why does american tv always have to recreate our sitcoms? can't they just WATCH our sitcoms? when i heard about the US peep show remake i had a mixture of negative emotions.
sigh
I like!
No thanks!
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20 commentsReplies
kirsty fierce said, (51 days ago)
how kind of you! haha, i'm just kidding. it's just, we happily watch loads of your tv, so why does our tv have to be edited, accents and actors and everything, for american audiences?
i bet, in the US version, that mark and jeremy will be loud and annoying and not-subtle.
by the way sally, i've meant to apologise about not meeting up with you when you were here for AGES! i never read your e-mail til the day after you'd left, cos i'm an idiot. where did you go?
kirsty fierce said, (51 days ago)
yeah, i've seen a bit of that and it's a good translation for a US audience, funny in its own right etc. i wonder though, how do they manage to keep that one going? the UK version only had 14 episodes or something in total; isn't the US one on its fourth season or something?
Make Art said, (51 days ago)
The American friends I told about Peep Show (Alan Partridge fans) loved it in it's original format.
I suppose it might be simply due to having worked well in the past too. The Office is an obvious example of a remake being probably more successful than its basis. Sanford and Son was based on Steptoe and Son, All In The Family on Till Death Us Do Part. I suppose it's simply a matter of removing potentially confusing idiosyncrasies to widen the appeal, and make more money.
That was an exceptionally boring answer.
kirsty fierce said, (51 days ago)
haha, a very professional and logical answer! i just think it's a shame, though; i'm not sure peep show will be as good as a remake. mitchell and webb are such a hilarious duo, both aesthetically and comedically, and yeah... i dunno who could equal or top them.
Make Art said, (51 days ago)
They are a fine duo. I really should catch up on Peep Show. I really liked the first series but then fell behind from there on and it seemed progressively intricate so I didn't want to jump back in having missed stuff. I'm weird that way.
Have you ever seen the show http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruiser_(TV_series)? It was a sketch show from 2000 with Mitchell and Webb, Olivia Coleman (Sophie in Peep Show) plus Matt Holness and Martin Freeman. I downloaded it in poor quality a while back but haven't really watched much of it yet. It might be worth a look if your a fan. You can get it on DVD from Amazon.
Sally said, (50 days ago)
americans just dont "get" humour like we do
their senses of humour are totally different
they even spell it wrong
nomi oh my said, (50 days ago)
I'm sorry but I'm an american and I watch the original peep show, coupling, the office, the it crowd, mitchell and webb, et al. It's not that the typical american doesn't get "your special brand of" humor, it's that the american television industry erroneously believes they can keep cashing in on a good thing. But they do it horribly. It's all about the industry and money, not about "getting" anything or the american public in general.
I think if humor is good, it crosses cultural boundaries anyway.
ilikedginger said, (50 days ago)
idk, I just don't see that much humor in British people snickering and giggling about inflatable penises and that kind of thing. I mean, don't get me wrong. I like Last of the Summer Wine and Are You Being Served as much as the next person. Mr Bean is complex comedy only the most sophisticated of sophisticates would understand. I just really can't get down with laughing at EVERY man in a dress I see, you know?
I'm currently drunk and maybe this doesn't make sense, but OH WELL. If I was on Ab Fab, it would be fine.
Community Toy said, (50 days ago)
How can you do a US PEEP SHOW? The entire show is about massively awkward situations and a lot of why they are so awkward is because they are British.
kirsty fierce said, (50 days ago)
nomi: i wasn't suggesting that american's can't 'get' our humour, not at all. i meant the opposite, in fact.
kirsty fierce said, (50 days ago)
ginger: i don't like little britain either (which is what i'm getting from your 'man in a dress' thing, ha.) but peep show's nothing like that, and neither's the office- however if you just don't like british humour in general that's fine. it's just the matter of it having to be adapted for other countries all for the sake of money- like, the american stuff we show here i'm sure makes tons of money for our channels, so why can't it be the same in the US?
kirsty fierce said, (50 days ago)
community toy: indeed, i agree. i'm not saying that social awkwardness etc is typical of british people (sometimes i feel like when i start threads like this people think i'm being overly patriotic, which isn't the case!)- but it IS a british sitcom that's amazingly true to british life. it's so relatable as well.
kirsty fierce said, (50 days ago)
yeah, little britain is crap and i don't know why it ever got popular. david walliams is funny in his own right, but he's so awful on that. it's cheap comedy.
Community Toy said, (49 days ago)
Yeah, I wasn't saying British people are generally socially awkward, just that many of those situations wouldn't be as awkward if you were American. Or maybe a lot of it is just San Francisco. But at any rate, I wouldn't be shocked by running into someone who acted like the Heather Graham character...
yeah, the remake of Kath and Kim is going to be shown on telly here soon
i can only wince in horror