I was sitting in the dentist's waiting room and read an article on Kirstie Alley. It said she was starring in a new sitcom called "The Minister of Divine" based on "The Vicar Of Dibley." Anyone heard anything? I'm almost positive it will be another half-wit attempt to screw up another good British show.
share Have mercy on us all...
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What's the point of making a remake of it?
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Google "The Minister of Divine" "Kirstie Alley"
A pilot was filmed in April for Fox. It must not have turned out well. Obviously it wasn't part of Fox's schedule for next season but I guess it could show up as a mid-season replacement.
From FOX's press release: Who knew church could be this fun? The small, conservative farming town of Divine gets shaken up when their ancient minister dies in the middle of Sunday service and his replacement is GERALDINE "GERRY" GRANGER (Emmy Award winner Kirstie Alley, "Fat Actress," "Veronica's Closet," "Cheers"), a chocolate-loving, joke-cracking lady pastor with a shady past. The members of the church council don't quite know what to make of their new spiritual leader, particularly council president DAVID HORTON (Kevin McNally, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"), who is instantly opposed to this very irreverent reverend. Although David and Gerry agree on very little, over time a mutual respect turns, perhaps, into something more. THE MINISTER OF DIVINE is about the human desire to be part of something bigger than our own messed-up lives and the lives of these council members are plenty messed up. There's HUGO HORTON (Johnathan Tchaikovsky, "Rescue Me," "Off the Black"), David's slow-witted son, who's in love with Gerry's assistant, the equally dim ALICE TINKER (Riki Lindhome, "Gilmore Girls"); OWEN NESBITT (W. Earl Brown, "Deadwood"), an earthy and blunt-talking farmer and NASCAR fan; FRANK POOLE (Malcolm Barrett, "Law & Order"), the fastidious keeper of the council minutes; LETICIA CROPLEY, the no-longer-young church organist and former beauty queen; and JIM TROTT, a paranoid conspiracy theorist who also happens to be the town mayor. Revolving around Gerry's loving but often exasperated care of this eclectic crew, THE MINISTER OF DIVINE offers a humorous snapshot of what it means to be a person of faith in America today. THE MINISTER OF DIVINE is based on the top-rated British series "The Vicar of Dibley" created by Richard Curtis ("Four Weddings and a Funeral," "Notting Hill," "Love Actually," "Mr. Bean"). In 2004, it was ranked third-all-time-favorite British sitcom in a national poll. From 20th Century Fox Television and Tiger Aspect, THE MINISTER OF DIVINE has been adapted by Emmy Award winner Suzanne Martin ("Frasier," "Maybe It's Me," "Ellen").
Why don't they just play reruns of the original show? Its FAR better than any American remake could ever be, why can't these guys in Hollywood get it?!!??!!
shareno, no, no, no, no, NO!!!
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I didn't know there WAS a US version of Coupling, unless Friends was supposed to be it - which is actually more popular in the UK than Coupling ever was. There are excellent reasons to copy, they just don't always work. Everyone is desperately seeking new ideas for TV shows, it's inevitable. Iron Chef was a copy, who complains about that? There are so many TV hours to fill. The copy-critics are usually those who loved the British version and nothing could replace it in their hearts. BUT...not all of us care for British comedy, at least not all forms. I hated The Office on both sides of the Atlantic, but loved Father Ted, Black Books, etc. There are things that do not, in general, strike Americans as funny. Equally, things we find hilarious do not amuse Brits. And there are sexual references, nudity and language that just won't fly in the US on mainstream TV. So there is room for culturally revamping shows. The premise of the VicDib remake did not sound promising. We redo Brit shows because by and large we do not see them. On any given night in the UK, their TV line-up comes close to 40-50% US shows, on all channels. You would be hard pressed to find a single British show anywhere (other than BBC news on PBS) most nights in the US. (That's the main reason they have no trouble understanding us when we talk, but we struggle with them.) They tried a US version of the IT Crowd. I never saw that, but considering some of the story lines in the second year of the IT Crowd (UK), it would not have crossed the pond. That a woman would abandon her partner because his name was Peter File may be a hoot in the UK, but it's just wierd over here. Don't we get the joke? Yeah, it's just not funny - to us.
