I don't think the show's failure in the US has anything to do with the in-ability of American's to "get" the British humor or their need to have everything dumbed down to a 8-year old level.
Personally, I am a huge fan of the original british version (as is everyone I know who has seen it here in the US on BBC America). Even my wife, who typically doesa not like British sit-coms loves the show.
Now, being that they used the oriignal scripts to make the US version (with some slight changes) and but now the show totally sucks tells us a few things: 1) the writing is not the problem as these scripts are hilarious in the original UK version; 2) Americans CAN enjoy the humor as, like I stated above, most of find the original a great laugh; 3) but the actors chosen for the US version are NOT funny, cannot deliver the material as it was meant, and have NO sense of comedic timing. I apologize for not knowing the actors names, but the person who plays Jeff in the UK is one of the funniest people I have seen on TV and can deliver a joke or "jeff-ism" like nobody else. The "Jeff" in the US was NOT funny and , when saying the same exact lines, fell extremely flat.
In summary, I think the failure was due not to the material itself but extremely poor comedic acting anf directing that destroyed a wonderful original.
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ShawnB429
21 years ago
I would agree with you on, Paley, on the points of the actors. Like I said in previous posts...if Breckin Meyer would have remained as Jeff...his character would have had the same effect as does Richard Coyle's Jeff (UK version). I believe that Americans have the ability to understand the humor...but looking at most shows, it's right on the surface instead of having to dig a little bit for it. Like I said to the person who first replied to my post, and as you said...the writing is not the problem at all.
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Goose15
21 years ago
Just as an FYI...Britsh shows have become much more popular here in the US over the past 5 years or so. Obviously shows like Monty Python, Benny Hill, and Faulty Towers have been shown here on public television for decades but I know believe more Americans are appreciating other British shows, especially now that BBC America is included on most cable and satellite systems. Some of the more popular lately are Coupling, Manchild, Changing Rooms (which many Americans don't realize the enormously sucessfully "Trading Spaces" is copied from), and The Office (one of the best shows EVER).
Unfortunately, American networks , instead of showing the originals try to copy and update, which almost ALWAYS end in failure:
Faulty Towers - American version aired like 3 episodes before being pulled. Horrible.
Coupling - Enough said!
The Office - they're making a US version as we speak. We can hope they don;t f**k it up.
The only one which was a modest success was Bill Cosby's last sitcom where he played a retired grumpy guy. Can't remember the name of the British show it was based on (I can picture it in my head but blanking out here)...
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benl_57
21 years ago
It was "one foot in the grave". The british version was still better.
The office is so hilarious it's untrue, but i think a scene by scene remake for an american audience isnt intelligent at all - why cant we just use the british version, it's hilarious and ricky gervais could never be replaced. You mark my words... it'll never work and it'll be another coupling.
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codeguyj
21 years ago
I just thought I'd point at that while most of the cast did indeed stink (or maybe was just miscast), the lady playing Jane was perfect. I in fact came to this site just to look up her name (Lindsay Price). She was the only one who made me forget the other actor who played the part and just enjoy the performance.
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