March 18, 2008

• Nooooooooo!! Why does anything need to be 're-made for a [different nationality] audience'? It is what it is, and you either find it funny/engaging/whatever, or not. Can I just say how much I love Mark Heap? And also Green Wing? And every furriner I've ever shown it too has loved it, despite it arguably being very 'British' in flavour, and if anyone ever dares to think of trying to remake that I shall personally hunt them down and kick them till they stop.
• Well, they're remaking Life on Mars, too. But it will phail, because the seppos are made of phail.
• Well as a Brit on the other side of the pond, I can't tell you how much I resent these "remakes". I find it insulting and my American friends agree. The last debacle was "Coupling" which was excellent in the original and just stupid in the remake. American producers are just idiots: "Fawlty Towers", "Red Dwarf", "Blackadder" "Monty Python" and others did just fine without being remade- why can't they learn? (Could have done without "Are You Being Served" and "The Last of the Summer Wine" however.
• IMO, if a British show is so alien that it needs to be redone fbefore American auiences can enjoy it, then it probably can't be redone so that American audiences will enjoy it. From what I gather, though, it's less of an artistic/cultural decision than an economic one.
• Why does America keep trying to make their own versions of Britcoms? Because sometimes they work quite well, thank you. "All in the Family" (based on "Til Death Do Us Part") "Sanford and Son" (based on "Steptoe and Son") "Threes Company" (based on "Man About the House") Yes, these were all 30+ years ago, but it takes American TV people along time to un-learn things. And "The Office" (UK and US) just encouraged them further. And there was an attempt to Americanize "Red Dwarf" that sounded both promising and threatening. So, you never know, you know?
• There is no way "Green Wing" ever gets re-made for US TV. The incest plot alone keeps it off of network. Maybe FX or one of the other cable channels, but not network. I saw about ABC buying "Life on Mars," and I'm damn glad I saw the original first. I'm curious, though -- US television's not like UK television, where evidently a hit show might only run for two years because the story's told and it's done. I wonder if ABC's going to try to keep Sam stuck in the '70s for as long as they can. Also, mothy, you're awesome, and we've ordered season 2 of Green Wing.
• And the merkinization of HHGTTG was a travesty, don't forget that! And I'm trying real hard to forget. Spaced? Wassat? It hasn't been over here yet, although with the success of Hot Fuzz and SotD, I wouldn't be surprised. I get surprised all the time, actually
• "Fawlty Towers", "Red Dwarf", "Blackadder" "Monty Python" and others did just fine without being remade- why can't they learn? Oh, but they did remake Fawlty Towers. Three times. Even just reading teh wiki is payne-ful. Poor John Larroquette. How far he must have fallen to star in that piece of crap. His character on Night Court was one of the best sitcom characters ever, and The John Larroquette Show was pretty brilliant -- the first season anyway, before they cleaned it up and made it a lot less dark. Anyhoo.
• These wonderful Brit shows don't work over here a lot of the time because of the language barrier. "Get my wellies from the boot, poppet, then come and have a squash and a fag with the lolly lady" would be absolute gobbledygook to 90%, moreso when compounded by any accent other than mid-Atlantic. But I thought all that would sell to American tv audiences anymore was "reality TV", sports, doctored news and talk shows. Glad to hear there's hope for other than that. *dusts off telly*
• In general, there's a lot less Britcoms on regular tv than before. I think it's all being hoarded for the specialty channels -- BBC Canada is only available digitally, and the rest are likely to show up only on Showcase or the Women's Network or something, buried in the schedule where you'd never know that they exist. The days where PBS or TVO would have Britcom nights are long gone, except for the zombie-like Are You Being Served or As Time Goes By. (How many of those fucking things did they make?!?) My point -- and I do have one -- is that good British shows are reserved for the higher-end cable packages, and as such, out of reach for a good many. Like me.
• The last debacle was "Coupling" which was excellent in the original and just stupid in the remake. Oddly enough, they didn't dick around with the script very much. It was just cringeworthy with the absolutely terrible acting and goddamn laughtrack. Truly painful to watch. (Oh -- checking with teh wiki, it looks like they did dick around with the scripts, but only for episodes that never made it to air. Huh.)
• And then there's the kiwi stuff. Supposedly Outrageous Fortune is about to make the transition, but I wonder how they'd handle something like this.
• qu'est que c'est "septics"?
• They're the ones who criticize shows that tanked.
• I'd really like to get hold of the Aussie comedy Mother and Son sometime, but it seems quite elusive.
• mct, so glad you guys liked it - do try and get the one-off special that follows Season 2 and completes the story as well, otherwise you're just going to be left with another cliffhanger... (if you can't find it, lemme know and I'll send it to ya)
• I used to watch the few UK shows that were available over here back in the 80's...but there haven't been any worth seeing in quite a while. The only one I watched recently was "Monarch of the Glen" which just kind of disappeared, or was aired at irregular intervals so I could hardly find it.
• Rhyming slang. Seppo = Septic Tank = Yank. To Poms & Aussies, all Americans are Yanks.
• There you guys go again, ruining a perfectly good language...
• I'm just glad they're not trying to remake the new Dr. Who series. ("Up next, Dr. Who, featuring Allison LaPlaca and Peter Krause!") I doubt the U.S. version of Spaced could suck as bad as the U.S. version of Red Dwarf. We shall see...
• Wow, mechagrue, that was truly awful.
• HHGTTG Hans Holbein's Gay Tea Time Gala?
• Thanks Hank ....I guess.
• This fall on FOX...
• Frank Zappa with a sword!
• 
• Brilliant, as usual TUM.
• I can't sleep.
• My favorite part was the surprise celebrity guest appearance by Charles Nelson Reilly. Happened every show. Except when he was sick, and Paul Lynde would sub for him.
• Henry VIII?
• (The portrait is by Holbein.)