The Evil Smirk of Doom!
Okay, I haven't been on the forums in a while. Quite frankly, I don't really have anything else to add to the SGU discussion. I don't watch the show at all. I only watched the first two episodes. That was enough to tell me that I didn't want to see anymore. So, I've just been doing the occasional lurking.
However, I do watch Merlin. So, I can come here to discuss that. Also, I know of no other place to go to vent, as it doesn't seem as though there are many who share my opinion, and I don't wish to inflict it upon anyone else if they are enjoying the show as is. I'm in the US, but I've been watching series 3 along with the UK folk thanks to the miracle of downloading. For the most part, I really enjoy this show. It's cute and fun. Yes, it's full of plot holes large enough to drive a truck through, but there are some redeeming qualities. The greatest of which, for me, is the acting done by Colin Morgan and Bradley James, particularly Colin Morgan. He's just a wonderful up and coming actor, and I'm enjoying watching his progress as an actor. At this point, with the writers and producers really getting on my nerves with their reluctance to move the story forward, particularly with regard to Merlin's magic reveal, the interaction between the characters, and the brilliance with which those interactions are carried out by some of the actors, is the primary thing pulling me through some of the episodes.
So, I've stated all that to preface one main point. Katie McGrath as Morgana is killing my enjoyment of this show. She is not a trained actress. I understand that; however, that fact is becoming more painfully obvious with each passing episode. She has a palette of about 3 or 4 emotions that she knows how to act, and she does all of them using very big expressions without a hint of nuance. The primary one causing me to constantly facepalm during most episodes this season is her evil smirk of doom. It's that look that the camera pans to after an unsuspecting character has left the room or turned his or her back. It's the look that the villain uses to say, "Ha ha, I am evil and up to no good. See how my smirk conveys my evilness." She has been doing it since the first episode of season 3 and she has done it in every episode in which she is heavily featured since then. I just finished watching episode 7, and she does it more than 10 times in that one episode. I refuse to go back to get an exact count, because it's just too painful and ridiculous to watch. The woman is just not a good actress. She is weak at best. I'm not saying that she has no talent at all, but what little she has is being spread dangerously thin.
What's worse is that her acting badness is spilling over on to other characters. For example, I really enjoyed the character of Morgause in series 2. I thought that Emilia Fox did a great job last season, but she's having to do most of her scenes with Katie McGrath this season, and it's just not playing well imo. It feels as though she's attempting to be generous with Katie by matching her pacing a bit more, and it's only serving to drag down her own performance. This is on top of the fact that whenever Morgause does any type of smirk it automatically feels over the top, not because the smirk is not justified but because Katie has already used up all of the smirking quotient for that episode. The main actors who seem to be immune to being infected by her bad acting virus are Richard Wilson (Gaius) and Colin Morgan (Merlin), which says quite a bit about the skill level of each of them that not only does she not bring their performances down but they, in fact, seem to slightly elevate her minimal skills.
Honestly, I don't mean to pick on poor, untrained and inexperienced Katie McGrath. Good on her for going for it, even if she doesn't have the training. I'm not faulting her for living out a possible dream, but her dream is costing me my enjoyment of this show. I'm fixating on it and venting about it, because not only is it hindering my enjoyment, but it also seems as though almost everyone (at least those on the interwebs) are completely blind to it. I actually read a review about an episode (I forgot which) that stated that her performance outshone all the other actors. Seriously?!
It's as though her physical beauty has blinded them to her weakness as an actress. I just wish that the writers could find a way to use her a little less during the episodes. She really does not have the skill set to carry an episode. The episodes that I enjoy the most are the ones where she speaks the least.
Okay, I'm done venting now.
. But now I am thinking I shold start watching perhaps? If they are doing that sort of thing and they have her in there...cant be all bad! 