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I love the original so much, but I would like to see the pilot for this show.
shareThere's a problem with that theory. An American version wouldn't hold up for a month. I firmly believe that it would go the way of "Couples" only faster. It wouldn't work any more than trying to do an American version of "Ab Fab." And biggest of all, no offense to Kirsty Alley, she's just not Dawn French.
Do the intelligent thing...Write, call, beg and most important of all, PAY your PBS stations to play the whole series again and again. I'm in NJ and catching it on a PA PBS station by pure luck -- they apparently don't have a set time for running it. For the last month or so, I have been watching the final two episodes of the series back-to-back at various late hours late Saturday night/early Sunday morning. I will be writing or e-mailing all the PBS stations I get around here as soon as I get done with this letter.
Until this month, I didn't know that series had "continued." A few years back, I lived in SD and I'd gotten the impression that "Gerry" had become a missionary and gone to Africa. I thought that was the "end" of the series. When I moved to FL in '01, the series stopped at the same place, so I kept thinking that was the end of it. Then this month, I found out that the real end was this past Christmas. Believe me, I will be BEGGING PBS to run it again so that I can find out what kept her in Dibley and what happened the last few years of the series.
I mean, hey, how would you feel if you really loved a show and found out that not only had it not ended but that you had missed five years of it. And all that while watching its real end repeatedly during one month. LOL!! That's my luck for you!
I know how you feel, P_A_Talbot-1! That what's happened with most of my favorite Brit coms. I'm just waiting for the entire series to come out so I can get it on dvd. My local station stopped showing Are You Being Served? sometime back, after going through withdrawals, I finally went out and bought the series. One of the best purchases I've ever made!
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No! NOOOOOO! I seriously hope that this never EVER sees the light of day. I've grown up with "The Vicar of Dibley", and would despair to see it americanised. There are just some shows that should never be cannibalised in such a way! It was like the American version of "Red Dwarf", which, thank God, never lasted. I saw the American pilot and was just like 'right...so they've taken the story, and removed any trace of funny'.
I'm not saying that Americans can't be funny, just that they shouldn't try to emulate British humour. It rarely, if ever, works.
"I don't live in the world of sobriety."
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On an old Graham Norton show, Jane Leeves (of Frasier) mentioned that she had purchased the rights to The Vicar of Dibley.
Does anyone know if she sold them or did she produce the American version starring Kirstie Alley?
Well, that just makes me want to cry.
Noooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!! Please tell me they are not doing that :( I hate hate that it seems like American keeps making americanized versions of british shows.......Ok so The American Office is not bad, but did anyone really watch the CBS version of Coupling? And yes I am American...
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You don't have to be an American to see a bad idea coming. I am an American, and such an idea with be just as good as the American Coupling was......not so great or good or even mediocre at all. Not that we are incapable of transposing films and tv from other countries, but I don't see this one happening. We did the Office and All In The Family very well indeed, and the British version were excellent enough on their own. But that synopsis just doesn't seem too great.
Arrogance is the Devil's bikini wax.
--Brenicus
No, no, no, no, no, no, YES! Let them make it. Let it air. Let it bomb. Then we'll be done with it. If it never happens, they'll keep trying to make it happen. It won't ruin the original. It will only show up the original's strengths.
shareGood Point, Show.
Arrogance is the Devil's bikini wax.
--Brenicus
If The Book of Daniel only lasted a few weeks, I doubt this will see the light of day.
The remake of Coupling was Friends.
shareThat would be difficult, as Coupling was started six years after Friends began.
Let slip the Determined Kitten of Doom!share
The remake of Coupling was Friends.
Totally agree 9 times out of 10 when America tries to copy a British show they blow it to hell and back...they just can't pull it off
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