Remedy

[khaosworks]

Am going to watch the 1st season DVD of BBC's "Coupling" to restore faith in comedy.

Comments

[joecoustic.livejournal.com]

Was the American version really bad? I've only seen a couple episodes of the original, but even with that little I thought there was little chance that they could pull it off here. (Especially with an ad campaign comparing it to friends :) ).

You probably don't know me but, for a point of reference, we're both on Solomon and Elka Tovah's Wedding Project cd.

JoEllyn :)

[khaosworks.livejournal.com]

Ah, welcome! Solomon still owes me a copy of that CD. :-)

It was like... I think the best way to put it is that it was a high school production of the British show. There were some okay moments, but the dialogue seemed forced and there was too obtrusive a laugh track. If you'd never seen the BBC version before I suppose it might seem barely adequate. If you have, it's tragic.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

I heard about that travesty.

A.
not going to go near it...

When will they learn?

[gala.livejournal.com]

British comedy can't be imported, rewritten, cast, and performed by Americans. What I can't understand is why they'd even try in the first place. Look at Men Behaving Badly. Talk about bad.

As long as they don't try to create a SO! Graham Norton cast with some American poof, we're safe.

Re: When will they learn?

[(Anonymous)]

Why would they try to redo a British show as American? Well, instead of Men Behaving Badly, look at All In The Family and Sanford and Son. Yeah, the shelf date on those is a bit much, but they're the classic examples of getting major hits from doing American remakes of British shows.
(I believe Three's Company also qualifies).

What's really sad is that Steven Moffat supposedly also wrote the American pilot. Now, there were a lot of lines and situations from the British pilot in it, but I wonder how much of the rest of it was mandated by others. I took advantage of BBC America showing the British pilot last night to compare, and the big thing I noticed was that they'd removed several of Jeff's sequiturs, which doesn't bode well (and somehow the actor just doesn't look like a Jeff).

Tom Galloway

It was so bad that...

[niquildrvr.livejournal.com]

I wept.

(in case you're wondering, I'm telynor's friend, Anita)

I like Friends and have been a faithful viewer since it started. I understand the limitations of American television and I appreciate it when a show tries to do something interesting. I appreciate shows that do mundane things very well.

But American television works in the American idiom and British tv...well, let's just say it ain't American. Why didn't they just take the concept and make their own show? Are we really so bloated from our consumption economy that we can't be bothered to write our own version of someone else's idea?

Sorry to ramble--the soapbox was too inviting.

[osj.livejournal.com]

Actually just received by region 2 version of the 3rd season...I love this show...I gave up on Friends a long time ago, when it became Melrose-with-Laughtrack, and Sex & The City also became boring 'cuz their lives are simply too remote from my own experiences.

Coupling is perfect, because the characters basically do the same sort of things that my friends and I do. By that I mean sitting around in the pub talking nonsense...one of my favourites scenes in all the episodes so far is when the three lads are just sitting in the pub throwing up names of actresses they were turned on by as kids - "Jenny Agutter!". Of course, if you haven't had that background, you don't know what they're talking about at all, but if you do...it's hilarious.