Heh. There's a funny thing in this article:

Feldstein says Fox sold more than 2 million combined units of the first nine complete-season sets of The X-Files and "several hundred thousand additional units" of the four themed sets.

If the entire X-Files has sold 2 million units, and Firefly sold half a million units, Fox made a fuck of a lot of money from Firefly. Why? Comparitively, the didn't spend that much on Firefly. The fact a half season show 4 years old has sold 25% of the units of The Freakin' X-Files is something beautiful.

gossi | April 20, 00:11 CET

I was thinking that a good single disc issue would be the middle of the Faith trilogy: This Years Girl, Who Are You, Five by Five and Sanctuary. They could include a 5-10 minute prologue of the Faith story in BtVS S3 (the first part of the trilogy) and perhaps an epilogue of the Faith AtS S4 and BtVS S7 (the concluding part of the Faith trilogy). I don’t know if something like this would sell but I would definitely buy it.

Sunshine | April 20, 00:15 CET

In the UK they did character disks, Sunshine.

gossi | April 20, 00:23 CET

There is a single disc issue for Faith - its just not available in the United States. It only has episodes from BtVS though.

Here's an idea, instead of just repackaging, how about giving us some brand spanking new Buffyverse stories on DVD? I think I have Mr. Feldstein's mailing address somewhere.

killinj | April 20, 00:26 CET

Amen, killinj...I have no use for these repackages...I have already bought umpteen copies of full seasons (for loaners), and I really have no need of these.

Or want of these.

And for me, it's not all about themes...it's about the whole thing.

Chris inVirginia | April 20, 00:34 CET

killinj, as long as people keep buying the DVDs, they will keep releasing them - it's far cheaper than producing new content. Well, uhm, it's pretty much free, and gets lots of $$$s. Of course, we all know it's about supply and demand. Producing new content becomes a worry about actually being profitable, unfortunately.

[ edited by gossi on 2006-04-19 22:38 ]

gossi | April 20, 00:38 CET

I dunno, I'd take a hot-Buffy-and-Spike-action themed disc. ;-)

totally0random | April 20, 00:43 CET

gossi - the 1 main difference would be the X Files when first released were sold for approximately $89.99 in the US compared to the $36.99 approximate price of Firefly when it came out. Higher profitablity factor from X than Firefly. Although there is no doubt in my mind that if FOX can figure a way to theme Firefly they will try it as well. What themes for Firefly do you think they will do?

RavenU | April 20, 00:44 CET

Personally I expect the studios to get even more creative. Box sets of themed individual scenes, for instance, instead of whole episodes - who wouldn't want "The Frightened Reaction Shots of Cordelia Chase" on their shelf?

Scotto | April 20, 00:52 CET

RavenU - The 3 disc "Original aired episodes in order of airdate so you can see how we f-ed up" box set.

[ edited by danregal on 2006-04-19 22:53 ]

danregal | April 20, 00:53 CET

killinj, as long as people keep buying the DVDs, they will keep releasing them - it's far cheaper than producing new content.

I know that gossi, but I still want new stories dammit!

killinj | April 20, 01:00 CET

Then tell people not to buy themed disks, killinj ;)

Personally, I think they should make a Jayne Is Eating themed disc set. They could include the movie with it, too, since Jayne spends most of that movie eatin'.

gossi | April 20, 01:03 CET

Has Firefly actually sold 500,000 copies or is it that an urban myth?

Btw the Clem disc comes out next week.

Simon | April 20, 01:03 CET

Compilation discs...I ain't buyin', that's for sure.

To each his own, of course, but they really drive me nuts.

Chris inVirginia | April 20, 01:03 CET

Simon, I've seen it mentioned recently by Titan in the publicity material for the Firefly book as the amount of DVDs sold. It could be wrong, but it does seem a reasonable number, given Chris B's 250,000 number in 2004.

By the way, 2 million X-Files DVDs at, say, $60 each is $120m. That's a mini industry all of it's own.

