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Waiting for the US version of QI
Jan. 19th, 2011 03:26 pmUS (Hollywood) versions of favourite British TV series seem to stir up a surprising amount of emotion. Some folk become rabidly anti-American when the subject of something like the US version of Red Dwarf comes up. But when you think about it, isn't somebody else doing a version of a TV series just like doing a cover version of a song. Generally speaking the cover version isn't as satisfying as the original - if for no other reason than you are used to the original. You may not believe it, but you have to give Hollywood execs at least enough credit to know that a British version of a show will never have more than niche appeal. The point being that American cultural cues really are quite a bit different than British ones. For those of us downunder, we are in a funny middle ground. Another point to remember - most of these shows crash and burn. But then most new shows fail anyway - on both sides of the Atlantic.
The view that Hollywood network execs are brain dead does have a big following. And lets face it, there is plenty of evidence to back up that. So, take that viewpoint and add the plot of a couple of brit authors who have made a successful tv series that is then picked up by an American studio bigwig to make a US version. Of course the results are a disaster as the whole nature of the show is perverted. What you have is the series Episodes - a title that has to be the most irritating ever if you are trying to google information about it. It is billed as a comedy, although the lack of any discernible humour suggest that satire may be a better description. Not that it works for me at that level either.
In the spirit of this though, time to take a look at a few recent examples of shows that have made the migration across the Atlantic. I've mentioned the US version of Top Gear before. It actually isn't too bad and despite saying I wasn't going to, I have ended up watching all of the first season. It isn't the same as the British version, but it stands well in its own right and speaks to the American version of car culture. As an aside, I have also tried to give the Australian version another go or two - it makes no difference, I still hate it.
But there are more. There are now new US versions of Being Human, Skins and Shameless. I was going to try to review each of them independently, but to be honest, the comments are all the same. Based on the first episodes, the US versions are actually pretty good. They all follow the structure of their originals but work on their own terms. They are all a bit darker than the originals and don't have as much of the quirky British humour. But, lets face it, attempting to do the humour wouldn't work and neither would attempting to graft American sitcom style on either. No, they aren't the same as the show you love, but "hate" shouldn't be your default position. In two cases, they represent pretty good cover versions and in the third case the show is actually better (IMO) than its originator. See if you can guess which.
One point to consider - all these shows are made by cable networks. Episodes is about a broadcast network show. Most of the good TV to come out of the US in recent times has been from cable networks. It has become an important distinction.
The view that Hollywood network execs are brain dead does have a big following. And lets face it, there is plenty of evidence to back up that. So, take that viewpoint and add the plot of a couple of brit authors who have made a successful tv series that is then picked up by an American studio bigwig to make a US version. Of course the results are a disaster as the whole nature of the show is perverted. What you have is the series Episodes - a title that has to be the most irritating ever if you are trying to google information about it. It is billed as a comedy, although the lack of any discernible humour suggest that satire may be a better description. Not that it works for me at that level either.
In the spirit of this though, time to take a look at a few recent examples of shows that have made the migration across the Atlantic. I've mentioned the US version of Top Gear before. It actually isn't too bad and despite saying I wasn't going to, I have ended up watching all of the first season. It isn't the same as the British version, but it stands well in its own right and speaks to the American version of car culture. As an aside, I have also tried to give the Australian version another go or two - it makes no difference, I still hate it.
But there are more. There are now new US versions of Being Human, Skins and Shameless. I was going to try to review each of them independently, but to be honest, the comments are all the same. Based on the first episodes, the US versions are actually pretty good. They all follow the structure of their originals but work on their own terms. They are all a bit darker than the originals and don't have as much of the quirky British humour. But, lets face it, attempting to do the humour wouldn't work and neither would attempting to graft American sitcom style on either. No, they aren't the same as the show you love, but "hate" shouldn't be your default position. In two cases, they represent pretty good cover versions and in the third case the show is actually better (IMO) than its originator. See if you can guess which.
One point to consider - all these shows are made by cable networks. Episodes is about a broadcast network show. Most of the good TV to come out of the US in recent times has been from cable networks. It has become an important distinction.