The Wacky Remake of the Office on NBC!
polycounter lvl 18
http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/
I'm not crying. I just have something stuck in my eye.
All right, Steve Carrell is in it, and I trust him to not do something that's a completely obviously stupid idea, but ... isn't this a completely obviously stupid idea?! Did anyone who watched the BBC series think, "wow, this would be so much better with Americans" ..?
I'm not crying. I just have something stuck in my eye.
All right, Steve Carrell is in it, and I trust him to not do something that's a completely obviously stupid idea, but ... isn't this a completely obviously stupid idea?! Did anyone who watched the BBC series think, "wow, this would be so much better with Americans" ..?
Replies
Really Paul? I thought he came over here to produce it? I might be wrong though. Perhaps he did that, realized it worked about as well as a chocolate teapot and *then* disowned it
Did anyone see the US version of coupling? A similarly spectacular failure.
I have no clue why they bother with this stuff. Let's have a UK version of 'Chips' with two British bobbys cycling along side by side on the Yorkshire moors in the pissing rain!
I think I may be conceding something to Kevin by admitting this, but I really don't understand the seeming need for British productions to be 'Americanized' before they're aired in America. Plenty of American shows air in Britain and do relatively well, never heard a Brit complain that Frasier Crane has an American accent or something. If it's language or situation that culturally might not translate, I can understand a degree of adaptation, but most comedies ought to make the trip over the Atlantic without much trouble. Nobody thinks the Monty Python stuff should be redone by Americans, so why The Office? Bleh.
Actually, I hate that so little British stuff makes the trip over here anyway. I live a block from the city's best artsy/import film theater, but can I get even a single showing of Layer Cake? Nope. Fucking Americans.
*edit*
Daz, you must have seen CHiPs since you landed over here, right? I can't fathom Ponch and John as part of British television fare...
You'd be surprised. There's very little U.S TV that doesn't end up widely dispersed throughout the globe I don't think.
(CHiPs was cool, though)
Verm: I REALLY appreciate even the slight repositioning of your stance on this issue that I routinely bring back up.... because i know you put thought into whatever you post.
I remember years ago, a learnid friend of mine telling me about US studios falling in love with Fawlty towers and wanting to import it to the states.
What they loved was manwell ( thats the wrong spelling isnt it?) and his catchphrase of 'que?' would be central to the show and basil and cybill would be dropped from the show.
They actually tried to persuade John Cleese that this would make his show better.
I likewise am saddened that only the most generic or well known through history and word of mouth (ie old) comedy makes over here. I pay a fortune to go through UK sites or get friends in the UK to send me over comedy that can't be bought in America.
Shows like Still Game, or Rab C Nesbitt or a new stand up comic I like called Al Murray - the Pub Landlord and so on.
The sad thing is that when I introduce people at work to some of my 'quaint british comedy shows' they love it and want to buy it and a region free dvd player so they can watch it!
I've converted Malekyth and Alan Willard and Josh Jay so far to Still Game for instance.
If I have to be brutally honest here and risk people disagreeing strongly with me again, I think the reason for the trend is that the average american is not very savvy beyond whatever bubble area they live in.
Brits pride themselves on being aware of other cultures, we may not agree or truly understand others but its a matter of pride with us to be aware lest we seem stupid and be embarassed by our ignorance.
The same trend is evident in britain also. I mean, Scotland and Ireland for instance are very savvy about England, but England is not as savvy about Scotland/Ireland.
The writers of Father Ted comment upon this on the extra features of their DVD's as often they found English execs were utterly shocked by the amount of english injokes that the irish were capable of making... like ireland is a million miles away or something?
Of course, I suppose it's a viscious circle isn't it, Americans are never going to get the chance to learn more about other cultures , even passively through TV, if america doesn't start importing more.
I hope the situation changes, I miss british comedy and it is troublesome to import through proxies.
Scott
;-p
And Verm, for real! But I dare you to say that about 'different strokes' !
Still Game in particular, certainly the first 2 seasons, hell I just routinely replay them to feel closer to home again, to my own folk.
http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-14049/Brighton_Belles/
monstrous
9pm onwards is the usual timeslot for comedy on bbc2 and channel 4 right?
on wednesday there's blackadder II
on thursday there's fuck all
on friday there's the friday night project, which isn't all that funny. jonathon ross is on bbc1 though
on saturday, sunday, monday and tuesday there's nothing.
although some of the documentaries and "reality tv" are funny
there's supposedly some good stuff on bbc3, but i've never watched that channel
Is Never mind the buzzcocks and Have I got news for you still running? I play with the idea of getting Cable here so I can get BBC world now and then.
If I have to be brutally honest here and risk people disagreeing strongly with me again, I think the reason for the trend is that the average american is not very savvy beyond whatever bubble area they live in.
[/ QUOTE ]
Reminds me of the time I was extolling the virtues of the Cyberhome DVD player to some girl I was making a slideshow dvd for.
Me: "It's great, it's regionless so you can play DVD's from other countries!"
Her: "Why would I want to watch a DVD from another country" -looks at me like I have two heads.
So many others too. Chef!, one with the actor Robbie Coltrain(sp?) on things mechanical and there is a excellent one on the history of the British monarchy that I've been trying of follow, keep missing it
I think a lot of NorthAmericans don't 'get' U.K.'s style of humor. I rented The Office and I thought It was brilliant, my gf just could not see anything in it.