[ edited by gossi on 2006-04-19 23:12 ]

gossi | April 20, 01:06 CET

For me,buying selected episode disks is pointless since I have the season sets.This sort of thing might be good for people getting into the show and don't want to shell out for big box sets.One of my friends bought the selected episode disks of The Simpsons because they feature some episodes from later seasons.The season sets of The Simpsons are released slowly and are only up to year seven with those.



I bet they could make a shipper themed disk set.A Buffy/Angel disk with B/A episodes.A Buffy/Spike disk with some of those episodes.A Xander/Anya and Xander/Cordelia set.It's probably limitless on different ways and what kind of themed disk sets they can release.Plus,as gossi points out,it's cheap.They don't have to create new material,just repackage it.They make some dollars without having to really spend any money.Are they not re-releasing the Buffy sets in thinner cases pretty soon after just releasing the Complete Series set a couple months back?

Buffyfantic | April 20, 01:28 CET

Then tell people not to buy themed disks, killinj ;)

That may be a tough sell. It is MUCH cheaper to buy the Buffy Chosen Collection than to buy each individual boxed set. I'm not really sure why anyone would want the individual character discs if you already owned the whole series unless they contained previously unreleased content. Even then, its only a matter of time before that content finds its way on the web.

killinj | April 20, 01:36 CET

Well I have all the individual seasons so any themed discs would be nothing new but there are still some I might buy. I have not bought any of the current themed sets because I did not think the themes really made up a coherent story. My Faith disc would actually be a complete story (given the prologue and epilogue) and it is not like I haven't wasted $30 on way more useless products. Being a Buffyverse fan is really hard work: you get criticized if you only see Serenity a couple of times or dare suggest that it is not the new millenium's version of Citizen Kane and you get criticized if you buy themed discs. As has been said, to each his own.

As far as themed scenes, I would love a chance to get all the spoken Drusilla on a single disc. I just never tire of observing her lunacy. Although I understand the Brits have objection to her accent, I just completely love it, especially the way she says "Spike".

Sunshine | April 20, 02:31 CET

I guess it could be good as a taster of a show but the problem is with a series like BtVS or Angel you'd miss out on a lot by not seeing the previous episodes. Fans (those that could afford them anyway) would buy the complete seasons/boxed set so I think themed disks are a bit of a cash in personally (I quite like the sound of the Faith one though just because it's 'complete' and I could see a similar set for any character with a well defined arc - Wesley and Spike would probably be my next picks).

Re: Firefly set, i'd like to see a Redemption/Revenge set which mainly comprises 'Serenity' but interspersed with footage of Fox execs eating humble pie until they're ready to pop and then Joss wheeling in a large helping of 'their own words' for dessert. Bitter, moi ? ;-)

Sunshine, I don't object to Dru's accent it's just not very good (in the accurate sense) though I reckon Juliet Landau makes it work in character (Summer's attempt in 'War Stories' isn't a whole lot better and has the added disadvantage that she's playing against actual Englishman Mark Sheppard). As i've said before though, cockney is a very hard one to get right so kudos to them both for making a go of it.

Saje | April 20, 02:46 CET

Being a Buffyverse fan is really hard work: you get criticized if you only see Serenity a couple of times or dare suggest that it is not the new millenium's version of Citizen Kane

Dude, if you hang around on sites like that, they need a reality check.

gossi | April 20, 03:11 CET

I agree with the general sentiment that re-packaging the episodes I already own wouldn't interest me at all. But for the person who doesn't already own the entire set of 'verse DVDs, it might be attractive. Or those could be marketed to fans of specific actors or parts of the shows (like, shudder, Bangel or Spuffy scenes or episodes).

I'm with killinj - I want new content too. Not just new "extras" that show us the insights of the assistant prop technician, or yet another retelling by another writer who was on a series for half a season of their greatest moments and lines (not that Joss or David or whoever didn't rewrite them anyway or the actors ad-lib something better that they're taking credit for).

Kyrax | April 20, 04:20 CET

That seems like a rather harsh dismissal of the contribution of some great people who did their bit to contribute to this brilliant show.

alien lanes | April 20, 04:26 CET

I would love a history of Darla, Angel, Dru, and Spike set that had all the flashbacks from Buffy and Angel edited together, chronologically, to give us complete story of their history.

