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

[betenoire]

Kind of like how the US got a show called "Cold Case Files" (which I've never seen) a year after we started airing "Cold Squad" (which I love)?

Yeah, that's kinda annoying.

And we had This Hour Has 22 Minutes 4 years before the US had The Daily Show.

[moxie]

I most always prefer the original version of things, no matter if the original is old and the remake is new or the original is foreign and the remake is American.

American remakes of Scandinavian films are butchered horribly, in my opinion. Examples: Insomnia (remade with Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank...was HORRIBLE) and Brødre (remade into Brothers with Jake Gyllenhal, Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire). As far as the Larsson trilogy, here in the states we weren't able to see the complete Swedish version (which was made for tv and was edited for US release in the theaters) so I am looking forward to the complete version coming out on dvd later this year. I probably won't see the American version of it. The only thing that is giving me the infinitesimal want to see them is that David Fincher is going to direct. Still don't think that will sway me but who knows.

The original Kath and Kim was hilarious. The American version that got canceled mid-season was horrible.

I just wish people would learn to appreciate subtitles and accents so this wouldn't have to happen and the masses could enjoy things the way they are supposed to be: in their original form.

/rant.

[betenoire]

[Sparkle]

I've heard mixed reviews of the American remake of 'Let The Right One In'.

My friends from outside of the country hated it and hated that someone remade it so soon. My friends that live in the US, who have seen both, thought the remake was "ok".

I thought it was a very well made film (the original) but too bloody and gory for me. The whole first hour creeped me out, a lot.

[foxyshaman]

I love Being Human....love it... oh wait I said that. I also really enjoy the American/Canadian version. I couldn't wait to hate it. Then I watched an interview with the actors before I watched the show. None of them had watched the original version of the show, as a way of not influencing the characters they were playing. I was then able to put my prejudice aside and give it a try. That said... while I would watch the BBC version over the Filmed in Montreal version, I really like the new one. It is fun, has light qualities and there is more discussion of the characters motivation.

In my "tv watching head" I don't compare the two. They are two very different shows, that just happen to have a similar story line.

"Let the right one in" - I just could not bring myself to watch the American version. I felt it would sully the flavour of the original.

[Medusa]

I always liked "Who's Line is it Anway?"

[Melissa]

Originally Posted by Hack

Being Human isn't the first BBC show we've ruined. Won't be the last. We've also ruined Life on Mars. I'm just thankful my favorite BBC shows will never likely be replicated on American TV -- M.I.-5 and Luther. I also love Waking the Dead, which is the BBC version of a "cold case" show. I find that the characters on BBC (or ITV) shows are usually more richly and deeply written. Some of the most complex characters on TV are BBC shows -- Mike Walker on "Trial & Retribution" (ITV), Peter Boyd on "Waking the Dead," Tony Hill on "Wire in the Blood" (RIP...I can't believe ITV cancelled this great cop show!), and John Luther on "Luther" (which, btw, is one of the best shows on TV on either side of the pond, imo).

Jake
British cop show junkie

I loved Wire in the Blood and Waking the Dead too. Have you seen the Inspector Frost mysteries. Not as dark or intense as the others but still great. I loved Cracker, too. I think the US tried to do a Cracker version but it didn't make it.

If you have Netflix I also recommend a Canadian show called Intelligence. It only ran for two seasons but some of the best TV I have seen in a long time.

Melissa

Frost and Cracker are really old now. So is Inspector Morse but all still worth watching if you can find them.

Have you lot remade (the now ancient) Absolutely Fabulous with and by the genius Jennifer Saunders (comedy partner of Dawn French). Did Victoria Wood's Dinner Ladies get remade over there? It was hilarious.

Another more recent Brit show for you too look up is Mongrels. It might be a little humour specific to 'Brit-land' but I highly recommend it.

[Sparkle]

Originally Posted by Incubus

Have you lot remade (the now ancient) Absolutely Fabulous with and by the genius Jennifer Saunders (comedy partner of Dawn French). Did Victoria Wood's Dinner Ladies get remade over there? It was hilarious.

Nobody has had the audacity to try to remake AbFab. Thankfully.
And French & Saunders seem to have the integrity not to sell out to the highest bidder.

I miss Eastenders.

Originally Posted by Sparkle

Nobody has had the audacity to try to remake AbFab. Thankfully.
And French & Saunders seem to have the integrity not to sell out to the highest bidder.

I miss Eastenders.

I miss French and Saunders working together.

I'm pleased there's not been a US remake of Ab Fab; It is unique and very much of a time and place.

Can you not stream Eastbenders on any of the myriad of streaming sites ?

[Sparkle]

Originally Posted by Incubus

I'm pleased there's not been a US remake of Ab Fab; It is unique and very much of a time and place.

Can you not stream Eastbenders on any of the myriad of streaming sites ?

My Best Femmes (& I) do our best Patsy, Edie & Bubbles impressions, upon occasion, and its really not made for network television!

There probably is some site I can stream 'Eastenders' from, I've been too lazy to find it. I have so many sources for "entertainment" - netflix, hulu, comcast on demand - that I can't keep up.

[undone]

I think folks just want to spend time on something they can relate to, same explanation i gave my mother when she learned there was a gay TV channel. In here opinion isn't there enough gay on other TV shows.

