and another thing

[cimorene]

I really can't see any plausible reason for Ari's strong German accent. I mean, he's in his thirties so it's possible that his dad was born in the 40s and came from Germany and that German was his native language, but Ari's native language should still be either Arabic or Hebrew (or he could be a true bilingual). Even assuming German was spoken at home, Arabic or Hebrew should be the accent since it would be the language of his education all the way up to med school.

And according to IMDb, Ziva's played by a South American. How hard can it honestly be? Maybe not actual Israelis, but how about some jews or at least a British accent, so we could pretend they were just talented? And for that matter, Michael Weatherly's conspicuous un-Italianness: why the Italian name then? Surely it wasn't necessary?

Not to say that these are the only things that stand out, but given a choice language is always what we fixate on in this household as a pet peeve. That, and Gibbs's haircut.

Comments

[stlkrchck.livejournal.com]

I am so with you on this. The nationality/accents particularly bother me in NCIS. My mother is Israeli, and thus I spend a great deal of my time with Israelis and in Israel. Ziva's accent is horrible, but at least the syntax and grammatical mistakes that she makes are classic Israeli, and I suppose she looks Israeli enough. Ari's accent was appallingly German. If they wanted to make him truly bilingual, his accent would still be Israeli, American or British. No one from his generation has a German accent, because no one from Germany would be the one to primarily teach him English--especially as it's taught in all schools by Americans or teachers with Israeli accents. (And even if his accent were American or British, there would still be hints of Israeli in it.)

As for Tony, the strangest thing about him being Italian is how much they don't use it as a plot device. I mean, what's the point? Why make something of a big deal out of it (at least when compared to how classically American the names Gibbs and McGee are now considered!) when it's unimportant to his personal life? His family--what we see of it--isn't played as classically Italian. Why not call him--oh, even Michael Weatherby?

But then, I always wonder that naming characters. I get that Ziva being, as Seinfeld would say, a hold-my-machine-gun-while-I-take-a-piss Jew is a big deal and thus I can't quibble with her name, but how interesting would it be to watch a show where the characters had the first names, at least, of the actors playing them?

In conclusion: Oh Gibbs. It's time to move past the bowl-inspired haircut.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

I suspect that the initial plan for the show included some elements related to Tony's Italian-ness that they later changed their minds about implementing, but of course, that doesn't have to be true. This show does - especially early on - come down heavy on the Quirks of each person.

[perhael.livejournal.com]

Hey! When I mocked Gibbs's haircut you said you thought it was perfectly normal. No fair. :p

I am so with you on the accents/nationality thing. How hard can it be to find an actor who shares the character's actual nationality? Or to give Michael Weatherly a non-Italian name? Though I have to say the blatantly Dutch "German" dude annoyed me most, but that's a personal pet peeve. XD

[cimness.livejournal.com]

Hey, it is normal. Completely realistic. It's just also unattractive.