It could start with Darla's turn at the hands of the Master and go through the turn of the century, with Spike vs. Nikki Woods as a seperat "episode"

I have also said that a great Faith Disc would be the four crossover episodes from Season 4/1, but I love the idea of doing a prologue and an epilogue.

They could also do a Firefly disc that would be a sort of prequal to Serenity, with Serenity Part 1 & 2, Out of Gas, Ariel, and Objects in Space (I'm sure they could squeez 5 episodes on 1 disc)

Jinxieman | April 20, 04:35 CET

Saje, dude, you're kidding right? Her mockney was appalling - I love Summer, but that's one of the few moments in the show that cringes. As you said, Juliet Landau makes it work (and to be fair to Summer, JL has far more opportunity to get into it), and I grew very fond of her "spoike"-isms.

As for the topic, ahem, of this thread - I'm all for choice and whatnot in releases. If the demand is there, let them release it. More preferable, of course, would be the situation where we could burn our own DVDs, as we do with CDs, to create whatever episode order we fancied ourselves - eps involving Buffy being scolded by her friends, eps where Spike and Joyce have tea, etc. or even mix and match different shows, so that we could highlight an episode of Firefly next to one of, say, Battlestar or Farscape. That would be fun.

SoddingNancyTribe | April 20, 04:37 CET

Ok, I have to throw a few cents in on the Summer accent, she learned the accent from Mark Sheppard. She spent hours talking to him and asking him questions and working on it and Mark thought she did a darn good job with her "IRISH" accent.

RavenU | April 20, 05:22 CET

I have to hand it to you, SNT, your suggestion for mixing and matching eps of different series rocks, even though I'm sure it would be a legal problem (different studios, networks, etc.). Wouldn't it be great to compare Out of Gas (Mal and Serenity either dying together or surviving together) to the ep of BSG where Starbuck has crashed on a hostile planet with nothing but the wounded Cylon ship and her own brains &, er, ballsiness to get herself back home? (Oh, wait, I can do that myself with DVDs and/or iTunes!) :-)

billz | April 20, 06:43 CET

I liked the idea of character DVD's. I've watched the entire series of Buffy about six times over, and sometimes find it hard to just pick and episode without know every single line and expression therein.
So the idea of being able to spend an afternoon watching how Willow or Giles changed over time sounded appealing. Although, admittedly, I don’t know what episodes they actually have on the DVD's.

By the way, happy to be here. I live in Aus. and I'm the biggest Buffy freak EVER:
[Email, Buffy_Is_Life@hotmail.com; MSN nickname, Breathtaking. It's like somebody slaughtered and Abercrombie and Fitch catalogue [Selfless]; Yahoo! Name BuffyAndScoobs, etc. etc.]

So yeah, end post.

BuffyIsLife | April 20, 09:00 CET

As for completely re-editing episodes to for example show only all the flashbacks (which is a very nice idea) I think this is too much work (= costs too much for the studio), and would require actually knowing the show by the compilers. As for having these themed discs with entire episodes, I figure that since I own all season box sets I can just pop the right discs in the DVD-player if I wanted to watch these episodes back to back. (Besides I am arrogant enough to think I can make better choices about episodes showing a certain characters development.) Then again if studios want to repackage episodes and people want to buy them, I'm not going to stop them.

PS Note that Firefly is once again in the top 10 DVD sellers list of amazon.com, so Firefly has not only sold amazingly well, it is still doing so.

Celebithil | April 20, 11:10 CET

I don't think it's that much work at all to edit all the flashbacks together, ala the Scorcese cut of the "Godfather" movies where he tells I and II in chronological order instead of the original release order. Sounds kind of neat, and although the editor would need some understanding of the story, really it'd just take a pretty simple cut sheet and probably a smidge of new score to make it go.

Scotto | April 20, 11:21 CET

I would love to see a flashback reworking, would "Why We Fight" be included? Food for thought.

