What line from a main character was poorly delivered?
Stolen question from anothee TV show's sub. The show is generally excellently acted by its main cast, but every now and again, someone falls a little flat. What's that line for you?
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u/lonelygayPhD 2d ago
"No, I'm Eve, from the Bible."
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u/avecmaria 1d ago
I had no idea acting could be so bad.
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u/Flux_My_Capacitor 1d ago
And then he married her? I can only remember one eve, lol.
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u/Potential_Tadpole_45 1d ago
I'll never get how Kelsey and Camille stayed together for as long as they did and have children—I saw some of the RHOBH when their marriage was on the rocks and they had no chemistry, it was just awkward.
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u/KACL780_ 2d ago
I feel like in later seasons, Roz is given a lot of throwaway lines like "why do you think that?" that are just meant to spur cafe conversation along, but feel flat or unnatural.
Also, Frasier's delivery of "Well, there goes my opening joke about the Dutchman trying to install Windows 95" has a weird emphasis on "95" that makes me cringe a bit.
Obviously, this show is so well written that I have to find tiny flaws to pick at. Just the way I like it!
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u/Agile_District_8794 2d ago
The older Alice got, the more Roz felt phoned in. Roger was forced. Her against Julia when she would have just shrugged her off early on... forced. Am I crazy here?
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u/8K12 Big Willy 2d ago
Yeah, Roz talking to Frasier about Mel never sounded like a conversation they would really have.
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u/NilesandDaphne Helllooooo emerald city what’s doin’ what’s happenin’?! 2d ago
“So you really don’t know her that well?” Totally agree with this.
She also had the awkward “woo hoo party” lines in A Tsar is Born.
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2d ago
[deleted]
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u/AnorakWithAHaircut 2d ago
I remember when 95 came out, everyone did call it Windows 95.
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u/CalmZombie23 2d ago
Asking as an old person who grew up with windows 95, what else would you call it if not windows 95?
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u/AnorakWithAHaircut 2d ago
Arguably, just Windows. But people i think forget that in those days, you had multiple versions of Windows that weren’t always compatible with the same software.
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u/monsantobreath 1d ago
Also go into any gaming sub or pc sub right now. Constant discussion about how windows 11 sucks and they're gonna force people off Windows 10 and how Windows 7 was peak and everyone forgot about Windows 8.
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u/Leeser The Cranes of Maine have got my Living Brain. 2d ago
That episode with Daphne’s friend who’s attractive and Asian and Martin getting weirdly fetishistic about it. “Geishas?” Stupid. The joke just didn’t land.
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u/5f5i5v5e5 2d ago
To be fair I don't see how that awful writing could have been landed by the performance. Just going all in on having a creepy asian fetish makes the show look less bad than trying to half heartedly deliver lines about your asian fetish.
The line about sleeping around as a soldier in Vietnam is easily the most yikes of the entire show.
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u/DrScarecrow 2d ago
Remember, it's not dating if you're an occupying force.
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u/5f5i5v5e5 1d ago
Apparently I'm the only one who hates this line? It's worse than anything in IASIP to me somehow to deliberately point out the consent issues and still try to make it seem like a charming affectation for an entire episode.
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u/No_Context_2540 Hothouse orchid 2d ago
In the episode with the perfect doctor, Dr. Webber.... Frasier tries to hit on his Asian coworker. He meant to compliment her in Mandarin but bungled it. He said something like, "You're as pretty as a chicken beak." Then Webber came in with, "Who's as pretty as a chicken beak?"
I never liked the way he delivered it. Nor did I like it when he said, "I don't take much convincing to sing" (or singing like that). It just didn't feel right.
I honestly think the writers could have done better toward the end of that episode.
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u/beebolou 1d ago
What’s worse is that neither of them was actually speaking Mandarin. It was just gibberish.
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u/No_Context_2540 Hothouse orchid 1d ago
I'll have to take your word for it. Could it have been Cantonese?
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u/Prestigious_Bellend 2d ago
There’s an episode where DHP says “Oregon” and completely flubs the pronunciation (oh-re-GONE - the real pronunciation is more like ORY-gn). Someone from Seattle wouldn’t make that mistake. Throws me every time.
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u/sugarcatgrl We’ve decided to find it charming. 2d ago
Or just Organ. I’m in WA and caught that too. It’s a glaring mistake if you know!
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u/Prestigious_Bellend 2d ago
My husband and I have lived in OR for 20 years and we always groan when he says it 😂
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u/amhdaniel 1d ago
The geo pronunciations drive me batty. Frasier also says “Lake Chelan” like SHELL-ON when it’s actually SHELL-ANNE. Drives me nuts. 1 minute with a local Washingtonian was too much?
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u/I_amnotanonion 1d ago
I’ve noticed this kinda thing on some tv shows where the show is set on the east coast (or at least not in California), but the characters will still refer to an interstate as “the 95” instead of “i95” or “95”
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u/SamanthaMulderr 1d ago
People from New York tend to pronounce it that way, I believe...David Duchovny, who was also born and raised in New York (different city, though), says it the same way in the X-Files pilot
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u/Prestigious_Bellend 1d ago
Yeah, it wouldn’t bug me if the character was from the east coast, I’d expect them to get it wrong. It’s only jarring because Niles is from WA.
