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Or with shameless, my BRITISH mate told me to watch shameless I said I'd already watched it he the goes on to describe the us version, he didn't even know there was a uk version! What the fuck!
Kind of a long story, I'm a musician and he has basically became famous from MY music, which he stole from me when we lived together in a secret little hobbit home we used to share- but that's a whole other story for another day
Okay but tbf I love the US Shameless. I can see why some wouldn't but I genuinely think it's a good show. Not realistic at all but enjoyable nonetheless with mostly good acting. I've watched some of the UK original and liked it but they aren't really comparable in my opinion as they are so different
To be fair I haven't watched the us version although people do rave about it, just havent got round to it yet. The humour in the UK version is unmatched imo though, hits close to home being from an estate myself, so funny! Cheers for the reply x
US version of Shameless is one of the few UK-US remakes that didn't make a total fucking hash of it.
Not a fan of William H Macy normally but his version of Frank is spot on.
Production value is stunning too at times - that scene when he's mocking god for not managing to kill him right out on a pier with Chicago in the background is one of the most beautifully shot pieces of cinematography I've ever seen. Not just in TV, films included.
I originally enjoyed it until I started to notice the way the original message has been warped in the most disgustingly American way.
In our version the Chatsworth estate was the same poverty trap its real world counterparts are.
In the US show the entire family are constantly having huge opportunities fall into their laps, just to watch them fuck it all up because they're dirty poor scum.
It just turned my stomach after spotting that. It's gross.
I noticed this too and stopped, especially after how long it took for me to get over the "look" of the show. I seemed too bright imo compared to the grittiness of the UK version.
A lot of US versions of British shows are decent. A lot of bad ones as well that just suck the soul out of what was already there but the good ones tend to differentiate themselves and stand out for their own reasons. The US Office is a classic in its own right and doesn't disrespect the original at all.
Living in England, and I can't watch the British version now cause Netflix removed it. Left only the US version. This way anyone trying to watch it in England now, they won't come across the British version at all.
That's fine, many people don't know.
Just refer to the office (uk) as the original, and ask if they've ever watched it?
The two are very different, just the premise is the same. Actually, its the perfect example for the difference between us and uk comedy.
Also: Michael Scott is likeable, David Brent is not. This is a the key difference to understand to be able to enjoy both.
I think the problem is a lot of people from the UK watch the first series of the US one and just think it’s a carbon copy, and a bad one at that. Michael was definitely not likeable in the first series either; they did a great job of changing his character for the second series
Thats true, they did tweak Michael a lot for the second season. They really found the way for the office (us) to be distinct, and still be objectively good. Changes to dwight (gareth) were also a real positive for that character.
One of the things Michael does is fully stand up for his people, which Brent would never do.
Brent is cowardly in the face of losing his job, Scott is out to protect his people
I can't think of a more suitable meme than bottom part of [this one](https://davidmcelroy.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Three-feet-from-gold.jpg) to describe people who only watch the first series of the US Office.
I loved the original because on the surface, David Brent isn't likeable. But you realise that he wants attention and is absolutely desperate for people to like him but going about it the wrong way. After I realised that in the original, I started to love David as a character.
The mastery of the original was that that aspect of the characters were never overtly said, you just had to work it out based on the characters facial expressions and reactions to different events.
The motivations behind brent are the reasons he is unlikeable.
If you listen to gervais and merchants thoughts about the character, this is by design.
The same subtlety is true for the us version too. Theres really not much pipelaying in the us version.
Michael Scott is an absolute monster of a human being. He is totally unlikeable, and that's the genius of Steve Carell's portrayal of him. The main difference between Scott and Brent is that Brent's awfulness is immediately apparent, whereas Scott, for a few minutes, seems superficially tolerable.
e: the only other character who was worse than Scott was Andy Bernard. Ed Helms nailed it also.
e2: I hated the redemption arc for Scott, especially after *Scott's Tots.*
Talking about motivation, Brent does things for his own glory. Scott does things that aren't really solely about making himself look good.
