Yeah, as soon as they started getting real actors with that permanent "WHAT-THE-HELL-AM-I-DOING-HERE" look in their eyes, you just started feeling bad for the performers instead of being entertained by a bunch of computer goofs hamming it up.
This was my favorite game ever. I could play for hours.
15 year old Protip: If you get America is a rival civilization, WIPE THEM OUT ASAP. Just put a hold on some of your advancements and concentrate on making them gone. For some reason/realism the programmers really had fun giving America AI butthurt powers. Don't talk with them, don't deal with them. Just put them to the sword.