ABC remaking Life On Mars

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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 4:10 pm

Yep, you read that right. ABC in the USA is remaking the excellent BBC series, Life On Mars. If you know where to look you can find the "leaked" first episode.

Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 4:29 pm

This is a pet peave of mine. I hate when the American television industry has to copy and redo a great program from another country. Why can't they leave it alone? Or, better yet get the rights to the original and show it in America? I just know they will massacre this program. Okay, I am getting off my soap box now....

Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 4:35 pm

i saw the preview for this on abc the other night.

i was a huge fan of life on mars. i live in nyc but heard about this show online so i downloaded both seasons and enjoyed the show a whole lot. probably one of my top 10 favorites.

the preview i saw for the us version ruined that feeling for me. the concept of the show and the situations and timeline will not work in a 70's america. it worked excellently in a 70's uk but they are 2 completely different things.

even the title has been ruined. they already started promoing it as sam tyler finding himself on what he thinks is another planet (mars) and i dont think i heard one second of bowie on there.

the only uk to us tv conversion that ever worked was sanford and son (originally steptoe and son)

Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 4:38 pm

The word is it is already axed too and thinking of remaking it in a new town.

Master of Master Baiters Joined: 06 Feb 2008 Posts: 720

How did the Archie Bunker all in the family compare to the original Alf Garnett till death do us part ?

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 1:35 pm

<br>There's an old saying : If it ain't broke, don't tinker with it.

Why do our colonial cousins insist on messing with a perfectly good product? They didn't do it with 'Monty Python FC', and we didn't do it to 'Frazier',Friends, and the rest.

Perhaps they just don't get us Brits 'wacky' sense of humor. And before anybody slates me, 'Frazier' is one of my all time comedies ever.

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 1:40 pm

I was always a Fawlty's tower fan myself.

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 3:45 pm

Well, but you see, it's an American remote-control vehicle on Mars right now, so the show must be patriotic, right?

My favorite comedies are the imports PBS calls "Britcoms" - like 'Are You Being Served?' 'Red Dwarf' (absolutely loved the evolved cat) and others. Never could get into 'EastEnders' though. Comedies OK, soap operas nah.

Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 4:00 pm

You realise that America tried to remake Red Dwarf as well. It got as far as a pilot being made. We Brits can be just as bad. Case in point, the abomination that was "Married For Life"

Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 11:20 am

according to aint it cool news, life on mars? is already being "retooled". they should just air the uk version instead.

Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 2:13 pm

TheGreatOok wrote:

The word is it is already axed too and thinking of remaking it in a new town.

Ever feel like no one listens to you?

Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 2:49 pm

Quote:

But the film is a sadd'ning bore
'Cause I wrote it ten times or more
It's about to be writ again

(David Bowie, Life On Mars)

Intersting article about it in the Guardian blog HERE and yes, TGO, you told us so.

Underwriting Gene Hunt is a major blunder, I hung on his every one-liner. My favourite? 'He's got his fingers in more pies than a leper on a cookery course' Laughing

I wish they wouldn't redo classics, 'Get Carter' and 'The Italian Job' spring to mind. puke

Imagine what Hollywood would think if the Brits remade 'Gone with The Wind' or 'Citizen Kane'?

Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 3:08 pm

^^Totally agree Roy. Hollywood throw a hissy fit if anyone tried to remake Hollywood classics.

Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 5:08 pm

Problem is that the studio's are so desperate to try anything and see if it will stick to the wall, they really don't care where they get the material. A fine example is the Fox show "Moment of Truth". It's one of those shows that the term "train wreck" applies nicely.

Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 2:15 pm

Roycropper wrote:

Imagine what Hollywood would think if the Brits remade 'Gone with The Wind' or 'Citizen Kane'?

Maybe with lots of farting. But I don't think anyone would survive doing Citizen Kane because of Rupert.

Elite Baiter Joined: 02 Jul 2006 Posts: 1702

There is also the angle that sometimes phrases are different in the usa, so some of the dialogue wouldnt be understood.

And culturally it would be massively different too, america in the 70's was a completely different place to uk in the 70's the audience would be left confused.

but in saying all that 80% of uk and americans can understand each other perfectly, the other 20% one can only assume they need a little help.

Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 2:56 pm

^^^^Maybe subtitles are the answer?

Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 4:26 pm

digital-one wrote:

There is also the angle that sometimes phrases are different in the usa, so some of the dialogue wouldnt be understood.

And culturally it would be massively different too, america in the 70's was a completely different place to uk in the 70's the audience would be left confused.

but in saying all that 80% of uk and americans can understand each other perfectly, the other 20% one can only assume they need a little help.

I remember when I saw Shaun of the Dead. I had to go back 7 or 8 times during the movie because of a word I "missed". 2 minutes into Billy Elliot, which I really enjoyed, I had to turn on the subtitles because sometimes I had no idea what they were saying. "Don't lose your blob"? Good movie though.

Master of Master Baiters Joined: 06 Feb 2008 Posts: 720

Did America get Minder? Staring Dennis Waterman and George Cole
Get meaning showed it and understanding it ,with it’s Cockney Rhyming Slang

Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2008 10:14 pm

^^^Shaun of the Dead is one of my favorite movies. I watch so many foreign films that I don't need the subtitles. That's how I learned French. Laughing

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 20 Jun 2008 Posts: 8

*cough american remake of "The Office" cough*

Please don't let something like that happen again Crying or Very sad

*** BANNED *** Joined: 18 Jul 2004 Posts: 2049

packman wrote:

I was always a Fawlty's tower fan myself.

And it was one of the very best Thumbs up

In a PBS documentary on Python John Cleese related the story of how American producers paid him a huge amount of money for the rights to remake the show in America.

Then, as suggested in this thread, the Yanks did the usual and screwed it up. Cleese started to laugh as he finished his comments and said "they wrote Basil out of the new version" Laughing

Excellent interview here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=krxV6-1gAiA

Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 4:35 pm

Mod Edit - (Full repost of GH's post not necessary) RC

I really like Cleese and Towers. His wife was pretty hot too.

Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 4:49 pm

TheGreatOok wrote:

^^Totally agree Roy. Hollywood throw a hissy fit if anyone tried to remake Hollywood classics.

Exactly. how about Cleese in a version of Gone with the Wind. He of course would play Butler's part.

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