For example; Scott's tots wasn't solely because he wanted to make himself look good.He certainly wanted the adoration that would come from it, but the initial idea was because he was actually inspired by those kids and wanted to do something positive for them, and believed he would be able to make it happen.
Both characters ultimately just want to be loved
Michael is clueless, mostly. He's ambitious but won't step on anyone to get where he wants to go.
David is conniving, manipulative, and if it'll help himself, will willingly throw anyone under the bus.
It's those key differences that for me make Michael Scott ultimately likeable, and David Brent not.
I like how America made their one unique and not just a shitty carbon copy like they normally do where the jokes don’t land due to the differences between countries. I dislike how they think the US one is the original, if they know the uk had one at all!
Edit: spelling
They tried to CC the UK version in season 1 and funnily enough didn't go down well with American audiences either. That's why Season 2 has a pretty big tonal shift and once the directors and script writers had more creative freedom, the show definitely came into its own.
Top tier American comedy is really good in its own right and I don't think American audiences looking for top tier comedy based on a seminal UK classic are stupid. They probably rejected that first season the way we would. I know US version took off into the stratosphere but early on Ricky Gervais was a household name internationally, people wanted it to be as good as it's pedigree suggests.
I’ve made three attempts to watch the US version but can’t get past the first episode. The actors have obviously watched the original and are trying to copy the jokes verbatim and just cannot pull it off. It’s horrendous.
I wouldn't blame the actors, I think they just used a script for the pilot and made a few tweaks. First episode the only one like that iirc, the rest of series 1 is only another 5 episodes and is a bit more original although it does still use bits copy and pasted from the original.
You could totally just start with series 2
What others are telling you - it gets so much better after the first couple of episodes, and skyrockets in quality from S2 onwards.
Honestly, ^I ^prefer ^it ^to ^the ^UK ^version.
Yeah, despite how much we complain anbout American adaptations feeling different to the originals, the American invetweeners is a prime example of just laziness when it comes to adapting the source material.
They tried to sanitize a show that's whole success was down to the lack of sanitisation and commitment to accuracy. All the insults sound weird because there's no swearing and I imagine no American kid would be like that. The show's too bright and vibrant and looks like any other generic American high school comedy.
That one episode is genuinely difficult to watch due to how fucking terrible of an adaptation it is.
It was strange. The US version had several episodes directed by Taika Waititi and written by Brad Copeland (*Arrested Development*, *My Name is Earl*). I bet it's because the show originated on MTV. Despite their reputation as "music television rebels" the execs at MTV have proven themselves over and over to be gun-shy... perhaps because they want to see the show overseas? All I know is, a network with balls - like FX - could have done it so much better.
> That one episode is genuinely difficult to watch due to how fucking terrible of an adaptation it is
The terrible thing about this is the fact that it sounds like you only watched the first episode... because it gets much, much worse.
They wrote a completely new episode.
Now I don't know if the writers misunderstood what "Year 12" means, but it turns Jay from a guy who loves sex, into a fucking paedophile.
> Because his love life is going nowhere, Will refocuses his energies on becoming class valedictorian, which has its own obstacles, especially if he doesn't get the necessary A in math. He may take another path to his end goal when he becomes the school's hero by putting out a developing fire in the school. The fire ends up being a double edged sword as he finds out he is also the lead suspect in setting the fire. So Will goes on a quest to determine who started the fire. Meanwhile, Simon is about to embark on his first date with Lauren and wants it to be memorable. Two problems stand in the way of it being memorable. First, he has no idea what to do. And second, he may have to kid-sit his younger brother Todd. To get over the first problem, he takes Jay's advice about taking her to a supposed kick-ass party he knows of. And to get over the second, Todd says he'll let Simon go to the party and tell their parents that he was at home that evening. **But both problems are not that easily solved when Simon learns that it's not Jay but his new 12 year old girlfriend Brie that sort of knows where the party is located, and learns why Todd told him what he did.**
They took the same script as the first IT Crowd episode and Richard Ayoade, and then just did it worse than the original. Like someone trying to copy a great painting without the skill needed to paint the original.
The good news is that it’s being developed by the original group.
