American Sitcoms Remade in UK

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/17/14 at 10:55pm

I found this while researching Elaine Stritch's career. I didn't know that she did a British version of Maude called Nobody's Perfect with Richard Griffiths playing her husband.

And there was also a British version of Golden Girls called Brighton Belles.

Ok, we have got to come to some type of international agreement on sharing tv shows. I've got to see these.




Link

Updated On: 7/17/14 at 10:55 PM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 3:15am

I thought it was the other way around. Aren't all American shows based on a far superior British version?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 9:37am

Well, that's true most of the time. All in the Family, Three's Company, Sanford & Son and Shameless were all based on Brit shows. And I have a very strong feeling that America is going to make a US version of Vicious.

But if you watch the UK show Breathless, you'll see how it stole, stole, stole from Mad Men.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 10:25am

Yeah it goes both ways. Wasn't the dreadful Coupling a British attempt at aping the success of Friends?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 10:35am

"Wasn't the dreadful Coupling a British attempt at aping the success of Friends?"

I think partially it was. Although Coupling was more about "dating and sex." The original premise of Friends was just a bunch of people hanging out together. I think Friends began to lose steam when the friends started hooking up with each other. It became a different show. And Coupling couldn't be that dreadful because America tried a version of it which was really dreadful.

[darquegk]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 10:39am

I enjoyed Coupling UK, not Coupling US. Then again, I'm a big Moffat fan, even though his tendency to derail characters and engage in rampant sexism and misogyny had surfaced even before he ventured into sci-fi.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 10:47am

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT was also based on a Brit comedy as well: "Keep it in the Family"

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 4:50pm

The Brits don't do reality TV though, right?

[HorseTears]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 5:00pm

@RippedMan - are you joking? They practically invented reality television as we know it today.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 5:01pm

Of course they do reality TV!

Simon Fuller created Pop Idol, which became American Idol over here and then spread to countless other nations.

Simon Cowell created The X Factor in the UK before bringing it over here.

Big Brother began as a Dutch show, but is currently in its 15th cycle in Britain.

Susan Boyle may be one of the most famous reality show contestants worldwide and James Corden has a movie coming out where he plays Paul Potts, the opera singer who won Britain's Got Talent.

One Direction was formed on British reality TV.

[Jungle Red]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 5:13pm

Coupling UK is a fantastic show! Coupling US sucked.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 5:30pm

"Yeah it goes both ways. Wasn't the dreadful Coupling a British attempt at aping the success of Friends? "

It was much more satirical and sex based--I suppose the basic setup was similar in that it was a group of female and male 20something friends? I've NEVER heard the UK version described as dreadful before! Wow--I only caught some of it when our PBS used to air it, but I remember finding it quite funny. NBC's remake, on the other hand, which was almost word for word was odd--because somehow every single scene or joke that had worked with the other cast (and in British accents ) was now, to use your word, dreadful. It made writer Steven Moffat's name in the industry, and a number of the actors went on to quite a bit of success. Of course Jack Davenport was already a TV star thanks to the UK TV phenom This Life (a show I love, and that NBC also tried to remake as First Years--I think it aired one more episode than the Coupling remake...)

Randomly, here in Canada we are about to get a remake of the brilliant 2005 Joanna Lumley sitcom (well it doesn't have a laugh track, but..) Sensitive Skin on HBO Canada. Kim Catrall wanted to do the remake and is the producer and star--the cast is mainly Canadian, like her, though I have some hopes because Joanna Gleason is one of the co-stars. Apparently so far there are no plans to show it in the US (the Canadian adaptation is by Bob Martin--the star and bookwriter of Drowsy Chaperone as well as a head writer on Slings and Arrows so it has a decent pedigree as far as remakes go.)

Not sure if there have been Canadian remakes on TV before (not counting some failed attempts at creating English versions of French-Canadian hits.) Unless you count Queer as Folk which did have largely a Canadian production and writing team, was co-financed here and filmed here but had a mostly American cast...

Updated On: 7/18/14 at 05:30 PM

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 5:54pm

The short-lived MEN BEHAVING BADLY was a redo of a Brit show, as was QUEER AS FOLK, of course.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 6:39pm

We could be here all night if we were naming American remakes of UK shows Didn't we have a thread on that?

