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Last week we looked at a few Britcoms that had been successfully co-opted by U.S. television producers. As many alert readers noted, there have also been some series that we’ve imported from across the Pond that fell as flat as a whoopee cushion at a clown convention. Here are just a few of the Brit-bombs:
1. From Fawlty to Payne-ful
Fawlty Towers, which starred Monty Python’s John Cleese, only ran for 12 episodes, but it still placed first on the list of 100 Greatest British Television Programmes by the British Film Institute. The first attempt at Americanizing this series was 1978’s Snavely, starring Harvey Korman and Betty White. It never progressed past the pilot episode. In 1983 Bea Arthur was cast in the John Cleese role (!) in Amanda’s. But she didn’t have a spouse with whom she could trade caustic put-downs, nor was she capable of the slapstick comedy that Cleese performed with ease.
Americans took one last stab at recreating Fawlty Towers in 1999, with John Larroquette playing hotel owner Royal Payne in the series Payne. Larroquette even hoped to get Cleese to guest star as the ultra-nice, hotel owner of a successful business down the road, but the series was canceled before producers could make it happen.
2. Same Script, Different Ratings
Coupling was often described as the UK version of Friends, only with more sex (and funnier dialog). NBC used scripts from the British series almost verbatim for the American version of Coupling, which proved to be the downfall of the series. BBC America was still airing the original show, so who wanted to sit through the same episodes a second time?
3. The Lowest Rated Show Ever
Cold Feet was another British series that was likened to Friends, but a more appropriate comparison would probably be the “dramedy” thirtysomething. Cold Feet alternated between side-splitting laughs and serious issues such as infertility and alcoholism. NBC’s version of Cold Feet starred the Gilmore Girls’ David Sutcliffe and was canned after charting the lowest ratings ever in the network’s Friday 10PM time slot.
4. Curbing the AbFab Invasion
Roseanne Barr purchased the U.S. rights to the British hit Absolutely Fabulous in 1995. She attempted to assemble a pilot for the series starring Carrie Fisher, but the project never got off the ground. Roseanne did, however, manage to persuade Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley to reprise their AbFab roles on a “post-lottery” episode of her own sitcom.
5. Bad Timing for First Years
This Life was a British series that followed the lives of five recent law school graduates who shared a house in London and were adjusting to life as working barristers. NBC’s version of the series, First Years, received positive reviews, but the Peacock Network made the mistake of scheduling the show in the same timeslot as Fox’s Ally McBeal, an established hit that also featured young attorneys.
The British Duds
Of course, stealing ideas for shows has been a two-way street. U.K. producers have also tried their hand at Anglicizing some American hits, with varying degrees of success:
1. Who’s the Boss, now with a Bond Girl!
The Upper Hand was the British version of Who’s the Boss. The male housekeeper in this case was a former soccer (er, football) player/widowed dad who wanted to raise his daughter in a better place than his south London neighborhood. Goldfinger’s “Pussy Galore,” Honor Blackman, played the saucy character originated by Katherine Helmond.
2. The Queen Mother Loves the Golden Girls?
The Golden Girls was a UK hit in its own right (the show’s stars even performed a stage version of some classic GG skits at a Royal Variety Show per the request of the Queen Mother.) Brighton Belles, a homegrown version of GG, lasted only six episodes before getting the axe; apparently St. Olaf stories that use kippers instead of herring just don’t work as well.
3. Mad About You Gets out of the City
Loved by You debuted on ITV in 1997 and ran for two seasons. Other than changing A) some of the colloquialisms and 2) the geography, it was a word-for-word remake of Mad about You.
Did we miss any of your favorites (or favorites to complain about)? Drop ‘em in the comments… we’d love to hear from you!
Comments (25)
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Didn’t I read somewhere that someone’s making another attempt at an American version of AbFab?
posted by Craig on 3-12-2009 at 11:58 am
Hugh Laurie has said that House doesn’t do well in England.
posted by Jo on 3-12-2009 at 12:28 pm
Hey, just so you know — most British TV seasons are only six episodes. “The Office,” for example, was very popular here, but has only had two seasons (12 episodes) and no more — the Brits know when to go out on tops. So season length might not be the best determination of popularity.
posted by linda on 3-12-2009 at 12:53 pm
The Upper Hand wasn’t a dud, it ran for seven seasons on ITV. As I recall, it was a far better written show than its American counterpart Who’s The Boss.
posted by Arcadia on 3-12-2009 at 1:41 pm
Whenever I see AbFab cameos I get a giggly. I LOVE those ladies!
PBS showed all 12 episodes of Fawlty Towers way back when and my parents and I loved it. For some reason the only thing I remember about it is the prankster at the end of the opening credits changing the name of the hotel to ‘Farty Towels’
posted by heather on 3-12-2009 at 2:05 pm
re: the sign on Fawlty Towers. The one that literally made me fall off the couch laughing was when the sign read “Flowery Twats”
posted by sheila on 3-12-2009 at 2:29 pm
I liked the “Watery Fowls” gag myself.
posted by Jenny on 3-12-2009 at 3:56 pm
It’s not just British shows that cross the waters to fail miserably. Kath and Kim, a huge Australian hit, just didn’t translate Stateside. I don’t know why anyone ever thought it would.
posted by smauge on 3-12-2009 at 4:36 pm
Cool post! I love the BBC (i.e. original) Coupling, but the NBC version was just painful. I didn’t even make it through the pilot episode… it didn’t help any that I’d already seen it before. :-)
posted by Roger on 3-12-2009 at 5:06 pm
What about “Blackpool”? CBS tried to turn this musical-murder-mystery miniseries (staring David Tennant…with his original accent! Sigh…) into a full series, “Viva Laughlin”, with abysmal results. Anyone see it?