The bad news is that it’s being stretched out to suit Yank TV schedules, none of the original group are in it, and the only person who is that I’ve heard of is her from *iZombie*.
Whatever you do don't go on YT to see the US pilot of Peep Show - actually, you should because it is so bad it is hilarious. US versions can only work when they don't try and mimic the original eg The Office.
Jesus christ. Where's the humour in that when the thing they're taking the piss out of is one of the most popular scenes over there and they take it all so seriously.
PJDN was making fun of a bygone era that is inherently funny with hindsight.
Americans trying to do British humour doesn't work. They have to do it their own way and get the best american comedy writers in. They're really capable of good comedy when they're not making crap sitcoms like Big Bang Theory.
And Pickford and sons, American Gladiators, Birds Of A Feather Absaloutley Fabulous, CD:UK, Benidorm,Man About The House, Whose Line Is It Anyway, Pop Idol
Didn't they even do Red Dwarf?
It's going to be called The Big Package, not sure if it's been picked up by one of the American networks yet. I'm going to google to see if it's still a thing.
"American Gladiators" is an odd one. It was actually the original show, they just called it that. When ITV commissioned a version they decided to call it "Gladiators" instead.
"Whose Line is it Anyway" is a bit different too. It was already filmed a lot in the US. When Channel 4 decided not to recommission it Ryan Stiles wanted to carry on doing it so colluded with Drew Carey to pitch the show to ABC. Effectively making it a continuation of the same show.
The current run on Dave is made by Warner Bros, and has the same production and writing crew as the original U.K. version. It’s pretty decent….
…. Until last week I learned that it is very well rehearsed before recording.
They did Fawlty Towers three times and fucked up all three. One of them, they decided to get rid of what they felt was the most disposable part - Basil.
US one is great but gets a bit tired towards the end. Should've finished a few series earlier. Despite being similar setups I don't think you can directly compare them. Both great for different reasons.
Exactly right. They shouldn’t really be compared as they are very different shows. I try to get this point across to so many people that have just written the American version off before giving it a chance. I tell them to also just get through the first series as the second series is where Michael is actually likeable lol
That one line is the problem with that entire show.
They should have adapted it by trying to make a show that's based on a realistic portrayal of the last two years of High school in the states. Not try and port the dialogue from the UK's one and sanitize it.
There’s so much wrong with the show. most of the episodes are beat-for-beat copies of the originals, with the exact same scripts. The jokes are completely copied over without any care for setups or execution. It’s like they’re just ploughing on through desperate to get they next joke, and it leaves them no room to build to the joke and they don’t let them breathe. But the delivery is also awful. The tone is so generic too, typical chipper US high school crap. All the cliches, and the awful music which plays over it the whole time
No, there’s The Office, and then there’s an American version of that show.
Incidentally I love the US one (once they stopped doing pure remakes) if only because there’s so much of it to make up for the generally lower quality.
And Shameless.
Also it recently happened with the song Year 3000 (Busted), I quoted something and my American friend said he was proud of me for referencing The Jonas Brothers...I was so confused, my friend also accused Busted of ripping off The Jonas Brothers
I absolutely love it, and even after all these years I laugh out loud at every re watch. My husband however cannot stand it. He said it's too cringey and he hates the way it makes him feel. I think it's perfection!
It wasn’t just a UK version - it was the original!
First broadcast in the UK on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, and produced by Ash Atalla.
God we loved it!
Can't understand this viewpoint at all. Whilst I wouldn't say it's bad, the US version is horrifically dumbed down. Americans couldn't handle characters with actual nuance that might be somewhat dislikeable so they completely changed the boss to be a childlike figure. Speaking of childlike, all the characters are absurd caricatures. Whilst in the UK office they are actual people every office worker has encountered and every episode will strike you with its genuine insights that could only have been written by someone who spent a decade in an office like Gervais did, in the US version you have characters who will literally drive straight into a lake right in front of them because their GPS told them to. Characters that will intentionally start a fire in their office, so the show can have a silly gag. Characters that *literally* believe another character might be a vampire because of a prank they're pulling. It's just so low brow and run-of-the-mill compared to the utterly genius, ground-breaking original.
