Dropping Witches of East End

[julieandrews]

I have literally lost the plot. I can't even tell if I missed an episode or not. Reasons why I might not have any idea what's going on include.. having missed an episode?, not caring enough about it when I'm "watching" it to pay enough attention, and finally the fact that too many of the characters are too alike.

Characters need to look, sound, act distinctive! American television oftentimes fails this miserably. Movies too. It's like with books, how you shouldn't name the characters with similar names. Don't start more than 2 with the same letter. Don't make more than 2 the same length. And be carefully of visually similar names like Dick and .. I dunno, something that looks like Dick. Bund? Well, you get the idea.

I am not attuned to fine shades of hair color, hair styles (which are variable anyway), or even skin color. If all your women are white with long, dark hair, I am not telling them apart. If all your men are white or maybe not even white, but I read them white, and they all have short hair (as they inevitably due!), I can't tell them apart. Even if there are blonds and brunettes all mixed in, their hair is too short for even that to help.

If you think you're making your characters different by one having dark brown wavy hair and one having slightly less dark brown curly hair.. yea, no, not really. If you think they all have unique fashion sense.. yea, I'm not going to see it. I can see it only if it's very different and very consistent. Big Bang Theory is a good example.

I'm beginning to ramble. I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep and I really need more sleep, but I have to go to work.

Anyway, what I'm trying to get at is.. Hollywood (and all those other places they film American shows), make your characters more distinctive! Dare to give a chick a short haircut! Dare to give a guy long hair! Dare to give anyone glasses that look like they actually belong on their face! Dare to hire actors who are short, or fat, or tall, or just built differently than "typical". Dress them differently! Hire someone with a distinctive voice! /Give/ them a distinctive voice. And I dunno, but probably 'vaguely British accent' probably doesn't cut it. Except it would be better than nothing. (Well, except to the Brits who have to listen to it!)

I need to go get dressed and go to work. But there's my rant. That's one of the reasons British television is so good. They cast a wider diversity of people. Old, goofy-looking, adorkable, etc. And I dunno, maybe they do character better too.

Sci-fi shows often get to cheat by making some of them aliens. I kept thinking of TNG. So easy to tell all of them apart...

Anyway, yes, clothes. Work. Blah. Bai, Internet. :)

Comments

[julieandrews.livejournal.com]

Just to add that the show I think about when I think of this is Grey's Anatomy. I have trouble with that one. It's a fairly diverse cast, compared to other shows. But it's had such a long run with such a large cast, including people who have come and gone, that I do have some trouble. There's usually 2-3 guys and 2-3 chicks that I can't easily tell apart. That they're almost all doctors and invariably dressed similarly makes it harder.

McDreamy, McSteamy, McMeany, Mayor McCheese.. yea, I don't know who was who.

[spacehawk.livejournal.com]

Ha yes, the TNG crew is very visually distinctive!

[julieandrews.livejournal.com]

Just something as simple as Yar having short blond hair!

I guess the color-coded uniforms help too. :)