Formal apology

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Baiting Guru Joined: 07 Jul 2006 Posts: 5727

Actually, some of the best television shows in U.S. history have been modeled after British Sitcoms. "Sanford and Son" was based on the British sitcom "Steptoe and Son." "All in the Family" was based on "Til Death do us Part."

We normally screw it up, but every once in awhile we improve on the original.

Baiting Guru Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 12237

iMike wrote:

Police Squad

Short lived, but damn funny.

Edit: Looks like You Tube has most of the episodes posted. (In Color!)

Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 5:50 pm

^^ I'm also an SF fan. One film I never saw as a kid, but always wanted to, was Forbidden Planet. I did rent a VHS tape of it, but couldn't watch it. I'd seen Police Squad & Airplane first - as soon as I realised Leslie Nielsen was the lead I couldn't stop giggling.

edit:

Quote:

Edit: Looks like You Tube has most of the episodes posted. (In Color!)

Got 'em on DVD. I was looking for Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In too, but I couldn't find a region 2 version Sad

Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:13 pm

Occasionally the re-make can see the bigger potential and/or take the show in a new and interesting direction (case in point, not comedy but the US version of Queer as Folk was just as brilliant as the original and took the whole idea far further. Ditto for The Office, or at least so I've heard cos I've not watched the US version.)

But often they just seek to recreate and milk for $$$/£££.

Which is where it all falls over and resembles a steaming pile of shit.

Apparently the original pilot for Life on Mars US was so horrendous that they re-cast most of the leads and moved it across the country! Not sure what the actual broadcast thing is going to be like, but I'm doubt it will achieve the genius that the combination of John Simm/Philip Glenister did in the UK version.

Thats the problem actually, sometimes the brilliance of a show relys so much on the force of persona brought by the actors that even other talented actors can't re-create the magic. Good example - Kath&Kim. The original is so bitingly funny and well observed. The small clip I saw of the copy looked like actresses saying the lines but without the character force to back it up.

The concept works well for Reality TV or Gameshows where people like seeing "locals". Millionaire, Deal or No Deal, Strictly (that's "Dancing with the Stars" mostly to you elsewhere), Pop Idol (that'll be American/Australian/etc Idol to you) all started here and have done brilliantly when remade.

I think I object to it most when it's "art" as opposed to just "tv". "Art" should never be remade. When it's "tv" then I think it's ok.

Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:20 pm

I can't imagine "Keeping Up Appearances" or "Are You Being Served?" in American versions. It's just somehow -- wrong.

Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:50 pm

^^What about British versions of Gilligan's Island or Get Smart?

I do think that Hogan's Heros would translate pretty well, though the roles would have been reversed a lot. Richard Dawson would have been Hogan... Wink

Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 11:38 pm

"Last of the summer wine" and "are you being served" were shown on PBS here in Indiana and I thought that they were hilarious, of course being a barbarian colonial, what would I know about Brit humor ? Laughing

if they were Americanized, they would not be as funny. just my two pence.

Warmonger

Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2009 1:20 am

Wright B Hindyou wrote:

Fawlty Towers is pure comic genius.

Hear hear! But remember about 10 years ago when that was remade in an American version called "Payne" (Basil Fawlty was renamed "Royal Payne.") Talk about dreadful abominations... That may have been the worst adaptation ever.

Then again, the show bombed so the viewers caught on quickly.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 07 Aug 2007 Posts: 62

As far as cringeworthy farce goes, I'd love to see Basil Fawlty and Larry David in a deathmatch. Laughing

Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 10:33 pm

iMike wrote:

Wonder how the US would remake The League of Gentlemen?

You have no idea how many hours my friends and I have actually thought on this! We made the general guideline that there should be no, or a severe limit, on "superheros". So no Superman.

As I recall we had, for starters:

1) Indiana Jones
2) Dick Tracy
3) Bruce Wayne
4) Pecos Bill

Baiting Guru Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 3193

Erm... That's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The League of Gentlemen is something completely different.

Someone mentioned Forbidden Planet. That was great SciFi, but as a remake of a British classic it was pretty mediocre. Likewise West-Side Story.

Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2009 9:08 pm

@Peanut - here you go:

linky

Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 11:45 am

Wright B Hindyou wrote:

Quote:

AbFab (in it's original state) is pure comic genius

Let's not go over the top.

Fawlty Towers is pure comic genius. Yes Minister is pretty close. AbFab is formulaic and stereotypical, funny in spots but in no way deserving of the title genius.

-2nd that ! yes minister is great!

Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 11:52 am

What I thought was genius about AbFab was the role reversal, so the teenage daughter was the sensible conservative, worrying about her drugged up drunken mother misbehaving with her hooligan mates... Laughing

I guess that would translate to a US version, but I bet they toned it down a bit.

Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2009 6:37 pm

@ iMike: Clearly I'm a comic book nerd Smile

Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 5:37 pm

AbFab's attraction for me has been the unrelenting unrepentant self absorption of the main characters. They simply had no redeeming traits.

For example, at Saffy's wedding her mum had a choir boy sing a lovely aria. What many might not have noticed is that it was the "Pie Jesu" from a Requem Mass. Even when she tries to do the right thing, she does the wrong thing. P and A have to be the sort of people who take a supply of cocaine with them to rehab--and share it with other patients. They need to be the sorts that will consider selling family members into slavery a viable means of funding a holiday.

American produceres are loth to risk offending us poor American TV zombies. I doubt our version of AbFab can make the grade--but with Saunders behind it, who knows? I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[edit]
Now, whatever happened to "The Young Ones?"

Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 10:09 pm

Supremescam wrote:

North America - take the hint, you suck at comedy.

George Carlin, John Belushi, Richard Prior, Lucille Ball, Graucho Marks, Jerry Seinfeld ... yeah, we suck at comedy alright Rolling Eyes

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 4:14 am

A SKYHOOK wrote:

id like to apologise about ow Australian copy of top gear it was crap they could have done so much better but they tried to copy the skills of mister slow and the long and short other two you cant try and copy a classic show in another country with out losing some thing no mater what show it is.
Why try and improve something if it ant broke

Guess which country is stealing Top Gear next? I don't understand how us yanks could make an american car show, because in the words of Clarkson the Great, "It is American so it issss rrrrrrrrrrrubbish!"
Then he does that sharp breath intake through his teeth. Yeah, he really does that. Alot.