Alys acting abilities

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Thought I'd start this topic just to see what you think

Around the time just before "Tough Love" I was flipping through the Essence Board, and there was this one thread dealing w/ Alyson Hannigan; some people thought her acting was off this year, and this one guy in particular said she's only good when she has to cry.

Now, I only just started watching the show this season, and haven't seen any previous eps other than "Restless" so I couldn't compare her acting ability now to any other seasons, and wondered if anyone truly felt there was a difference this year.

At any rate, those negative comments really bothered me, because I personally think she's been great this year (I know bad acting when I see it, and there hasn't been any on this show) and the last 3 eps just confirm my feelings.

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I think Aly's acting is great, and has been as good this year as it has been in past seasons. I think many of the people who are complaining about Aly's and/or Amber's acting and claiming that there is a lack of chemistry between Aly and Amber are just unhappy with how the characters have developed. "Oh, I don't like the character or the storyline as much as I used to. Guess the actors just must not be selling me on it."

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Tracy

Hear that Baby? You're my always.

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I think she's been about the same, if not better than previous years. The only thing I don't like about her acting is the baby talk, only cause it gets on my nerves My friend on the other hand likes it... what can you do? I think she's a great actress, and I find it hard to say that she's been bad this season, cause she hasn't, to me anyway.

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This is a W/T board. Devoted to all that is W/T or Aly/Amber. Of course it is also a wonderful place to discuss all things Buffy and many things, err...non-Buffy.

The one thing you won't have to read here is people dishing A/A or W/T or Buffy in general.

Alyson Hannigan is a wonderful actress. She shines as does all of the Buffy cast.

Next please...

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I think Aly has been great this season, I loved her in Triangle. She has not been at the front of the action for a lot of the season but I can't fault her acting skills, she is great.

The moments she and Amber have shared on screen have been fantastic. (See Family, Listening to Fear, Checkpoint, The Body and many others)

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Amber Fan
Willow "Thats fine I don't need to be snuggled"
Tara "Vixen"

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quote:

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Originally posted by Dr.G:

Alyson Hannigan is a wonderful actress. She shines as does all of the Buffy cast.

Next please...

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hear, hear!

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Aly is amazing! Always has been always will be. I think she has done an amazing job this year. I mean you've only got to look at episodes such as Family, The Body, Tough Love especially, and Spiral to see that. Who ever has been disagreeing are a little *off* themselves.

PS: I'm back!

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Ah Ginner, the board just *hasn't* been the same.....

I don't think anyone can doubt Aly's attention to detail and her inherent skills in acting. I mean, she cries, yes. But she does it as Willow. When I'm watching Buffy I never think of her as Aly. She's always in character. Watching 'Spiral' last night, it was the little things that touched me, the hair stroking, hugging, arm holding etc. Sigh.

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"It doesn't matter, really, if I don't see Willow tonight, she knew. Willow was in her life, for keeps. That was what mattered." ~ Tara, Unseen: The Burning

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quote:

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Originally posted by tommo:
Ah Ginner, the board just *hasn't* been the same.....

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*Gasps*
Really? I'm so touched.
*Sniff*

I agreee Ruth.When i'm watching Buffy, i don't think of Aly as Aly, she's Willow.
And when Willow does cry...well that's it for me. I'm off as well. It's the same with Tara...and their both amazing actresses...isn't is great

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To specifically address JJ's question...

AH is an actress of absolutely SPECTACULAR gifts. As someone who has been able to observe any number of great performances on stage, in films and on television over the last 45 years, I will unhesitatingly state that she is right up there with the best of them !

Crying? Well, yes, she IS good at it. Indeed, all one has to do is watch her performance in the "Cassie's Choice" episode of "Touched By An Angel", wherein she spends about HALF the episode in tears. The writing is mediocre and filled with cliches, but she manages to make the nearly intractable material work. And she frankly puts the rest of the cast (sorry, you fans of RD ) to shame.

But as far as BTVS and previous seasons are concerned, I still cite "Doppelgangland" as a truly incredible piece of "technical" acting: she is called upon to play FOUR (4) parts, and does them ALL convincingly, mostly just by modulating the tone and/or registers of her voice (I STILL get chills when she grabs Percy and says "I'm having a terrible night. Wanna make it better?" ).

Acting "off" this season? I doooooon't think so. As far as earlier seasons are concerned, you have only to check out ANY of the "Willowcentric" episodes to see how amazing she is. I mean, sheesh, even if you go all the way back to "I, Robot - You, Jane", you simply can't take your eyes off of her .

I suppose you've all figured out by now that I am an unabashed AH fan .
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"It's all about the cake for me."
AH at the 100th episode cast party

And "baby" voice? If you mean by that her adorably "adenoidal" voice of infinitely sublime and varied musicality, no it doesn't bother me at all .

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I'd quote Dr G...but that's been done.

So I'll have to go with Aly is a bloody amazing actress.

End of discussion.

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ive alway's loved aly's acting ability. who could watch "the body" this season and not agree. yeah she has been using more baby talk or whatever. but, i think that has more to do with underlining her maturation this season. as everyone could see last week not only no baby talk but willow was in full take control mode. very intense. and in "the body" she was a total mess. i loved the contrast between willow and tara in the body. willow all frazzled no makeup a bundle of nerves totally how that character would be. then there's tara makeup done well. all in control. patient, calm, together. (ok here im really getting into the writing and directing but it takes great acting to pull it off).

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Alyson is a superb actress who gets better and better with each season. If anyone doubts her ability, or her versatility, all they have to do is look at the demands that have been placed on her role this season. From the humor of Triangle to the anguish of The Body and Tough Love Aly has been great.

As for those who claim that there is a lack of chemistry between Aly and Amber my only comment is, "are you blind".