Simon | April 20, 11:25 CET

I've always kinda wanted to put all the BtVS flashback material on tape, in chronological order, but I've been a bit indimidated by how long it might take. Much of it would be unrelated ("I Robot You Jane" medieval flashbacks?) and not flow properly due to musical cues and such, but it could be pretty cool (or it might just make any inconsistencies in continuity or performance that're there appalingly obvious). I'm not sure what the earliest bit of history to include would be. The bit with the elders who created The First Slayer, the flashback that Buffy got lead into with that awesome shadow puppet device? Probably the earliest filmed example of BtVS history, but since it's got Buffy herself participating in the flashback in First Slayer's place, I dunno if you'd use it as the opening.

The closing flashback would probably be Buffy at Hemery High and Angel talking to Whistler and commiting to watch out for her, the stuff from "Becoming". That would be a very fitting end to a Flashback DVD, great lead-in to a re-watch of the entire series.

The rare humorous bit of flashback would be fun to include. Spike and Dru saying "Ciao" in b&w.

Kris | April 20, 11:59 CET

Ouuh, yes, I am loving this chronological flashback reworking plan. Seems like it might be a plausible fan-project.

GVH | April 20, 12:59 CET

Yeah, SNT you're right, I think in a rare moment of niceness (what can I say, every now and again one slips through ;) I was putting "it's at least as bad" in kinder terms. Not good, but she tried, bless her.

RavenU, how could it be Irish when she didn't sing 'Danny Boy', dance a jig or say 'Top o' the mornin' even once ? ;-)

Also, like the idea of the true 'themed' disks with episodes from different shows. billz's idea highlights an opportunity with BSG where you could have the original Starbuck crashes on planet with Cylon episode beside the new one and 'Out of Gas'. Or a 'marooned' theme where being trapped far from home is the key element (e.g. Farscape's 'I, ET', Stargate's '100 Days', the BSG Starbuck episodes etc.). It'd be really fun to see how different shows deal with different issues (you could have all the sci-fi staples e.g. clones, body-swap, alien invasion, time-travel etc. as separate sets). As mentioned though, I think it'd be near impossible from a legal stand-point. Pity.

Regarding Buffy sets i'd actually buy, the flashback idea is really intriguing. It'd be a way to sell back catalogue while still adding real value so win-win. Probably too much work for them to bother with now but maybe in 5 or 10 years when the market's approaching saturated it'd be worth doing.

Saje | April 20, 13:00 CET

I don't think I could be less interested in the themed DVDs. I personally find them to be an annoyance - I'm a bit of a sequence freak (I'll never watch an episode of something if I've not seen the previous one - thank goodness for downloads...).

On the other hand... As a sequence freak - the idea of a flashback compilation is very appealing. I agree that it would make a great fan project.

Is there already a website that lists continuity and canon the way that X-men site that was linked a couple of months back does? If not - that might be a good place to start.

MobileHQ | April 20, 14:37 CET

MobileHQ :There are several Buffyverse timelines about if that's any help.

Timeline 1

Timeline 2

Timeline 3

I think the third one is the best but it does only go upto 1997.

Simon | April 20, 15:10 CET

I picked up an 'X-Files: Mythology" box set because I don't really feel the need for whole seasons of the X-Files on my shelves, but a quick nostalgia burst is welcome.

mjwilson | April 20, 15:22 CET

I love the flashback idea although I strongly suspect that a few anomalies would show up. What would also be interesting to me is combining the Buffy/Angel crossovers or almost crossovers. Angel calls the house/Buffy answers the phone but no one is saying anything, etc. It would be nice to bring those together.

Lioness | April 20, 15:42 CET

Why should Summer's accent when addressing Badger be convincing? She wasn't playing a person who spoke with that accent (as Juliet was with Drusilla); she was playing a character who was mocking another character, partly by adapting his manner of speech.

jaynelovesvera | April 20, 16:43 CET

Yes, but when it makes you laugh out loud (as it did me), that's probably not the greatest. Not a critism of Summer really, however, as I doubt I could do better. And let's not forget Boreanaz!Irish.

gossi | April 20, 16:45 CET

Err, no, jaynelovesvera, pretty sure she was _meant_ to be playing someone who spoke with that accent. I think Badger says something like 'Always nice to hear someone from the old country' when they converse which, to me, means a Londoner is meant to be taking River as also from London.

