Ivanova is painfully unfunny - Babylon 5 (1993) Discussion

[–] alpha128 9 years ago

Ivanova is painfully unfunny. Does anyone else feel the same way? - kamma-mason

I don't agree. But as the Centauri Emperor says, "Humor is such a subjective thing."

reply

[–] PillowRock 9 years ago

But as the Centauri Emperor says, "Humor is such a subjective thing.

Wasn't Cartagia's phrasing "Humor is so subjective"? ;-)
Oh, well; no matter.

While I think that CC wasn't the most versatile actor around, I always thought that the sarcastic cracks that they kept giving Ivanova were right in her wheelhouse. Ultimately, I think that whether people find those funny will depend on their individual preferences / sense of humor.

Also, I always thought that the other strength of CC's acting was her in-the-moment facial reactions when there was a really good actor working in front of her. I found some of those reactions, which were often over to one side of the frame, to be hilarious. (For her, having the actual full exchange to react to was key; so when they did a separate camera setup to get a close-up reaction shot of her, it generally wasn't as fun / funny for me. Those tended to feel a bit more generic, less specific to the scene.)

reply

[–] alpha128 9 years ago

But as the Centauri Emperor says, "Humor is such a subjective thing." - alpha128 (me)

Wasn't Cartagia's phrasing "Humor is so subjective"? ;-) - PillowRock

He said it as I quoted it, as shown in this clip:
https://www.youtube.com/v/wDKHmlBzG6o?version=3&start=105&end=&autoplay=1&hl=en_US&rel=0

reply

[–] teadogg4 9 years ago

I love it when someone HAS to correct you when you quote someone, and they're completely wrong about their 'correction'

HEY BABY LOOK AT MY EYES. I LOVE YA BUT I HATE YOUR LIES.

reply

[–] avortac4 (3746) 4 years ago

You need a comma after "I love it".

You are also missing punctuation at the end.

Isn't your whole sentiment based on an assumption anyway - how do you know they HAD to do anything?

"But" might be a better word instead of 'and' to use.

I am not sure if 'about' is the right preposition to use, so I won't mention that.

reply

[–] Bobby Briggs Briganza 9 years ago

It’s like Borscht Belt humor.

Your film gods: Lee Van Cleef and Laura Gemser
http://tinyurl.com/pa4ud44

reply

[–] ppllkk 9 years ago

kamma-mason wrote:

They try to make the character funny and the actress just fails miserably every time.

"I see that you are about to go where everyone has gone before."Mating earth style. Which sets up the great line, "Next time my way."Dreaming that she is nude in the command center. The quotes are all approximate.

reply

[–] sticksstoneswwiv 9 years ago

mmm, interesting.

the mating dance, isn't that funny and maybe she does try a little too hard. although she was doing exactly what the script wanted.

she is involved in some funny exchanges, one of my personal favorites is with Zathras.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j-76eLz1hc

I really like the 'as you wish' line, which I always wonder is it an ablib.

CC works best here as the straight guy.

the real humor comes from the antics of londo, g'kar et al.

reply

[–] ppllkk 9 years ago

sticksstoneswwiv wrote:

CC works best here as the straight guy.the real humor comes from the antics of londo, g'kar et al.

I agree. Ivanova is not a funny character, but I would not say that

Ivanova is painfully unfunny

as the OP did.I thought that the mating dance was funny, and it did set up the great line, "Next time, my way."I do not remember the 'as you wish' line. Can you refresh my memory?

reply

[–] sticksstoneswwiv 9 years ago

you could always watch the youtube link its the scene

reply

[–] ppllkk 9 years ago

sticksstoneswwiv wrote:

you could always watch the youtube link its the scene

I did. If the line is in that link, I sure can't find it. The link seems to continue to the rest of the episode, but that is not helpful.

reply

[–] janmschroeder 9 years ago

The 'As you wish' line is at about the 1:50 mark in the scene linked to.

reply

[–] ppllkk 9 years ago

janmschroeder wrote:

The 'As you wish' line is at about the 1:50 mark in the scene linked to.

Okay. It just slipped by. I like the line, but I guess I was looking for something that I might laugh out loud over.It is quite a funny scene, and I'm afraid that line just did not stick out for me.

reply

[–] janmschroeder 9 years ago

I really like the 'as you wish' line, which I always wonder is it an ablib.

Nope, it was in the script. JMS said this about that scene in the B5 script books:

What’s most amazing about that scene, if you sit back and look at it objectively, is that
it runs almost four minutes without a single cut-away, just one long take, no
flubbed lines, no do-overs. (I believe the take used in the episode is take one,
no less.) Absolutely clean, an amazing performance.

reply

[–] sticksstoneswwiv 9 years ago

Nice, thanks.

It's always one of those scenes I really enjoy.

reply

[–] Conundrum-NSA 9 years ago

I love pretty much everything about Ivanova and think all of her humor was funny...

but...

The "mating dance" was actually painful to watch.

Welcome to the internet, everyone knows everything, and no one likes anything

reply

[–] Tsavo 9 years ago

After all... "Ivanova is always right! I will listen to Ivanova!"

"Aw Crap!" - Hellboy

reply

[–] c_a_hunter 8 years ago

The "mating dance" was actually painful to watch.

Given how the character was consistently written throughout the series, that is likely the intent by the episode writer. CDR Ivanova was always such a serious spud. Duty first, her private life was simply existence between duty hours.

Being so bad it actually takes on a humorous quality, "Plan Nine From Outer Space" style.

reply

[–] !!!deleted!!! (19664510) 9 years ago

mmm, interesting. the mating dance, isn't that funny and maybe she does try a little too hard. although she was doing exactly what the script wanted. she is involved in some funny exchanges, one of my personal favorites is with Zathras.

So basically, you have NO idea how to use capitalization or punctuation. Wow.

reply

[–] Redhooks 9 years ago

I changed the thread title to correct your error. 

Redhooks

"You don't get something for nothing, you don't get freedom for free." Neil Peart

reply

[–] c_a_hunter 9 years ago

That is the way the character was written, to be so serious.

There still was a lot of humor with the character, very sarcastic.

reply

[–] gheilers 8 years ago

re: "Does anyone else feel the same way? They try to make (Ivanova) funny and the actress just fails miserably every time."

Yes, and how laughingly unrealistic that was. After all, in our own real lives, all of our family, friends, and co-workers...who TRY to be funny...are actually hysterical, and succeed in having us dying in laughter!

:-)

reply

[–] poem 8 years ago

Susan Ivanova isnt supposed to be funny. Her backstory is that of at least a near workaholic, with a spotless record.

---
A gentleman will not insult me, and no man not a gentleman can insult me.

reply