I believe the UK remake of Who's the Boss, The Upper Hand actually was a massive hit, and ran for 100 episodes--rare for UK shows. Also, when I lived in London in 1999, there was an awful That 70s Show remake that apparently used the same script, called Days Like These.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 8:34pm

"Randomly, here in Canada we are about to get a remake of the brilliant 2005 Joanna Lumley sitcom (well it doesn't have a laugh track, but..) Sensitive Skin on HBO Canada."

Which I don't understand. Sensitive Skin is not bad, it just not all that. I can think of other projects Kim could do that would be better choices.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 9:00pm

One of my favorites, Mad About You, was remade in the UK sometime in the 90s as "Loved by You". I've never actually seen it, I just know of its existence. It was probably dreadful.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 11:24pm

@Eric - yeah, sue me, but I couldn't stand the original UK Coupling. I never saw the US adaptation. This Life, though, was fantastic. Interesting that Catral's remaking Sensitive Skin. I only caught one or two episodes and I thought it was a very slight show, but that Lumley was marvelous. Will have to try and find that one to finish it - thanks for the reminder.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/19/14 at 12:35am

***spoiler alert***

Is Kim starting the show before or after the husband dies?

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/19/14 at 4:36am

"Which I don't understand. Sensitive Skin is not bad, it just not all that. I can think of other projects Kim could do that would be better choices."

I agree. Catrall, in her radio spot, went on about how it has stuck with her. But the only clip from the show is THE SAME as the intro to Lumley's show. I have faith, but...

[VeraCharles3]

Posted: 7/19/14 at 9:35am

Thank you Gothampc - I have never heard of Nobody's Perfect. Sadly I have heard of and seen Brighton Belles - it was awful, do yourself a favour and avoid it.

Eric - I really liked Sensitive Skin - it's a very slight sitcom but as a vehicle, I can understand why Kim Catrall would be drawn to it. I think I read that Joanna Lumley isn't impressed that it is being re-made.

PS - Eric - if you enjoyed Sensitive Skin - have a look at Up in Town - it was a series of 10 minute episodes, Joanna Lumley delivering monologues to camera - talking about her past. I loved this when I first saw it. All this talk of Sensitive Skin reminded me of it - so thank you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXEKjZRA1E4

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/19/14 at 12:22pm

"Sadly I have heard of and seen Brighton Belles - it was awful, do yourself a favour and avoid it."

Vera Charles, that just makes me want to see it all the more. Awful can be interesting.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/19/14 at 1:21pm

I guess I didn't mean reality TV like that. That's just game shows. I mean like Real Housewives type stuff. I was watching "Ladies of London" on Bravo, and they talked about how there wasn't anything like that in the UK.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/19/14 at 4:15pm

Have you never heard of the UK phenomena http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Only_Way_Is_Essex aka TOWIE? They also have a Geordie Shore which is as big as Jersey Shore was in the UK. The world is not safe...

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/20/14 at 12:26am

Ha! Gross. I haven't watched much UK Tv, except for Gavin and Stacy which is awesome.

[Hulmeman]

Posted: 7/20/14 at 4:08am

Of those remade in the UK programmes, the only one I enjoyed was "The Upper Hand" and mainly I think because Honour Blackman was a great fit for the part of the man mad character. I was disappointed when "Brighton Belles" failed. It should have been a good fit with the cast which had been assembled, but it didn't work. I think partly because of our fondness for the original (not just me, it was widely popular here). The situations created and the dialogue that followed was just so well - American and that's the way it should have stayed. Same applies to shows like "Friends", "Frasier", "Big Bang Theory", to name but three, we like the Americanisms in them.

My view is that we Brits like our home grown situation comedy to be broader, more earthy or more farcical if they are to identify with our sense of humour. In support of my view, I point to shows like "Fawlty Towers", "Only fools and horses", "Absolutely Fabulous",and "The Royale Family".

There are exceptions for example "The Office" and even perhaps "Gavin and Stacey" but these also trade on another national trait of "being in on the joke". In "The Office", we know Brent is an idiot and in "Gavin and Stacey" the distrust between people of different nationality within our own shores (English v.Welsh).

Well that's my theory anyway!

Updated On: 7/20/14 at 04:08 AM