Americanizing Other Nation's Shows: BBC Being Human vs. SyFy Being Human?

[Waldo]

Originally Posted by Linus

The Swedish films were done for TV, technically (IIRC). And any time you do a movie-from-book lots is often left out. What I've heard about the American version is that they are going to be "happier", which struck me as odd since it takes away from the book.

That said, I don't see why the original series, particularly TV series, cannot be done in their original format/language rather than redoing it. Unless there truly is something that is unique to the locale that would be misunderstood, I don't see the need or understanding as to why.

I would think that it would be cheaper than doing a remake of the series. Wouldn't it?

The thing with any filmed (whether for TV or cinema) entertainment is that in order to connect with an audience the audience has to be able to connect themselves to it. That is what, at the end of the day, limits the appeal of foreign language film.

You may notice that on HGTV a fair number of the series are filmed in Canada. The cultural dynamics are similar enough that it's not an issue. Our accents, save a few words, are similar - as are our neighborhoods, etc. That's not the case with the UK or Australia. The accents create a sense of "other" that most folks can't overcome. And that's, of course, made worse when you introduce actual foreign languages.

So, while you might think that it would save money (and it would), it also wouldn't make money because the audience would be so much smaller.