As gossi says though, it's not really meant as a slight to Summer since cockney's so hard most (non-cockney) English actors make a complete pig's ear of it as well (and my attempts at any English accent make Dick Van Dyke's efforts seem Oscar worthy ;).

(and yeah DB's 'Oirish', v. bad, though I always thought his normal Angel voice - presumably just his own natural accent - had occasional Irish hints that fit really well for someone who'd been away from his country of birth for 200 and odd years)

Saje | April 20, 17:12 CET

Saje, since the show is set 500 years in the future and Earth-that-was is a distant memory, I doubt Badger is a Londoner, much less mistook River for one. What I suspect he meant by that comment is they were both descendants of the old country and grew up in an area where people still spoke that way. Perhaps her bad accent didn't seem odd to Badger because he figured she was raised in an enclave that had evolved a somewhat different version of Cockney over the years. After all, changes in the way people speak on the rim are a hallmark of the show.

jaynelovesvera | April 20, 18:09 CET

(My first post! Shiny!)

There are circumstances where I could see myself buying themed sets of DVDs for shows I don't already own. The old cartoon He-Man probably isn't as good as I remember, so I'm very unlikely to spend $40 or so for each season set. But the "Best Of" set, that features ten fan favorites? That is something I could go for.

(Ditto older comedies, such as I Love Lucy, Andy Griffith, M*A*S*H, and Barney Miller.)

It's the same idea as compilation albums. A label offers U2: The Best Of 1980-1990 for those who like popular singles like "Pride" and "With or Without You" but aren't (yet) interested in buying all six albums from that compilation. My complaint is when the label offers a single new or reworked track (in this case "Sweetest Thing") in attempt to draw the hard-core fans into buying a largely redundant product. I think they should make a compilation truly worth the fanatic's hard-earned money (as the limited-edition did, with a second disc of hard-to-find B-sides), or make it completely redundant so that the hard-core isn't missing out.

A "Best of Star Trek" collection with something as cool as actor commentaries for every episode would make it very hard for a TOS/DS9 fan like myself to resist buying it, even though it would likely include Voyager and Enterprise episodes that I would hardly ever watch.


But, anyway, about accents: is it the case that Badger's from Earth-that-Was? If it's not, maybe his accent and River's accurately reflect whatever area Badger's from.

(Eh, I notice in previewing this post that jaynelovesvera beat me to the punch, but the theory bears repeating.)

Bubba The Genius | April 20, 18:16 CET

Loving the idea of the flashback extravaganza!

There's a chronological list of all the Buffy & Angel episodes with flashbacks (& a brief mention of each flashback) at the bottom of at the very bottom of the 'Buffyverse chronology' page

Dalton | April 20, 18:23 CET

Ah, yeah, jaynelovesvera that's an excellent point. I'd actually forgotten that there's unlikely to be any genuine 'Earthers' still alive. In my own defence though i'm a frikkin' idjet so allowances have to be made ;).

Agreed then, neither of them are from London since it's probably long gone but I guess I still think they're meant to sound like Londoners or at least English (as Badger does and River just doesn't). It's true though that accents will change over the centuries and I can live with the explanation for River's 'cockney' Version 2.0 that Badger is from e.g. the moon 'New London' and he believes River to be from another part of 'New London' that has an 'evolved' cockney accent. Nice accommodation ;).

Saje | April 20, 18:42 CET

I also like your explanation about what River's accent in Shindig is supposed to be, jaynelovesvera and Bubba. But I'm not going to be as accommodating as Saje. The stage directions in the shooting script tell us "She's completely sane, unafraid, and she sounds like she's from his home town."