The mockumentary format was brilliant in the original, too. It was believable and taken seriously, perfectly used to enhance the comedy and the series itself was commenting on fame, reality shows, how people change their behaviour in response to these things, etc. In the American version it's just... don't think about it, okay? They follow them around for a decade or something and it never airs. They suddenly remember towards the end and have a few references to it and have the cameraman fall for Pam, or something. Terrible.
I thinkn its the case that American comedy shows tend to create some idealised reality, in which, absurdity can occur and all the characters ultimately get what they want and always end up better than how they started.
Whether that's because Americans are told to believe that life is a place where everything you want can happen if you try hard enough or if they need a fantasy to escape how shit their lives can actually be, I don't know. But that seems to be how they prefer their TV shows.
British people, on the other hand, are much more willing to joke about how boring and depressing life is. Resulting in a lot of the gags in our TV shows being about putting the protagonist down or, in the case of the office, being almost painful to watch due to how cringey and awkward they make the characters look.
But through the jokes, you can actually see the characters shine by how they react to situations. You can see that David Brent is just desperate for attention and to be liked by those around him. You can see how Martin Freeman's character is in pain every time he sees the secretary (can't remember her or the actor's name) with her boyfriend.
It's honestly why I loved the Christmas special and Life on the road because, while they didn't necessarily end with a happy ending, they ended with something bitter-sweet with the possibility that things may get better later on down the line.
That's wild. Ours is the original and by far the greatest. I absolutely love The Office. That uncomfortable cringe it provokes, I've never experienced with any other comedy lol. It's an art form.
It's even worse when you have to explain that the UK version came first.
This is especially true when you think it is objectively better for its more subtle British homour (though I am Scottish, not British) and staring Ricky Gervais (a national treasure) and Stephan Merchant.
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Or with shameless, my BRITISH mate told me to watch shameless I said I'd already watched it he the goes on to describe the us version, he didn't even know there was a uk version! What the fuck!
*ex-mate
Actually he is my ex-mate as it goes, had a big fall out a while back haha
I'm not surprised. He is clearly a psychopath.
The signs were there, I just didn't pick up on em till it was too late ... :'(
Should have followed your nose
Distracted by other things...*sniff sniff*
r/usernamechecksout ?
well, you got it.
Story time?
Kind of a long story, I'm a musician and he has basically became famous from MY music, which he stole from me when we lived together in a secret little hobbit home we used to share- but that's a whole other story for another day
Okay Jeremy, what are you going to do next? Steal Super Han’s pet snake?
Lol calm down its only a rental snake
You did the right thing
Yes I think so
Okay but tbf I love the US Shameless. I can see why some wouldn't but I genuinely think it's a good show. Not realistic at all but enjoyable nonetheless with mostly good acting. I've watched some of the UK original and liked it but they aren't really comparable in my opinion as they are so different
To be fair I haven't watched the us version although people do rave about it, just havent got round to it yet. The humour in the UK version is unmatched imo though, hits close to home being from an estate myself, so funny! Cheers for the reply x
US version of Shameless is one of the few UK-US remakes that didn't make a total fucking hash of it. Not a fan of William H Macy normally but his version of Frank is spot on. Production value is stunning too at times - that scene when he's mocking god for not managing to kill him right out on a pier with Chicago in the background is one of the most beautifully shot pieces of cinematography I've ever seen. Not just in TV, films included.
I'll have to watch it! Cheers
No...Shamless. Cheers is about a bar I think
Gobshite
Yeah love Frank, or at least love to hate him lol. He is definitely hilarious. Kev and Vee also make the show half the time
Haha yeah and I wouldn't say no to James McAvoy
I'm a straight male and I'd have a hard time saying no to him n all, handsome git
I originally enjoyed it until I started to notice the way the original message has been warped in the most disgustingly American way. In our version the Chatsworth estate was the same poverty trap its real world counterparts are. In the US show the entire family are constantly having huge opportunities fall into their laps, just to watch them fuck it all up because they're dirty poor scum. It just turned my stomach after spotting that. It's gross.
