cosmic convergence of the right actors and the right scripts...

King of the Mythical Land that is Iowa

Just as Buffy and Angel were. Joss seems to have a knack for that.

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Thursday, May 3, 2007 4:56 AM

DAVESHAYNE

Quote:
Originally posted by Peulsar5:
I do see your point, but try this: SMG originally tried out for Cordelia and Charisma Carpenter tried out for Buffy. Can you see either one in that role? I have a hard time doing it.

I can see that quite easilly. Though Charisma is super extra special as Cordy she would have brought just as much to Buffy and Sarah is certainly quite capable of playing the alpha female role.

David

"Not completely as well as the series of Firefly..." - From a review of Serenity at amazon.de

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Thursday, May 3, 2007 5:32 AM

REDLAVA

I say it is a little bit of both as well. The actors may have a slight advantage. We have gotten so used to seeing our BDH's where they are that it would be hard to see anybody else there. Would Rebecca Gayheart have made a better Inara, hard to say. Maybe she would have, but the Inara that we all know and love will always be Morena.

I almost think that those parts were tailor made to the cast. Each person made to play those parts. Was it fate?

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Thursday, May 3, 2007 5:59 AM

FOLLOWMAL

Quote:
Originally posted by FutureMrsFIllion:
It is safe to say that this board is full of Joss Whedon/Tim Minnear nuts. Saying that, was it the part or the person? Would Firefly have been just as good with someone else playing Mal, or was it the combination of Nathan and the writing? Was Sarah Michele the catalyst that made Buffy so fantastic?

FMFwonderingisall

As far as Mal is concerned, I cannot see any other actor being our Capt. Nathan is Mal, he embodies him. No doubt. For me... the other characters are the same. No one else could be Jayne, but Adam.
No one else could be Wash, but Alan. And so it goes thru each of them. Joss has a particular genius for matching up people with characters.

Quote:
Originally posted by Penguin:
I say a bit of both...I think a lesser actor without Nathan's presence would have been lost in the role.

The look on Nathan's face as he says the line in your signature, Penguin is proof of that undeniable. The director of the episode in the commentary states that Nathan made that line real, didn't make it sound corny, but real.

Quote:

I think Firefly was a cosmic convergence of the right actors and the right scripts...

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Firefly was lightening in a bottle, a brief moment in time, never to be duplicated. Everthing came together-- directors, writers, crew, actors, set, props-- all of it!!

It's a shame, because had it gone on 7 years as Joss planned, think of all the wonderful things we would have seen!

ETA: I've just begun watching Buffy, I'm into the 3rd season. I have to say that I think SMG ( and I'm not a fan ) HAD to be Buffy. She's perfect. Same goes for the others. Joss' talent for picking actors and putting them in the right roles is near miraculous.

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Thursday, May 3, 2007 6:58 AM

CRUITHNE3753

Besides the writing, there is a good amount of what the actors bring to the role, which is why I don't have much interest in novelisations of screenplays, or fan fiction.

On a slightly different slant, I had a parallel-reality thought about what the cast list might have looked like had FF been British. Might post seperately on this if I can come up with a full crew complement.

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Thursday, May 3, 2007 7:19 AM

MSG

If the part sucks you don't get good actors
If the script sucks there's no point in watching
If the acting sucks, even the best script in the world won't help

So I'd say it's the convergence of a great director, witty script, good character development, and terrific acting...

"I'm not all that interested in the mental health of people who want to kill me. "- Leroy Jethro Gibbs

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