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Damn, Roxton beat me to it

I was just going to say that the people who doubt Aly's acting are probably the same people that don't see any chemistry between W/T...blind people or maybe just stupid

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I totally agree - Aly is a superb actress !

Hemiola said it so much better than I ever could - and he has the experience to judge it right .....

.....her range is unsurpassed and she always is in character - when you see her on BTVS it's always Willow you see - every movement, facial expression and every word she says is in character .....

.....that's what counts most, IMHO - being credible in the role you play .....

.....as is Amber, btw ..... and whoever denies the chemistry between Amber and Aly must be blind and/or dumb, IMHO ..... 'cause it's there even when they're not on the show (like in the Episode 100 celebration pics) .....

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I personally think Aly is a wonderful actress. I have a couple of issues with Willow as a character, but that isn't Aly's fault.

BTVS and Angel both have brought out abilities in actors that you never would have suspected they would have in their other stuff.

Who could imagine the ditzy girl in Jawbreaker (Julie Benz) could be so terrific as Darla on Angel? Or seeing SMG in something
like I Know What You Did Last Summer and then seeing her in an episode like "The Body"? Who knew that such great acting ability lay behind the guy in the Taster's Choice commercials (ASH)?

They're all fabulous. And I want to see Michelle get some nods this year, because she's been flat-out fabulous and had a pretty plum role in every episode she's been in. People like Aly or Amber have varying success
depending on how big their role is but Michelle's been in the spotlight pretty much all year.

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I wish they'd show the Gold Blend commercials just one more time....I used to love them. Fancied Sharon Maughn like nothing on earth...

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"It doesn't matter, really, if I don't see Willow tonight, she knew. Willow was in her life, for keeps. That was what mattered." ~ Tara, Unseen: The Burning

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I think Aly's acting gets better and better Season by Season, I can't comment on how good she is in S5 because I haven't see any of it yet but I'm sure she's as great as ever!

Someone earlier on refered to Aly using a Baby voice, I presume this is when she's talking to Amber/Tara?

Would someone care to fill me in if this is not the case please.

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Aly Han Fan
And besides, I have a shot at being a bad ass Wiccan, and what better place to learn.
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The thing that impresses me so much about Aly is her range, in an episode like Triangle she can play it for laughs like an old pro she has such immaculate timing, yet in an episode like The Body or Tough Love she imbues such emotion in just a look or a touch that she can and does reduce me to a blubbering mess within seconds. I defy anyone to sit through her crying without being affected, there are very few actors that can cry convincingly on screen, and she is definitely up there with the best of them.

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To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage. -- Lao Tzu

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Aly's acting SUCKS.

Just trying to break up the monotony.

I quite honestly believe that she is one of the finest actors working today, and I have noticed nothing "off" about her this year. Smells like sour grapes to me.

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What DO sour grapes smell like?

D

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I actually went to the Essence of Amber board to check out what they wrote ..... in essence (no pun intended ) it was one poster and all the others just agreed .....

.....what made me really upset was that he/she questioned Aly's professionalism by implying that her thoughts about Alexis distracted her from her work - as if Aly was unprofessional enough to let that happen ..... IMHO it really was just a stupid rant caused by dislike for Willow's development in recent time ...... just stupid - I grrrr ......

[This message has been edited by Willows Puppy (edited May 19, 2001).]

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Aly is perfect! One of the BEST Actress ive seen!

She plays Willow VERY GOOD .... and i like her acting! ....

POINT!

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~ Cici
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Willow: Hear that Baby? Youre my Always!

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Wow, WP, that person over at that other board must be NUTS!! How could anyone go along with such a ridiculous statement?

I mean, geez, no one suggests that SMG's "thoughts" about Freddie Prinze Jr. are "distracting" her from HER professional obligations! I mean, REALLY!

To tell you the truth, this reminds me of a famous remark made by the great music critic, B.H. Haggin. Haggin was a great admirer of Toscanini, and someone once reported to him some incredibly stupid negative remarks that another critic had made about the Maestro. Haggin thought about these remarks for a moment, and then stated: "You know, there are some people who will just never FORGIVE him [i.e. Toscanini] for being so great." I think we have a similar situation here .

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Aly brings something very special to the role of Willow beyond her incredible acting (which, to add my 2 cents, has only gotten better, if that's possible.) When i read the shooting scripts it always amazes me to see just how much she brings to even the most ordinary lines. In the most talented cast on television she stands out as someone so interesting you can't take your eyes off her.

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Alyson Hanigan became my favorite actor on television in short order. To accent the Doppelgangland performance, I really enjoyed the "I can be dramatic" lines of Season 4, where she acted as someone 'acting melodramatic'. It was excellently done, I thought. And she cries amazingly, of course, but as others have said, she has amazing range as well!

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Aly can't act? Sorry, does not compute with me. Aly is one of the best actors on televison today. She is excellent at being both funny and dramatic, and all the little things in between. And for the people who think there is no chemistry between Aly and Amber, well then to them! There is so much chemistry between the two that Joss and the crew need to wear safety goggles and lab coats when shooting their scenes! That's a weird image and you should all just probably forget about it.

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"Meow"- Miss Kitty Fantastico, 'Family'.

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lol Catwoman

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It's too late Catwoman I already have that image firmly implanted in my mind and my imagination is working overtime.

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Okay. You might all find it strange that i'm finding this strange but i haven't been here that long and was wondering if she has out-burts like this often?

quote:

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Originally posted by tommo:
[b]I wish they'd show the Gold Blend commercials just one more time....I used to love them. Fancied Sharon Maughn like nothing on earth...[B]

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Ruth? Where did that come from?

Editing to add: That image isn't leaving my head any time soon either.

[This message has been edited by Ginner (edited May 20, 2001).]

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