Doreen comments on TV (Day 8)

[Asafan 0]

I want to thank Doreen Simmons for her great comments on day 8. It was the first time I was lucky enough to hear her. She has such interesting stories to tell. She made a perfect pair with the other commentator (can't remember his name). It's the first time I'm listening to comments so carefully. It will help me a lot to make today's comments on the french forum.

Thanks, Doreen, for this great moment (Neener, neener...) (Showing respect...)

[Treblemaker 254]

Doreen is a rare bird. One of the few female sports announcers in any sport (around the globe) who knows her topic intimately, and has the voice and delivery to make each day's actions sound to the listener as if they have a friend sitting next to them, describing the action. Unlike most sports voices (which tend to be artificially cultured and coloured to sound like the "real thing"), Doreen's laid-back, casual, friendly and almost effortless delivery causes one's brain to do two double-clutch shifting. When first you hear her, alongside whichever other announcer she is accompanying, your first thought is, "Why is someone's mother/aunt/sister in the booth, and doesn't she know she has the wrong sounding voice?" After a few minutes, it shifts to: "This lady is perfect. Her delivery is both classy and knowledgable, yet has a very at-home feel to it, as if one's known her for a very long time. So, what is that other clown with the wrong voice doing in the booth beside her?"

This is especially evident when she's paired with Ross Mihara. It's like silk and sandpaper. Ross has his act together, most of the time, except when his neurons shut down for periodic repair, confusing names, and his delivery of a permanent up-speak lilt can sometimes be irritating without much vocal inflection. Doreen is the perfect counterpoint.

I could listen to Doreen all day. She could recite the phone book, and follow up with a desert of logarithms tables, and I'd still be listening. Ross, on the other hand, well, I've actually turned his voice off, and fired up the NHK live single-camera, single-microphone feed, listening to the unedited sound of the basho on one hand, and watching the NHK broadcast (without Ross) on the other.

Thank you, Doreen. Always a pleasure to hear your voice.

[Orion 431]

I could listen to Doreen all day. She could recite the phone book, and follow up with a desert of logarithms tables, and I'd still be listening.

Thank you, Doreen. Always a pleasure to hear your voice.

Oh my goodness me -- this was the last thing I expected when I tuned in! Thanks Asafan too. If you knew how tired and 'down' I was -- I'd been at an all-day conference (International Women in Business) the day before, and when I got back I was just in time to put in about an hour's Bon dancing in the street near my home. Yesterday I had to get my hair done (it doesn't do much for a woman of my age and appearance, but as a regular I owe it to my local hairdresser, and on the plus side she is a mine of sumo gossip), then to church, then my sumo updates, then a really tough meeting of a committee I had just joined, and finally on to NHK.

The room for the preliminary meeting was still locked (I was a whole ten minutes early) so I sat on the floor in the corridor and willed myself to relax. Meeting was all in Japanese, some of which I did not follow but laughed anyway and, after some complex information was given to Hiro Morita, said, "Makasemasu, yo!" ("I'm leaving it all to you").

In the studio we do the voice checks and after Hiro, who of course goes first, I push up the lever on the 'On/Off' switch and start, "Here I am yet again, seated beside this gorgeous hunk, and for this they actually pay me a modest sum ..." and the sound man on the other side of the glass window stands and puts up his hands in the big round "A-OK" sign. He has a huge smile on his face, so he must be one of the rare ones who understands English.

And when the show actually begins 30 minutes later, sumo weaves its own spell and, apart from some bad fluffs when I can't find the right word, we get through.

The voice thing is odd. For over 30 years I have been doing professional narrations and voice-overs, and I have around six voices (some of them really sexy) and a choice of accents. And you should have just seen me back in April on stage in the Ikebukuro Theater as Queen Margaret in "Richard III", cussing everybody with controlled venom. But in the NHK studio, sitting next to one of three play-by-play men (all of whom I like and regard as friends), I just chat in what I suppose is my normal speaking voice. (We are also using little tinny mikes attached to our headphones, which don't give a lot of shmoozing room.)

And when we signed off and I started rubbing feeling back into my ears, the producer came in with a huge grin and said, of Asashoryu's loss, "The 'happenings' are always on your watch!"

And so I got the taxi home (a taxi coupon is one thing NHK still is not economising on) and somehow found the energy for the second night of Bon dancing -- but timed it just for the last hour.

Doreen the Queen, luxuriating in a day's holiday

[Asafan 0]

Thanks for sharing all this, Doreen. Treblemaker expressed what I felt with much better words, as english is not my mother tongue.

When is your next time ? Please let us informed about it as soon as you know.

Edited July 20, 2009 by Asafan

[Takamizawa 0]

I usually prefer the Japanese announcers, but I actually opted to switch to the English commentary when I saw that Doreen was on. Very enjoyable! (I am not worthy...)

[Shibata-gumi 1]

I am also a HUGE fan of Ms. Doreen! Thank you for your insight, wit and incredible sumo knowledge!

[kaiguma 0]

Yay, Doreen!

Ross is not so bad - It's Hiro who makes my ears bleed... and David for absolutely different reasons. Although he is really on top of his 'straight' analysis.

Doreen with Murray is my absolute favorite, but wow it should be a great combination with Clyde as well.

EDIT: fuzzy memory...

Edited July 20, 2009 by kaiguma

[Treblemaker 254]

I think Doreen should host her own live internet phone-in sumo show.

And I would love to see her as Queen Margaret.

"Queen Doreen". Hmmm.. Catchy, I think. Certainly flows off the tongue better than "Queen Betty".

[omoimori 0]

I also wish to salute Doreen. She is truly a unique color commentator. My view of sumo (and somewhat more subtly, sport in general) has been shaped by her perspectives.

[D-chan 2]

Just wanted to add my "all hail"!

I like both Ross and Hiro, but I really like when Doreen is on. She has an intimate knowledge of the personalities, customs and history that's so impressive (I loved the close-up on rikishi zabuton that she narrated last basho!).

(In a state of confusion...)

Edited July 21, 2009 by D-chan