These remakes are all bad. Queer as folk- remade here in Toronto -sucked. Ab-Fab- died in pre. Thank god.
The only one that has seem to have legs is The Antiques Roadshow.
Her: "Why would I want to watch a DVD from another country" -looks at me like I have two heads.
[/ QUOTE ]
You dumped her right? Right?
Jody
Is Never mind the buzzcocks and Have I got news for you still running? I play with the idea of getting Cable here so I can get BBC world now and then.
[/ QUOTE ]
Room 101 is still on, although it just seems to be repeats?
Never mind the buzzcocks current series finished on sunday
I think this is totally stupid - it's not as if Ricky Gervais' accent is not understandable..
He's annoying but hey, shoot me down, but I thought that was the plot line.
To be brutality honest I think its a fucking disgrace. Why don't we just rob Friends - make Ali G chandler or something. Or Will & Grace - it could be like the continuation of "Gimme Gimme Gimme"
And Verm, for real! But I dare you to say that about 'different strokes' !
[/ QUOTE ]
Watchoo' talkin' 'bout, Daz?
Replying to Ror:
[ QUOTE ]
Verm: I REALLY appreciate even the slight repositioning of your stance on this issue that I routinely bring back up.... because i know you put thought into whatever you post.
[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, I had been thinking about this since our last thread, but didn't really have anywhere to write about it. I think we both look at the subject from a sort of generalized point of view, with yours being broad and mine narrow. When you say "Americans like blah" and blah is crap, it's rather easy for for an American to take that as a personal criticism. I don't feel what I like is crap, but I'm still an American, right? On the other hand, I know what I like and (as I think many people do) I somewhat project that on to what I assume other people should like. I think I have good taste in film regardless of origin, with about a quarter of my DVDs being foreign language. I can't imagine anyone disliking something just because it's not American, so perhaps I assume my fellow Americans have better taste than they actually do.
Anyway, I think that the problem is likely less Americans in general and more Hollywood in specific. You work almost entirely with Americans now, I'm guessing, and I bet they all have tastes that you consider at least largely to be tolerable, if not pretty good. Probably a few guys there with some really exotic, interesting tastes, and no one is rushing out to get the Catwoman special edition. I've got to think that living in the fantasyland that is Los Angeles must literally warp the perceptions of our media's powers-that-be, such that they think changing Constantine to accomodate Keanu Reeves' fading star is somehow better than casting the scorchingly popular Jude Law. So rather than make it a question of national preference, perhaps we can both agree to thrown our stones at Hollywood for churning out shit that people with taste in neither country would want to watch
I must acknowledge one national despair, however, and that's the obsession with so-called reality television - nearly everyone tunes in for some of that. The vast majority of it is horrible, pandering, low-brow shit, and it makes me weep for the future that America's TV-watching lemmings tune in for the latest dose of staged and manipulated 'reality' entertainment with such zeal. The next time you're heading back to the UK, please take Simon Cowell with you - I'll provide a box you can pack him in.
Lots in common with my fellow americans tastes at work ?
Far from it I'm afraid, I drop my jaw in amazement (mentally of course) at some of the huge divides between us.
I see it as a wider spread thing than Hollywood though maybe theres some things that people just can't explain to each other.
Either way, as I said, I'm simply happy to read you reconsidered things a little. I constantly question my viewpoints, if that matters to you.... the 'whys' are much more important to me than the 'whats'.
Reality TV sucks ass and it is taking over
We watched a lot of the imported British Comedies on PBS in the mid to late 70's.
Does anyone remember one of my favorites, "The Goodies" ?
Hmm...I also became a addicted watcher of "Good Neighbors" (The Good Life)
Man, its been so long, i used to love that as a kid. I doubt it has aged well from what I remember though.
And now, Bill Odie digs for history on channel4.. or has that stopped now UK peeps?
lol, Goodieeeeee.. goodie, goodie, goodies!
Man, its been so long, i used to love that as a kid. I doubt it has aged well from what I remember though.
[/ QUOTE ]
I suspect the same thing since it has been sooo long ! I was watching them in the 1973-1976 period when they were on PBS and I was in the 11-13 age range and thought they were hysterical. I was impressed that even my Dad liked watching it (even if he wouldn't admit it)
Much of the humor was slapstick, so I know that part of it is timeless. I'd love to see those shows again anyway
edit: yeah birds are shit but hes good
Scott , i was gonna ask about the red dwarf series ever making it to us screens, glad it wasnt butchered, allthough everything after series 6 was crap anyway.
I watched the goodies the other day and it hasn't aged that well, but still nice to see it again. (it was that mother goose episode).
BTW I hate the fact that I have to pay that [email="f@@ing"]f@@ing[/email] licence fee and we don't get bb3 as standard. Amazing they are allowed ro get away with this.
My opinion is to forget bbc comedy.
Most of the good stuff over the past five years has appeared on channel 4, like black books, green wing, father ted, spaced, to name but a few.
Yeah bad idea to do an american version of the office, since the series success is undoubtedly down to the main actors.
It would be like doing a A US remake of alan partridge without steve coogan