The Off Topic Topic

[Syt]

Something I remembered thanks to Youtube:

I cannot watch British-made TV series about Russian stuff like War and Peace, because I cannot stomach the very British-looking faces and British mannerism from supposedly Russian characters. Is that racism, and is it on the same level of being bothered by black actors playing white historical people (which I am not that much, I think, although it wouldn't be my first choice).

Well, for one they should speak a lot more French like in the book (something Bondarchuk got pretty correct IIRC, and something a lot of book translations fail at).

[The Larch]

But in a more "costumed" historical setting it just breaks my immersion for some reason. It just feels like watching Tudors or Downton Abbey.

Isn't that a bit nitpicky? I mean, blockbuster period pieces in which everyone is and sounds British is the standard for every historical setting from the Roman Empire onwards.

I am not saying it is a rational thing, I am just saying I have noticed in myself. Could be because of the (low) level of acting for all I know.

Yeah, sure.  I mean, you can accuse British media of many things, but acting is not really a weak point.

And why precisely Russian-based productions? Because you're more familiar with them?

[Tamas]

But in a more "costumed" historical setting it just breaks my immersion for some reason. It just feels like watching Tudors or Downton Abbey.

Isn't that a bit nitpicky? I mean, blockbuster period pieces in which everyone is and sounds British is the standard for every historical setting from the Roman Empire onwards.

I am not saying it is a rational thing, I am just saying I have noticed in myself. Could be because of the (low) level of acting for all I know.

Yeah, sure.  I mean, you can accuse British media of many things, but acting is not really a weak point.

And why precisely Russian-based productions? Because you're more familiar with them?

Probably. But I think it must also be because the setting (costumes/props used) do not allow my mind to really distinguish between a British period drama set in Britain, or a British period drama set in Russia. It's the same British faces talking the same posh British accents and same vocabulary in the same style of clothes.

In something like Chernobyl the setting is very well evoked via clothes and vehicles etc. so my mind absolutely does not hung up on the accents and looks. I think if the setting was evoked just as lazily (i.e. shooting Chernobyl in, say, Slough) as for the period dramas, I'd have the same issue. 

[The Brain]

Making Slough stand in for Pripyat would mean greatly sacrificing historical accuracy IMHO.

[Tamas]

Making Slough stand in for Pripyat would mean greatly sacrificing historical accuracy IMHO.

I know you are joking but yes it would. Slough is a shithole but an entirely differently looking shithole to Eastern European shitholes.

[garbon]

Maybe something to take up with your therapist.

[Tamas]

Maybe something to take up with your therapist.

The thing is though, if I am right and British period pieces on other European countries can't be bothered to represent cultural differences (in clothes, environments, vocabulary), isn't that kind of racist?

[Eddie Teach]

No.

[Sheilbh]

But in a more "costumed" historical setting it just breaks my immersion for some reason. It just feels like watching Tudors or Downton Abbey.

That's because they are - like all period dramas - like the Tudors or Downton Abbey

Although I quite like the Paul Dano War and Peace.

Probably. But I think it must also be because the setting (costumes/props used) do not allow my mind to really distinguish between a British period drama set in Britain, or a British period drama set in Russia. It's the same British faces talking the same posh British accents and same vocabulary in the same style of clothes.

It's budget. Chernobyl was HBO with an American network's budget. BBC costume dramas do not have that money or (I'd guess) even the money of a Bridgerton. So maybe not the costumes but I imagine they will use a lot of the design points and settings etc for multiple period dramas and Dr Who episodes, regardless of the setting

It's a very big deal and happens very rarely for a British TV show to film on location overseas, for example. It's too expensive.

[Tamas]

So essentially my problem is substandard production values.

[The Larch]

So essentially my problem is substandard production values.

British TV is well known for its stingy budgets, and period pieces are notoriously expensive. It's only in co-productions when more lavish shows are made.

[celedhring]

It's a very big deal and happens very rarely for a British TV show to film on location overseas, for example. It's too expensive.

It's not. It's super expensive to film in the UK compared to pretty much anywhere in Europe, *particularly* Eastern Europe.

However, for a vast majority of TV shows it's just not worth it to move to another country. You'll have access to more realistic locations and a bigger pool of actors in your home soil. And obviously stuff like soaps, etc... are way too low budget.

[mongers]

So essentially my problem is BBC (substandard) production values.

I don't see that as a problem. 

[Sheilbh]

It's not. It's super expensive to film in the UK compared to pretty much anywhere in Europe, *particularly* Eastern Europe.

However, for a vast majority of TV shows it's just not worth it to move to another country. You'll have access to more realistic locations and a bigger pool of actors in your home soil. And obviously stuff like soaps, etc... are way too low budget.

Interesting. But presumably the UK is cheaper than the US? I feel like I've heard of things being filmed here because it's more affordable than America.

Yeah I suppose in my head I'm thinking of the US because with lots of bigger/"respectable" shows after, say, three seasons they'll do a special in the US and it's normally a sign that the show's made it if they've got budget for that (or, I assume, that they've built a decent viewership in the US).

British TV is well known for its stingy budgets, and period pieces are notoriously expensive. It's only in co-productions when more lavish shows are made.

Slander!

So essentially my problem is substandard production values.

I know Netflix are spending a lot of money building a lots of stages etc in Pinewood at the minute so I wonder if that would have a knock-on effect on the rest of the TV/film industry in the UK. It feels like it should just inevitably but I don't know if that's actually true.

[celedhring]

Yeah, the UK is definitely cheaper than the US, plus it has the advantage of an enormous pool of talented English language actors.

One of the reasons Canada is such a favored filming destination nowadays is that it's much cheaper than the US, plus their cities can pass as American cities.