MovieChat Forums > Jo (2013) Discussion > So, is there really that many American's...

So, is there really that many American's in Paris?


Almost every character in this program either 'is' American, or at least has a very identifiable American 'accent', with the exception of a couple of them.
Even Orla Brady is using an American accent.

Makes you wonder if they hope to distribute this to U.S./Canada networks.
Here in the States, I only see a network like ION picking this up.
Not exactly Rene Balcer's finest work.

I don't see this getting more than the initial 8 episodes if the quality doesn't pick up a bit in the following episodes.

Personally, I would only give it 4 out of 10 stars.

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it was done in english to appeal to a international audience in all american movies everybody speaks english if the characters are in france italy germany everybody speaks english this show is made to intertain nothing more

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I would say it was done to appeal to the USA in particular. Just over a minute into the episode two characters are discussing the temperature and they are using Fahrenheit. The characters look to be of an age such that they would have been educated in a metric world. Only a few countries other than the USA still use Fahrenheit and they don't have English as their primary language.

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the show was sold in over 120 countries so I call it a hit if this show would have been in french I don,t think this show would have had much appeal outside of french speaking countries,the show is a international production and was sold as a international show that could appeal to all countries

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"international show that could appeal to all countries"

The USA is the only English speaking country that does not primarily or exclusively use Celsius for measuring temperature. The characters in the show speak of the temperature using Fahrenheit. My point has nothing to do with the language used for filming or any dubbing or subtitles that may be present. If greater concern for international sales and attention to details had been done during production the characters would have been using the nigh globally accepted standard of Celsius. It is either an error or a sign the show was intended to appeal to an American audience.

I'm not saying the show can't appeal to Australians or Germans but Americans generally do not understand and often abhor Celsius and everything else metric save for a 2 litre bottle of Pepsi (because it is larger than a 2 gallon bottle).

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maybe this show was made to appeal to a american audience and I hope it does that would be a great achievement for that show but for the show to be a commercial success it has to be a international hit in a large number of countries

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So Americans think a 2 litre bottle of Pepsi is bigger than a 2 gallon bottle?.....

Wrong!!!

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If it matters to you so much then take this as a proof of American absurdity to hang on to something so archaic. I have no comprehension of what a gallon is. To me it is like farthings and shillings and crowns and miles - out-dated terms that sound funny when you actually hear someone speak of them. I suppose i could look it up but the point of this was to avoid just that. Maybe it was a 2 litre bottle of Pepsi is slightly larger than 1 gallon. If the USA would just summarily modernise one day this wouldn't be an issue.

Feel free to laugh at me for not knowing some archaic form of measurement that has NEVER been used where i live in more than twice as long as i have been alive. I have ZERO cause to know what a gallon or an ounce is; i have these things called litres and grams. You really should try them some time.

Jo may be in English for a broader international distribution than French would get but it is embracing Americanisms so as to not isolate a potential American audience. Many shows do that. It is so weird to see what might as well be Americans in Paris.

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I have ZERO cause to know what a gallon or an ounce is; i have these things called litres and grams.

SHELL Oil invested a lot of money in the USA to have the gas pumps only use liters, and eventually replaced them with pumps in gallons. Since gasoline prices rose so quickly, motorists saw the price, and thought the business had closed, (prices listed as $ per liter seemed to be last year's prices of $ per gallon). When someone did drive in and fill their tank, they did not know how to convert liters to gallons, then miles per gallon so they could monitor if their vehicle was using too much fuel.

There was even the case of a passenger jet aircraft running out of fuel in midair by confusing gallons and liters. The pilots used a calibrated measuring stick at an airfield to manually verify their fuel. They apparently confused the calibration in liters for gallons, and took off without enough fuel to even reach their destination.
FYI: They landed safely (gliding) on one of the two runways of an abandoned airfield --- the other runway was actively being used at that time for auto racing (dragsters) and had many spectators present on the runway, and the pilots did not know that.



I would guess you know what a Troy Ounce in silver or gold represents. And I would also guess you know about the pound, (another archane unit for the British Pound Sterling).
That one is REALLY old since currencies have been allowed to float, and a British Pound is no longer redeemable for its original pound of sterling silver...


BTW, there was an American comedy show starring Valerie Bertinelli, called Cafe Americain (1993-1994), (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105967/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_14), about an American waitress in France, who does not speak French.

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They should probably do the show in Esperanto.

"Oh, si, si, si, jawohl, oiu!"

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[deleted]

2 gallons is more than to 7.5 liters. We aren't all idiots...