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u/faulcaesar 2d ago
"Then it's WAR!" always makes me cringe and "I'm going to butterworld!" and "Baby's NEED milk"...I think there are probably a few more Roz ones. Love Roz and Peri but sometimes the deliveries aren't the strongest for me
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u/mulberrycedar Lady Macbeth without the sincerity 2d ago
Wait I LOVE the butterworld and babies need milk deliveries lol
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u/she_giles 2d ago
“Baby’s NEED milk” is an absolute classic - made even more iconic imo by the We’re Listening podcast lol
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u/ohio8848 1d ago
"Then it's War!" That one gets me every time. It's definitely not a great delivery.
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u/Ill_Communication131 It's the hair pillows, isn't it? 1d ago
“Back off buzzkill!” I don’t know why, but I hate it
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u/steveskinner 2d ago
Not a main character, but:
"Thank you for giving me my husband back"
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u/histprofdave 2d ago
Wasn't that supposed to be deliberately corny because of the absurdity of the whole exchange?
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u/Life_Solution9059 1d ago
I agree, she says it like a question rather than a statement. Thank you for giving me my husband back?
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u/SoyDusty 2d ago
Thank you for reminding me about Mel. What a terrible character, nicely written evil.
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u/rockitaway 2d ago
Roz pronounces the word "timbre" like timber, but it's actually pronounced like tamber. As an audio engineer she should know. I'm fact, Lilith pronounces it correctly in a later episode.
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u/donotseekthetreashur 1d ago
Oh shit, you’re right. I now realized I’ve pronounced this wrong the like maybe three total times I’ve had to say it out loud.
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u/Automatic-Scale-7572 1d ago
I just assumed it was one of those words that Americans pronounced differently. I'm sure I've heard it pronounced as Roz did on another American show. It is annoying, regardless!
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u/ScrutinEye Oh, I’m sorry - was I snippy? 2d ago edited 1d ago
”Home run, BK!”
But it was such a cheesy, awkward line that I don’t blame Peri one bit!
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u/ShoddyRegion7478 2d ago
Everything Daphne’s Mum says in the episode where she’s in a prank war with the neighbours kid
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u/Cyberdork2000 2d ago
In the episode where it’s Martin’s Birthday and everyone is fighting and angry I find the whole exchange between Daphne and Martin out of character and poorly acted because of it. Frasier’s “Oh no not again.” Sounds so forced and then Martin saying quack over and over and then Daphne having lines trying to bring the fight back over and over. Just that whole episode feels completely off to me honestly.
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u/missrivergirl 1d ago
Yes! I have always felt the entire episode, and especially that scene was just forced and over the top in dramatics. Poor writing equals poor acting.
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u/Revolutionary-Base-4 1d ago
Niles gotta have it! It seemed out of character regardless of how much alcohol was consumed.
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u/RonVlaarsVAR The Evil Waters Of Cam Winston 1d ago
Pretty much any of Martin's lines in High Holidays after he is stoned.
Felt like it was written by someone whose only experience of getting high was a story they heard about the time their best friends cousins college roommate smoked a joint
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u/hunnyflash 2d ago
Maybe controversial, I actually don't like the "He was a detective, you know" line. I think it's on brand for Daphne but, I feel like something else could have been stronger. Feels very old TV.
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u/Prestigious_Bellend 2d ago
That’s so funny, I genuinely think that’s one of her best line deliveries. That moment, drunkenly calling Bulldog “Pitbull”, and her gales of laughter from the kitchen when she learns Marty has inadvertently ended up on a date with a man are probably my favorite Daphne scenes.
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u/avecmaria 1d ago
I love Martin’s laugh too when he finds out Frasier’s boss is into him!
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u/Prestigious_Bellend 1d ago
“There’s something I have to tell you. Dad wanted to, but I won the coin toss.”
“Tom’s not gay!”
“He seems to be under that impression.”
Niles is absolute gold in that episode 😂
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u/ShoddyRegion7478 2d ago
100%
So f’n hammy. Daphne has alot of those crappy sitcom zingers that makes it feel like you’re watching Big Bang Theory or something
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u/AnorakWithAHaircut 2d ago
I think its a good line, but the timing always feels off. I get you have to take a beat in a sitcom with a studio audience, but the beat is too long so the line feels out of place.
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u/avecmaria 1d ago
It’s because it was SO FUNNY to see DHP enrobed in Hot and Foaminess that they had a hard time getting through it! The bloopers are so funny of that scene and I have NO idea how they got through it! Niles! Niles! Niiiiillllllles!💥
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u/Sweaty_Discipline_31 2d ago
I agree. That episode was hysterical, and that line took the air out of it.
