Monday, June 13, 2011

Monday Mirthmaker ~ Catherine Tate ("Am I bovvered?")

Much has changed in the UK since 2004 when I jumped ship - emigrated to the USA. I wasn't aware of the name Catherine Tate until news filtered through in the USA that she, an English comedic actor, was one of several being considered to take over the lead in the US version of The Office after Steve Carell's departure. A little light research revealed that I knew her face, if not her name. She was one of Dr. Who's (David Tennant-style) companions.





I wasn't aware, though, that in the UK she had had a very successful TV series of her own, The Catherine Tate Show. Curious to sample, I sent for DVDs of seasons 1 and 2. Catherine Tate now has two new fans in deepest Oklahoma. The shows are a series of zany sketches with Ms Tate taking on the guise of several stereotypical characters whose attitudes will be all too familiar to folks in the UK, though not easily recognised by viewers elsewhere. One of her most successful characters has been a teenage girl, "Lauren Cooper". Lauren spawned a catchphrase - "Am I bovvered?" - an extension of that surly ubiquitous throwaway beloved of teens..... "Whatever!!" My husband, a native of the US, laughed almost as much as I did at her characterisations and sketches - though he needed a little help with translation at times.

Tracy Ullman, another English funnywoman whose work has no doubt inspired Catherine Tate, managed to cross the transatlantic humour barrier quite successfully. I feel sure Ms Tate could do the same, with shrewd observations of the ridiculous side of human nature on THIS side of the Atlantic. She'd need to obtain an initial foothold. A chance to play The Office's new manager could be exactly that.

Most recently Catherine has been seen on the big screen, playing Queen Isabelle in the 2010 movie Gulliver's Travels.




Catherine Tate was born on 12 May 1968 in London. No time of birth is available so a 12 noon chart is shown here.




Yes. There simply had to be some strong Gemini going on! Mercury's in its own sign, Gemini conjunct dynamic Mars.

Sun in Taurus, and Venus, planet of the arts also in Taurus (its sign of rulership) reflect a steadying of that potentially wild and woolly Gemini Mercury/Mars. As I type, Jupiter is just beginning its year-long transit of Taurus - good news for Ms Tate, as it'll conjoin her Sun and Venus soon, with benefits likely to follow on several fronts.

From a Guardian profile:

"She has described herself as a lazy control freak. But when the time comes to do it, she changes. Her brain moves incredibly fast when she's performing, she's completely focused."

Not sure where, or if, the control freak or lazy bits can be identified in the chart. Pluto conjunct Uranus in Virgo is in harmonious trine to her Taurus Sun.... Virgo's insistence on perfection, Uranus's eccentricity and Pluto lending a certain secretiveness which might come across as laziness?

Gemini is key here though, no doubt about it.

Video clips from The Catherine Tate Show and a superb one from Comic Relief (an annual TV charity event) with Tony Blair co-starring ~~









8 comments:

kicksotic said...

The laziness might be attributed, in part, to that Saturn in Aries.

Sometimes Aries doesn't have the patience for Saturn's steps and follow-through and Saturn can't quite get it together quick enough for Aries and by the time he does Aries has moved on to something else, so the whole mess can sometimes result in something of a dead-lock. Or spots of laziness, if you will.

In fact, Saturn in Aries is often good at calling the shots, albeit from the comfort on one's couch, reminding me of Catherine's Lazy Control Freak quote.

But once they get a fire under them, it's non-stop work done quick, quick, quick. And, like a summer storm, it stops.

Just a thought. :)

Unknown said...

Catherine and David tennant are appearing in a modern take on Much Ado About Nothing at the Wyndham Theatre in London.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/reviews/article-1393623/Much-Ado-About-Nothing-Much-Ado-About-Dr-Who--save-show.html

Twilight said...

kicksotic ~~~ Hi there!

LOL! I too have Saturn in Aries (+ Moon). Yes, I can relate to what you've proposed quite easily.

It would fit Ms Tate's description of herself.

I see it as being more akin to minor ADD attacks but results could be perceived as laziness by others I suppose. Tsk. Nobody understands us. ;-)

Twilight said...

Rossa ~~ Hmmmm - that sounds like rather weird production. Thanks for the link though. :-)

I do miss David Tennant in Dr Who - the new one isn't quite up to scratch yet. Maybe he'll improve in time.

Unknown said...

I quite like Matt Smith now. Initially I did think he was too young but he has grown into the role.

You probably won't have seen the most recent series. It finished on 28th May. I won't spoil the reveal but it was a good one. If you've seen River Song you'll find out who she is.

And yes, Matt does play him a bit like a goofy teenager but then as a 900 year old maybe he needs to tap into his 9th childhood or whatever it is....LOL

This year they have split the programmes into two seasons, so we've got another set in the Autumn, I guess leading up to a Xmas special.

Twilight said...

Rossa ~~~~ We're way behind on Dr. Who episodes here. I think we've seen only two - maybe three- with the new Doc. Yes, he'll no doubt grow on us, as DT did. :-)

Vanilla Rose said...

Matt Smith is very good as the Doctor. I still miss DT, though.

Twilight said...

Vanilla Rose ~~ DT did have that "certain something" !
:-)