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And those of us who chose to not waste our lives learning useless, archaic units of measurement are not idiots. Do i really care about the value of a gallon? NOT AT ALL. I have absolutely no use for such knowledge and neither does most of the population of this planet. I barely have any use for Fahrenheit and that is only because in Canada everything is still dual-labelled to cater to the 80 year old who never learnt Celsius and many oven manufacturers still refuse to list temperature in Celsius on the products they sell in Canada. You call me an idiot and in doing so you are proving you missed the very point i was making in the first place. Do you know the value of a US dollar in British shillings? To me a gallon is as out-dated as a shilling is to pretty much everyone. Did it occur to you that the error might have been intentional to make a point?

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Since you have such a dislike for our system of measurement, maybe you should just stop watching. We won't miss you at all. I enjoy European programming and don't care what system of measurement is used in the show. You sound like you just need to complain about a Country that holds sway over your choice of entertainment, (and apparently "oven temperature" settings, I guarantee you we didn't care what temperature system the Nazis were using in their ovens). Stick to Taggart, or Wallander, great shows that might not offend your delicate sensibilities. If your European, your welcome for our help, after your virtual surrender... Don't remember? Ask your Grandparents...

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After reading your snipping again I get the impression your one of our neighbors from the frozen North. You might stick with Flashpoint or Motive, maybe Cracked... Put on a coat, warm up by the fire and watch Curling. That may actually be your best bet, to stave off the angst your feeling about your neighbors system of measurement. PS Thanks for the Oil Sands, sorry about the mess, we'll clean up when we leave, (yeah right)...

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After reading your snippets i ... feel very affirmed in my position -- Proud to NOT be an American.

Not everyone in Canada likes Flashpoint or Motive or Cracked or curling or hockey. Some think they are just as crap as what American channels offer. It is often the really good Canadian shows which you won't find picked up by ABC or CBS or NBC.

The top-shelf programmes get the little details such as units of measurement correct. Jo so is not one of those shows.

As for WWII, it is plastered everywhere that the USA basically said, 'not our fault, not our problem, piss off', until Japan attacked the USA more than 2 years into the war. You might want to really think through your examples before your put them forward.



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Jessica, although I found your incandescent rage about units of measurement intensely funny - I seriously hurt myself laughing - I don't completely disagree with you.

As a Brit, I am frequently enraged by America's attitude to the rest of the world, and their utterly appalling behaviour internationally. (I am of course speaking about the nation as a whole, rather than individuals - some of whom are my very close friends!)

I was only laughing so much because of the Monty Python-esq absurdity of being enraged by units of measurement.

I'm currently working my way through all 10 seasons of "Spooks" (or MI5 as the Americans prefer to call it). It's possibly the sort of thing you might enjoy watching - if you can find any uncensored box sets where you are. Americans (of course) were immediately offended by it, because of its title (British slang for "spies"), and the fact that it fairly accurately portrayed US behaviour on foreign soil (from the perspective of the foreigners). Inevitably it was accused of being anti-American. They of course neglected to notice that Americans were only occasionally the baddies. Much more often the baddies were corrupt or incompetent members of the British government, and/or the usual array of middle-eastern terrorists, or eastern European spies. But regardless of all this, it's a thoroughly entertaining and engrossing show, with superb scripts, stories, acting, and very high production values. Well worth a watch, for an example of excellent non-American television that actually survived to become a hit.

Anyway... tired fingers!

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Aside from the title, was there really any controversy? The show aired in the US for years.

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I liked Spooks and didn't find it anti-American. That seems rather silly. I thought the only reason they changed the title to "MI5" was that 'spook' used to be a derogatory word for a black person and "Spooks" might be offensive to African Americans.

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The funniest thing about you and this show is the fact that this show was created by a Canadian. You might want to complain to your fellow countryman about this.It was also written by Canadian, French and British writers and directed by British and Danish directors. Don't be complaining about America or Americans. This show has nothing to do with us. Aside from laughing at you, I'm laughing because the one actress in this show that I thought was American is actually Canadian (Jill Hennessy). This entire show is Canadian and French. It was never even shown on American tv. But by all means, keep bashing America and Americans as if this crappy show was all our fault. The more you do it, the more we laugh at you

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For the record (but out of context, fot this thread should be CONCENTRATING on the show), the metric system (is Celsius included?) is used in the Olympics, in Science (with a capital "S") and by the..........Myth Busters!

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I've never quite understood the assertion that Americans don't learn metric. We learn it in school and it is everywhere.

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No it's not!! Whenever I mention centimetres or milligrams or anything like it, I get these blank looks...at least where I live in the States (MD), metric has NOT NEARLY fully arrived yet!! Plus, all road signs are still in miles.

