MovieChat Forums > Coupling (2003) Discussion > Classic Example of Too Much Hype

Classic Example of Too Much Hype

posted 20 years ago by MilB12
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Right before this show came out, you couldn't get away from the cast of coupling. The network was putting all of their eggs in one basket with this show. Every magazine you opened had a 2-3 page story on it, every two seconds you saw a commercial for it, they were on all the talk shows, they were everywhere you looked and it was the biggest thing around, and it had not come out yet, but as soon as it did everybody realized all this show had was the hype. They were trying to create the hype of Sex and the City meets Friends, but all they gave us was a steaming bowl of crap, and yes the original British series was a steaming bowl of crap too.

[–] buddhajd 20 years ago

First of all, the Brit version of "Coupling" rocks. The writing, acting and timing all come together to make it my most TiVo'd show. Also, not that anyone cares now, but the remake had potential in it's "pre-production" phase.

Potential is a dirty word sometimes. Instead of living up to that potential, they hired terrible writers and absolutely missed on casting...with the exception of Lindsay Price. Ms. Price could have played Jane to a tee. Anyway, it seemed none of the other actors were right for their parts. Rena Sofer and Sonya Walger had zero chemistry as "best friends." On top of that, Sofer seemed to have domineering attitude with all of her castmates and Walger should have been able to retain her natural Brit accent. Sally would have seemed more believable and it would have been a wink to the fans of the original show.

The guys were all horrible. Chris Moynihan had no prayer of capturing in Jeff what always made Richard Coyle so special. It's a sort of "authentic goofiness" that very few actors or actresses have ever been able to perfect. Jeff was supposed to be cute and endearing in his misguided rambling and with Moynihan he was just creepy and weird. As far as Jay Harrington and Colin Ferguson go, why weren't their parts switched? Ferguson would have made a better Steve and Harrington had a real chance to get inside of Patrick. It turned out to just be confusing for fans of the original series because they were so obviously miscast.

The bottom line is that the show was never going to be as good as the original. Americans put too many restaints on their primetime programming that the Brits don't have to fumble around with. The original would have always pushed the envelope further than the remake could have. The writing is much better and more creative in the original and the actors are superior down to last character. Let's just be glad we still have the original "Coupling," even if Jeff is gone. We'll miss you Richard Coyle...we'll miss you but we'll still keep watching.

Peace and Wisdom, BUDDHA