::cricket::
::tumbleweed::
posted by Sam on 3-12-2009 at 10:30 pm
Actually, “Cybil” (starring Cybil Shepherd) was basically an “Ab Fab” ripoff, and fairly successful. Partly because it made Cybil’s character pretty well-adjusted, while her friend (Christine Baranski) took on all the dissolution herself (and therefore got all the best lines).
posted by Brachinus on 3-12-2009 at 11:54 pm
The US version of Life on Mars is complete crap compared to the original version. On its own it’s just plain crap.
posted by Palmer on 3-13-2009 at 2:53 am
psht. rose nylund told stories about herring AND kippers.
st. olafians smoke kippers on christmas eve ’cause that’s the best way to get your house to smell like smoked kippers.
–
i could probably tell you every st.olaf story rose ever told on the show. sad, but true.
posted by em on 3-13-2009 at 3:10 am
Peep Show, soon to enter it’s 6th “series” on British TV, was attempted on US TV in 2005 on FOX, but didn’t make it. It is currently being tried again by SPIKE TV, and is being written by the British creators of the show.
posted by Cory on 3-13-2009 at 3:54 am
Red Dwarf had an american version pilot made that even had the original chriton actor. I think Red Dwarf ran for six or so seasons in the UK and fell on its face in the American try. Although, like faulty towers, Red Dwarf found an audience on PBS.
posted by bill grammatica on 3-13-2009 at 9:34 am
I had the misfortune to catch an episode of the anglisised version of “That 70’s Show” called “Days Like these”. It was AWEFUL. I have no idea how long it ran for but the bit I saw had the dialogue verbatim, which was excruciating to watch.
It can be found on youtube still
posted by redser on 3-13-2009 at 1:59 pm
I had the misfortune to catch an episode of the anglisised version of “That 70’s Show” called “Days Like these”. It was AWFUL. I have no idea how long it ran for but the bit I saw had the dialogue verbatim, which was excruciating to watch.
It can be found on youtube still
posted by redser on 3-13-2009 at 2:02 pm
It so happened that yesternight I was in the audience for the taping of the pilot for an American version of Absolutely Fabulous. VERY funny! Kristen Johnston (the female alien in 3rd Rock from the Sun) played Patsy, and she nailed the attitude. I can assure all those who feared that Patsy and Eddy would be completely defanged that they still drink like fishes, that Patsy has caches of substances in her purse to bring out at opportune moments, that it’s clear they’re into casual sex. Eddy does seem more self-conscious in this version; she was trying to quit smoking, and at points seemed wistful to get some approval from her daughter…but ultimately, she’s defiantly immature. Patsy and Saffron are still mortal enemies, though the putdowns weren’t as blast-furnace vicious as “you little bitch troll from hell” et al of the Brit series. In my opinion it holds up quite well, thank you, and I look forward to this getting on Fox’s schedule. Doubtless a few whiny devotees will complain it isn’t “as funny” when they really mean “as bitter”, but everyone else will have a rollicking good time.
posted by VM on 3-13-2009 at 2:03 pm
Well, maybe the people in Calabasas will be insulted.
posted by V on 3-13-2009 at 2:15 pm
Given the lack of success with merely importing formats from other countries, it’s a pity more broadcasters don’t use the Flight Of The Conchords route, and relocate the show using the original performers. Doing so still wouldn’t be easy (having Mark and Jeremy from Peep Show relocate to New York for no reason might be a bit clumsy), but if handled as well as ‘Flight…’ it could pay handsome dividends.
Other shows that didn’t quite survive the trip from the UK to the US? The IT Crowd. An interesting piece on the translation by the writer of the original show here at tr.im/hoIQ
posted by Mark X on 3-15-2009 at 5:43 pm
The British version of Coupling was great–the American version sucked for two reasons: 1) horrible acting; and 2) bad casting–the actors were cast to be pretty, which just left them interchangeable and bland.
posted by Ryan on 3-16-2009 at 1:53 pm
The Ropers lasted several seasons in
UK. I never saw it but the lead actor still appears on Last Of The Summer Wine and a recurring bit on Catherine Tate Show.
posted by David on 3-19-2009 at 12:02 pm
NEWHART! it is fawlty towers.
posted by rick on 3-19-2009 at 5:41 pm
Steptoe and Son/Sanford and Son, Man About the House/Three’s Company…Good grief! I sometimes wonder if there is such a thing as original programming!
posted by Joie at Canned Laughter on 3-23-2009 at 3:12 pm
FYI- Flight of the Conchords was never a TV show in New Zealand- the two guys toured a live show that made it to Edinburgh where it was picked up as a short radio play on BBC.
Sadly they were never given the chance in NZ to really get big in their home country- damn you TVNZ!!
posted by redser on 3-24-2009 at 10:11 am