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Maybe it varies in ages, but it could also be an anti-intellectual thing.

And you are correct, road signs are all in miles, though I suspect that has to do with signage space as much as anything.

Metric is on every food product we purchase, every car we drive, any measurement with having any scientific basis.

It hasn't fully arrived yet, you are totally correct, but you almost have to make an effort to not know some of it.

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OK, so you obviously live in a different part of the US, or you have a different definition of "metric" as everything where I live (MD) is in ounces, pounds (NOT the metric pounds but the pounds that are something like 440g...), pints etc.
I been working at vet hospitals since I moved here, and even the doctors are slightly baffled by the concept of metric measurements!!!
Oh and gas is sold by the gallon, and the odometer measures in miles, so not sure what you mean by "every car we drive??"

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If you're European, you're welcome. It's short for "you are". It's not really that complicated!!

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Wow. You seem really angry about units of measurement. Is it a slow news day where you are?



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Wow. Yes, i did find the American imperialism in Paris a bit strange. Being in the dark shadow of American tv i am familiar with just how much it sucks for domestic creations. They too often try to prove they are NOT American shows and in doing so make themselves parodies that really are sometimes utter crap. I wouldn't consider Jo to be a top-shelf European show; it is basically an American show made and set in Paris. It is the little things like the units of measurement which solidify the credibility of a show and Jo just doesn't have it.

It was a slow news day, it was about 2 months ago, and i have never been fond of the USA meddling outside its borders in anything.

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You made the dumb comment (2 liters > 2 gallons) and then called Americans too dumb to follow ("...but it is embracing Americanisms so as to not isolate a potential American audience.") Was that Imperial Gallons, US Dry Gallons, or US Wet Gallons?

Because we do not generally think metric but have to use both (because world), most know how to do exact conversions and/or approximate in our head.

You owe some apologies.

And the show is silly with one French guy in an obviously French setting and filmed for Canada.

I'm having a hankering for some Leonardo oeuvre from the Louvre.

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Do you know the value of a US dollar in British shillings?

This is a spurious argument since money does not have a consistent value over time. Even if the British still used shillings, the value fluctuates, so you can only say at any given moment what the value of the US dollar in pence would be (for what it's worth one shilling equals 5 new pence - not that hard, and I'm neither British nor American.

Likewise, your argument about about gallons is specious - why introduce a comparison to support your point when you actually have no idea what you're talking about?

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Don't count us Germans in, as we "get" all shows dubbed, so also the persons looking on a speedometer saying "100 miles / h" talks about "you drive 160 kilometers per hour" (in German).

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As much as that normally sucks, I think for this show, it might be a blessing in disguise as the accents really are absolutely DREADFUL!!

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That's so funny! People are complaining about a show and its choice of units of measure! Sounds like they shouldn't watch "American" TV programs and stick to the ones their own Countries produce. Sounds like they are jealous and just can not stand their own Countries programming. Even though Jo is a "Canadian" show... Why these complainers focus on America and it's units of measure confounds me. Sounds like when they are measuring their favorite thing,they don't like how it numerically comes up short...
If it was a French show shown only in France I don't think any American would care less about it at all... Why are non Americans so enthralled with America?

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yeah, bit of a snooze fest for me. I thought Falcon was better and people tore that show a new one if reviews too. So, for me this series is a pass.

---------------------------
Moburg: Is it the clap?
Paul Kemp: It's a standing ovation.

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American's what? Or, did you mean plural Americans? Unneeded apostrophes get on my last nerve. The misusage is only rivaled by the incorrect use of "I" vs. "me", especially at the end of a sentence.

As to distribution, I could see it on BBC America, PBS Masterpiece Theater,USA, Bravo, Ovation, and possibly E!. Sorry you didn't enjoy it. If the show had been done in French could you have understood it or deigned to use subtitles?


~sic transit gloria mundi~

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Such Nationalistic hate... We came together in WW?, too bad that friendship is lost. Jo is well worth the watch, regardless of unit of measure!

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Tut tut....

Trish, good point, but you will never get through to those who don't wish to learn.
Just look at the person who thinks a litre is bigger than a gallon. When she is called on it she gets all defensive claiming it is an outdated measure that it is not necessary to know about, rather than admit she didn't pay attention in school. As for the apostrophe - ignorance about its use and non use is so prevalent that I think it was never taught, I could quite easily give you a thousand examples.
My friends, or friend, as I do have ONE left, gets on at me about going on about it, so you see people would simply rather remain unaware of how to use it.