Summer doesn't sound like she's from Mark Sheppard's home town, wherever that might be, because to Brit ears, he sounds like a cockney and she doesn't - and she's not helped by dialogue like "Don't seem likely I'd tell 'em to you, do it?" As gossi suggested, the effect is a little ridiculous, which presumably isn't what they were going for.

SoddingNancyTribe | April 20, 18:57 CET

Typical bloody Englishman * ducks * ;-)

I agree though given SNT's linked script, if they're meant to sound the same (the direction specifically says "in Badger's accent") then it's just bad since she doesn't sound like Mark Sheppard at all though it's still one of the hardest English accents to do so i'm inclined to be lenient.

Not being sarcastic here, i'm genuinely curious, but do their accents actually sound the same/similar to the US ear ?

Saje | April 20, 19:41 CET

Similar, yes. The same - not so much. Summer's delivery is more clipped and chirpy, while Mark's is more lazy-drawly. At least that's how it sounds to this American.

Willowy | April 20, 19:53 CET

I agree. 500 years in the future on a planet settled by Londoners...would it sound more like a Brooklyn, NY accent than a Cockney accent? I don't know how long ago the Cockneys that must have settled Brooklyn to create that accent got here, but It was certainly less than 500 years ago.

It is just like the point that we can't really be sure what the pronounciation of Cockney or any other accent was actually like in the time before recording devices, such as when Drucilla was growing up. All we would have is transcriptions which can never give the whole story perfectly.

We give people a hard time for their accents when doing Shakespeare but academics believe that his plays were probably originally performed in accents that sounded more like backwoods Appalachia than anything that is heard today in the UK.

So the actor playing Badger is a Brit? I was not sure. I've only seen him play small parts as Americans since then and thought his accent was good but not as convincing to my ear as the British. That said, it was more convincing than Alexis D's normal American accent, which is totally weird. The first time I found AD's American accent convincing, was when he played the TV announcer on HIMYM last week. What does that say about the whole subject?

"Not being sarcastic here, i'm genuinely curious, but do their accents actually sound the same/similar to the US ear ?
Saje | April 20, 17:41 CET"

Good question. To me, Summer's accent sounds broader, stronger and more grating than his. I have not listened to it in a while, but doesn't the writing also have her using more unusual phrasing like in SNT's example? I'll have to go listen. Considering how many accents there are in NYC, or just in Brooklyn, to keep to the earlier Cockney connected example, they sounded like they could be from the same general mythical city. I could not pick out a good Cockney accent from a bad one though because I just have not heard enough real ones to have it in my ear.

Now I am going back in my mind and thinking about how different every person from Brooklyn I have ever met sounded from every other one(or Boston, or some of the other places that have very strong pinpointable accents.) There are certain things that flag them aas being from there, but everything else can be different. I guess it is not the same in the UK? Maybe it is like the Norwegean girl I was talking to the other day said. "Everything in the US is just bigger." Bigger sometimes equals more dilluted or diverse...

[ edited by newcj on 2006-04-20 18:24 ]

newcj | April 20, 20:21 CET

I think Summer is a great actress who really accomplished some very difficult scenes, such as being fragile, brilliant and lethal all in one moment, or drifting in and out of sanity with the sad knowledge that one had lost hold of sanity. Having said that, I have to admit -- yes, I'm American, but that scene in Shindig always bothered me because River did not sound at all authentic, yet Badger, whose accent sounded very authentic, accepted her as "being from the old sod." They sounded very different from each other, not "from the same home town."

My ear for British accents was honed by endless viewings of DVDs of Monty Python & Blackadder, plus lots of BBC America (includes Knowing Me Knowing You, about 50 different mystery series with Robson Green [doesn't anyone else star in detective shows in the UK, ffs? ;-)], Second Sight, etc.), plus lots of films from the UK, starring folks whose Cockney accents I think are pretty authentic, like Clive Owen, Jason Statham, Bob Hoskins, etc., plus "plummy, posh" speakers like Keira Knightley, Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, etc. (Alan Rickman is one of my favorite English actors, but he does a different accent every time, including American accents.) So, I admit the only accents I know are those done by actors -- "real people" might sound very different.