As far as BBC i love BBC have been hooked for years including Being Human. Got my last girlfriend hooked on the likes of Who and Coupling. However the US has been raiding British shows for generations, after all I had no inkling about BBC at 5 years old, and never would have had my first crush on Jack Ritter, we took Threes company from the Brits too.


come and knock on my door, I've been waiting for you....

[Linus]

Originally Posted by Linus

I've become a huge fan of the BBC Being Human series and when I heard that SyFy was going to carry it, I thought "YAY! I won't have to have BBC America or buy it on iTunes" until I saw that they were creating their own version of it (Americanized). Literally, word-for-word the same except slang.

And I'm not sure why. I've refused to watch the redone version as I tend to find a lot of "uniqueness" of the show is the actors and original language that it's in. It's along the same avenue of how I feel about Steig Larsson's Girl With the Dragon Tattoo et al. original Swedish versions vs. the soon-to-be released American version (which apparently will have a different ending )

So how do you feel about it? Good? bad? Ugly?

So I saw the Americanized version of Dragon Tattoo and I have to say... it was honestly far better than I expected. I certainly still prefer the Swedish version but they didn't really "Americanize" this. They kept it based in Sweden, they still maintain a lot of the original storyline and, I believe, had more than the original mini-series.

I was particularly impressed with the actress who played Lisbeth (Rooney Mara) as she came across very well as the character. So I take it back on this one.

[Martina]

Not a remake, but because of one of your chaps, there will be years of House re-running on U.S. television. No apologies for anything we've done after that. You have to pay. *clearly not a fan of House though i like Hugh Laurie*

[EnderD_503]

Originally Posted by Linus

It's along the same avenue of how I feel about Steig Larsson's Girl With the Dragon Tattoo et al. original Swedish versions vs. the soon-to-be released American version (which apparently will have a different ending )

So how do you feel about it? Good? bad? Ugly?

Ok, this is something I'm going to complain about. It seems like lately American television/film industry has been butchering a lot European TV shows and films as well as films/TV shows from other countries. Before Hollywood decided to butcher Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, there was also another American remake of another Swedish book/film called Låt den rätte komma in (Let Me In was the horrible remake). The film is a vampire film but not of the stereotypical variety. It deals with themes of bullying as well as the relationship between a boy and a vampire who's gender is a bit ambiguous. The vampire is presumed to be female in the film, but actually because the director wanted the vampire's voice to be more androgynous they did not use the actress' real voice in the film. Basically she acted and spoke the lines, but another person's voice was dubbed over because the director wanted a more gender ambiguous voice. Overall pretty awesome film.

Of course Oskar and Eli were replaced by Owen and Abby from New Mexico, gender ambiguity and other themes pretty much obliterated from the remake. Which seems to be a pattern, considering I've heard that Girl With the Dragon Tattoo remake hasn't taken on the strong themes of violence and vengeance of the victim on the rapist that the original novel intended.

Kind of same with the American remake of Prime Suspect, where it feel like issues of sexism and other issues of oppression are a bit watered down when compared to the original. And why does it seem US TV shows are unable to make films/TV shows about strong women/feminist values without sexualising female protagonists to silly degrees.

I don't see why American audiences can't just watch non-American films and TV shows the way others around the world watch films/TV shows not from their own countries. It's like anything an American audience "might like" Hollywood needs to remake and, consequently, water down. It looks like Hollywood/American television has just been running out of ideas the last ten years, and so remakes shit or defaults on stupid comedies or "reality" shows.

In continental Europe/Scandinavia foreign films are shown in major movie theatres with the option of subtitles or in original language. US should start doing the same, instead of remaking everything.

I am right this moment watching the first episode of the new Being Human season!

[SugarFemme]

I will never ever ever ever forgive the BBC if they turn Downton Abbey over to us Americans to remake. I am a HUGE British film fan and have not liked any of the US remakes.

I dislike Downton Abbey with a passion. Infact I dislike period drama full stop!

[Rant]They're all just a romanticised version of the past made palatable for a mass market [/End Rant]

[Sparkle]

I just read that NBC has bought the rights to "Bad Girls"

http://www.afterellen.com/tv/nbc-wil...tory-ever-told

"Bad Girls" was never high art, not by a long stretch, but like a lot of British soap operas it had a delightful tongue-in-cheek salaciousness that allowed the viewer to relish the over-the-top aspects of the genre. There was a self-effacing irony amidst the high drama. American producers don't do that well (understatement).

[Tawse]

To me... it's not about who's stealing who's work / shows.

It's more about which one you see first and thus bond with. Unless something is just shitastic - you're going to like the first version you see regardless of it being the original, or the European. that's my thought anyway.

For that reason - I won't be watching the SyFy Being Human - I like the actors and the story for the BBC version. I have attached their faces, mannerisms, etc to the characters. For anyone else to play them - would feel off.

Same with the Dragon Tattoo series...


That being said - there are some things that you can get away with in European TV shows that you may not be able to get away with if it were Americanized. I shudder to think what America would do with the first few seasons of Torchwood. In fact I haven't watched the latest since it partnered with "Starz". Has anyone seen it? Is it as risque and pansexual?


I don't know about everyone else - I just imprint on the people I see first donning the role - unless it is just so amazingly aweful... or the remake so amazingly fantastic.