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I know The Netherlands, for one, uses apostrophes for plurals that end in certain vowels (e.g. "grandpas" would be "grandpa's" if it was a word in Dutch), so you might consider that in the future. English is not everyone's first language, and it's just not very easy to get rid of grammatical habits one uses in their native language; especially when they're not fluent. Besides, how can you complain about grammar when you construct a sentence like "American's what?"?

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Agreed, it's ludicrous - but the op is obviously not very educated or did you not notice the misuse of "is"? Clearly, it should be "are" if he is referring to several people. I can only hope that English is not the original poster's first language...

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10 minutes into the first episode and I'm on the verge of switching off. I just can't get past the accents.

If they wanted it in English, fine, but to practically fill the cast with Americans and set it in Paris just makes it seem unrealistic and ruins it for me.

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in all american movies when the characters are in non english countries everybody speaks english and nobody seems to mind jean reno partner the younger cop is a british actor and the actress playing is daughter is also british they are both great in the show

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I can't think of any films where the vast majority of residents in a non-English speaking country have American accents.

I'm sure there are some, but I really can't think of any at the moment.

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If it is a foreign(to America) film trying to ape the look or pass as American, it will often use American accents as the default accent. Similar to how we Received Pronounciation is the "default" British Accent in American film/tv and elsewhere.

I've especially seen this in East Asian film and tv.

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@ SterlingArcher,

The problem is that most of the cast aren't Americans, they're Brits - some of them with really bad US accents. Brits playing yanks who are supposed to be French? I'm a Brit and I can't get past it either...

"Duck, I says..."

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This really doesn't feel right. It feels like this is a US show with Paris as the backdrop. The actors don't seem to be playing Parisiennes, they seem to be playing Americans, in Paris. This is opposed to shows like Wallander and Maiget, where the actors are really trying to bring a Swedish/French ethos to the characters even if they are speaking english with a British accent. True French cop dramas like Engrenages, feel Gallic. Jo feels more like CSI Paris. This would have worked better if Reno had emigrated to the states and was working in Chicago/LA etc. As it is, it's just another cookie-cutter US cop show set in Paris.

Nothing to see here, move along.

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It does seem a bit odd, but apparently its part of a Trend to film french shows in English (read - American) and then sell it abroad, but dub it for the homegrown crowd.

I don't get though why they couldn't have just cast the rest of the series like they did with their lead. As long as we can understand what they're saying we don't need to know they're putting out an APB. I am from Scotland, but i thought to myself "I didn't know they had APB's in france?"

But I guess they don't and they've tried to Americanise it. They could have still have cast the main cop American if they wanted, maybe he was a transfer or something, but the rest of the cast should be mainly French.

---------
Darkness Now online:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NixUM5ieKN0

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Maybe it is a union issue? I'm pretty sure this show wasn't for Americans as it has recognizable actors but doesn't seem to have aired here.

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Yes, I agree. Something has felt "off" from the beginning. I am American and the American accents are distracting me, especially from British, Nigerian and Irish actors. The dialogue also seems to be in the style of an American cop show and that just does not seem plausible to me at all. The joking cynicism and the attempts at camaraderie among the detectives feel forced. Speaking of Engrenages, that is the high bar that has been set for French police dramas, and virtually anything is going to suffer by comparison with it, but this one doesn't even seem to be trying. If this was meant to pander to an American audience (which is already a bit insulting), they are highly misguided. Americans who watch foreign dramas want them to be authentic. I don't even watch the British Wallander, good as it may be, because I am such a thorough fan of the Swedish original (besides, I speak Swedish.)

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I just tried to watch this and I'm stunned that it's not in French. What on Earth were they thinking?!

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Whatever it was, they weren't thinking it very clearly. I have just discovered (episode 3) that Jill Hennessys's character is American, but her speech is exactly the same as that of the French characters (apart from Reno, of course). I recommend Crossing Lines (available on imported DVDs from Amazon.co.uk) to see how this sort of thing should be done.

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By the time I jumped thru the sign in hoops and came back to this topic the posted question about Americans in Paris had vanished into the cyber-ether somewhere...anyway the answer is that there is a HUGE American community in Paris. Some attempt to blend in, others stick to other Americans. The French don't go out of their way to make friends with foreign residents, unless you speak decent French and try to adapt...too many Americans aren't willing to do that. I was astonished at how many of the wealthier Yanks don't even TRY to speak French. They hire bilingual staff and let them communicate with the Francophones. They stick to the American Church, the American School, Embassy parties, the AMerican Centre and their own parties. Too bad, they miss a lot. I lived there nearly five years and avoided other Yanks like they had rabies....of course, being young and student made friend-making a good deal easier since that gave me something in common with my French contemporaries.
c'est tout

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