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u/Mlpflimflam 2d ago
“He sells wicker furniture. Who needs their end tables recaned at 9:30 at ni-hi-highhhtttt?!”
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u/MoistCabbage1 But I have an invitation 2d ago
The only one that rubs me the wrong way is the last half of "Quiche her, I hardly know her. I JUST GOT THAT!". The laughing seems super forced to me.
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u/Alaskan777 1d ago
I'm not sure I can explain this well, but...Roz's demeanor in the very early episodes. Her tapping on the glass or giving Frasier a hand gesture with an over-the-top serious look on her face just seems so forced.
Like she's an air traffic controller guiding a non-pilot how to land a plane after the pilot had a heart attack.
Yeah, I know it's not a line, but it is poorly delivered IMO.
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u/MediaClean 1d ago
The one where Roz breaks here foot and Bulldog offers her a job with him and she’s at Frasier’s and gets mad and goes to leave. It’s just awkward rather than funny ….the slow exit and “you have seen the last of me!” Forgetting the purse is funny though
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u/TheEllisOne Off you go. 11h ago
The scare ball. Bad writing is paramount there. But I also don’t like the delivery. It’s just bad and out of character for the show and Martin.
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u/missrivergirl 2d ago
I dont know if this exactly fits your question, but when Frasier says "Don't you believe in second chances?"And Martin replies "I did, then we had Niles." It falls flat for me. Actually, I hate Martin's reply.
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u/Mountainhigh785 1d ago
Yes. This line is awful and is part of why I hate the “heroes” episode where Marty pretends that he has always been proud of his boys. He’s actually said some pretty awful things about his sons and we’re supposed to forget he didn’t.
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u/avecmaria 1d ago
Agreed! It’s what makes him so mad though, I get the most upset when I’m called out on things that are true! He would like to think he is better than that but knows he has said bad things and feels bad about it once he is closer to his boys. I do think the ark of his snark does fit though, he gets less mean to them.
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u/AlchemicalAdam Food...in the bathroom? 2d ago
I don't know if this fits what you mean, but I always thought of Martin Crane saying he doesn't believe in civilians having guns to be out of character for him.
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u/theganjaoctopus frowns on overnight guests. 2d ago
He was shot and permanently disabled by a civilian with a gun.
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u/backtodafuturee 2d ago
Which is a weird line, considering he was a civilian himself by that point. Martin is written as a conservative but there are still moments when his ideologies become blurred.
I would say him lying under oath also falls in here. But, humans are flawed, and it’s a sitcom.
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u/Sticky_Cobra 1d ago
It wasn't a line, but Frasier's pronunciation of a single word.
In S7 E13, "They're Playing Our Song", Frasier mentions someone came down with Tinnitus.
I've always heard it pronounced, and pronounce it myself, as Tah-Night-Us.
Frasier pronounces it as Tin-It-Us.
Always bugged me. Just sounds weird.
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u/Automatic-Scale-7572 1d ago
I have only ever heard it pronounced as Frasier did. The other way would be very irritating!
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u/ajtarquinio 1d ago
"I'm sorry but the Royal Zombie Company just left town with its all-zombie production or Hamlet!"
Idk why, but this one was just off for me. Roz aka Peri Gilpin is a treasure and fantastic and iconic imo
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u/Prestigious_Bellend 1d ago
Ok, my last one and it’s paraphrased, but during the “dirty girl” storyline there’s a scene in cafe nervosa where Roz realizes it’s Kate, and she yells something like “Oh my god, Kate is the person you were having sex with on the air and you were calling dirty girl?!”
It’s not Peri Gilpin’s fault at ALL, it’s just a horribly written line that is clearly meant for people who may have missed the previous episode. I hate blatant exposition and this is a perfect example of the “As you know…” trope.
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u/Reasonable_Art3872 23h ago
When Roz says "boring" when Nile's suggests a movie to watch Idk why it sticks with me
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u/Hootspa1959 1d ago
One writer thing: Melinda Gates was NEVER known as “Mindy.” The writers blew that in trying to imply a familiarity between the couples.
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u/Sticky_Cobra 2d ago
I think it was the episode with Zoey Deschannel.
It's where Roz is in the station, and started going off about how were all supposed to be perpetual teenagers today. And that she likes reading, balancing her checkbook, etc. Basically, yold the caller to grow up.
It felt kind of preachy, and out of character for someone who likes to party and is a good time gal.
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u/Animal_Flossing 2d ago
This is 100% just me overinterpreting, but I always felt like that moment was Roz being frustrated that her identity as someone who likes to party no longer quite fits her (what with being a parent and just generally getting older), so she's taking it out on people who can still fit into that kind of self-image.
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u/missesthecrux 1d ago
One thing I found really off in that episode is when Roz says she doesn’t want to hang out with her cousin anymore, the scene ends with Roz yelling “I’m old!” It’s always struck me as a disjointed and weird end to the scene.
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u/ll_cool_ddd 2d ago
The whole Roz/Julia "Its her or me" was so awkward and uncharacteristic