But, within those limits, River sounded fake and Badger sounded genuine to this American. Sorry, Ms. Glau; everything else I've seen you do has *rocked*!

billz | April 20, 23:49 CET

To me (and probably most Brits) they sound quite different but I think as Willowy says, Summer sounded more clipped. Traditionally, this is associated with an English accent (like short vowels with Scots) and i've seen voice coaches on TV teaching actors to 'bite' the end of the words off when trying for an English sound, made me think of that, as if she'd perhaps had a bit of formal coaching.

It's probably also that we know (thanks to bleedin' Eastenders ;) what a cockney sounds like so are subconsciously comparing them both to the 'model' accent. Even if they were fairly similar Summer's would stand out since it's 'wrong' though the 'Artful Dodger' style dialogue doesn't help either (Mark Sheppard has been in a few things as an Englishman - and IMDB says he's from London - so I think he's pretty definitely English but if he doesn't normally have a British voice, major props since his accent is flawless to my ear. Saw him on 24 though with a very on-again/off-again eastern European one. Not so great, unfortunately).

It is pretty hard to tell what would happen to any accent over 500 years especially when people are mixing much more freely and most speak a second language (with radically different pronunciation) as fluently as they do English so it's not really fair to hold them to our norms (i'd also heard that Shakespeare's English would've sounded much more regional than the RADA influenced 'queen's English' of todays thesps). In fact, the way 'estuary English', basically an Essex accent, is spreading in the south east it seems that it may take over as the 'standard' English accent rather than the RP, BBC English style that's still accepted at the moment.

(course, the fact that Badger's accent is a fairly traditional London one means you have to jump through a few hoops to explain River's, err, non-traditional London accent but I guess it can be done, where there's a will, there's a way ;)

Totally agree about Alexis D newcj, his American accent sounded very strange to me at first (very mid-atlantic) which I think is testament to his excellent English accent which i've said before could easily be mistaken for a Brit that's lived in the US for a few years (instead of the other way around). What separates him from even Gwyneth Paltrow or Angelina Jolie (both at least passable) was that his accent sounded real rather than an acceptable put on (certainly in later seasons on Angel anyway). It had a lot of his actual vocal features, greater variation in pitch and tone etc. rather than the kind of 'RP-itis', a sort of sanding off of the rougher edges that early Paltrow and Jolie to some extent have (their accents sound English in the sense that they have the qualities of an English accent but most Brits, I think, would know pretty quickly they weren't actually from any particular place in England, that something was 'off').

It's true though that a 'London accent' can be a fairly varied thing but (like a Brooklyn accent for example) you know one when you hear it (I sometimes facetiously call London 'Laaandaaan' to my Londoner mates - they're a long suffering bunch obviously ;) - since most Londoners take the southern English habit of long vowels to what sounds to me to be ridiculous extremes, they in turn find the way I say 'food' among other words similarly daft since Scots tend to end vowels comparatively abruptly, especially within words) but it's also true that the US is just bigger (I once read that greater Los Angeles is the size of Wales) so within cities I think you guys would have more variation but countrywide I think there's probably just as much over here albeit within a smaller area (Yorkshire, Newcastle, Birmingham, Liverpool, North Wales are only a couple of hundred miles apart yet have very distinct accents).

ETA (cos it needs to be longer ;): Nope, billz, Robson Green won a high profile patent case wherein he claimed to 'own' flawed and/or angst ridden detectives. Since he already had a defacto monopoly the court ruled him Britain's designated detecter/moaner and a national holiday was declared. Robson Green Day is celebrated all over the land by spontaneously bursting into tears, wearing dark clothes and catching murderers but still not being bloody happy about it ;-)

Also, most of those actors usually use their natural accent (Alan Partridge's voice is put on and probably more southern than Steve Coogan's natural Manchester and Robson Green is a Geordie and so has had to tone his accent down a lot for acting purposes).

[ edited by Saje on 2006-04-20 23:05 ]

Saje | April 20, 23:51 CET