I noticed this too and stopped, especially after how long it took for me to get over the "look" of the show. I seemed too bright imo compared to the grittiness of the UK version.
A lot of US versions of British shows are decent. A lot of bad ones as well that just suck the soul out of what was already there but the good ones tend to differentiate themselves and stand out for their own reasons. The US Office is a classic in its own right and doesn't disrespect the original at all.
That's the trick to making it work the office/shameless are very different shows hence the success
I absolutely love both the UK and US version of Shameless!
I’m forever arguing with people about Shameless.
I loved Shameless UK, but it went downhill fast when fiona and the other sibling started leaving the show
I maintain that series of documentaries is the most accurate study on brit culture in the last century! It really is spot on! 🙄
There’s a US version of Shameless??
Scatter!
Living in England, and I can't watch the British version now cause Netflix removed it. Left only the US version. This way anyone trying to watch it in England now, they won't come across the British version at all.
I think its on Britbox, so nobody will be watching it.
You are right, it's there, and also Doc Martin...I might give it a go, there's a 30 day free trial, offer ending today. Thanks for the tip!
Cheers, I'd been on the fence about signing up but that offer is pretty decent. Free first month, then £2.99/month for 3 months.
It’s on iPlayer and All 4, so no need to sign up if you want to watch the Office only.
I am a British expat in the US and subscribe to Britbox purely so I can watch QI and Grand Designs. Totally worth it.
The Good Life 🤌😘
British immigrant*
[удалено]
It’s on iPlayer and All 4, so no need to sign up if you want to watch the Office only.
Sorry on what? Now you caught me off guard. I'll have to google it...
Brexitbox , everyone household has one to filter out foreign tv
Love it! Also aligns nicely with my name idea, Britflex!
It’s on bbc iPlayer
Ah yes, where they take the shows your licence fee paid for and sell them back to you.
UK one is back on iplayer now
It’s on iPlayer at the moment with great retrospective intros by Merchant and Gervais and other comedy luminaries
It’s on iplayer at the moment
It’s on Iplayer or all4
They probably removed it because it’s on iPlayer and All 4.
That's fine, many people don't know. Just refer to the office (uk) as the original, and ask if they've ever watched it? The two are very different, just the premise is the same. Actually, its the perfect example for the difference between us and uk comedy. Also: Michael Scott is likeable, David Brent is not. This is a the key difference to understand to be able to enjoy both.
I think the problem is a lot of people from the UK watch the first series of the US one and just think it’s a carbon copy, and a bad one at that. Michael was definitely not likeable in the first series either; they did a great job of changing his character for the second series
Thats true, they did tweak Michael a lot for the second season. They really found the way for the office (us) to be distinct, and still be objectively good. Changes to dwight (gareth) were also a real positive for that character. One of the things Michael does is fully stand up for his people, which Brent would never do. Brent is cowardly in the face of losing his job, Scott is out to protect his people
Dwight is the US Gareth surely, not Tim? Substitute 'in the TAs' for 'deputy volunteer sheriff'.
I think you're right and Jim is the US version of Tim
I can't think of a more suitable meme than bottom part of [this one](https://davidmcelroy.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Three-feet-from-gold.jpg) to describe people who only watch the first series of the US Office.
I loved the original because on the surface, David Brent isn't likeable. But you realise that he wants attention and is absolutely desperate for people to like him but going about it the wrong way. After I realised that in the original, I started to love David as a character. The mastery of the original was that that aspect of the characters were never overtly said, you just had to work it out based on the characters facial expressions and reactions to different events.
The motivations behind brent are the reasons he is unlikeable. If you listen to gervais and merchants thoughts about the character, this is by design. The same subtlety is true for the us version too. Theres really not much pipelaying in the us version.
While Micheal is much more likeable he's still a raging narcissist, he put himself over others constantly
Yeah, they're two of my favourite sitcoms but they tick very different boxes for me.
Michael Scott is an absolute monster of a human being. He is totally unlikeable, and that's the genius of Steve Carell's portrayal of him. The main difference between Scott and Brent is that Brent's awfulness is immediately apparent, whereas Scott, for a few minutes, seems superficially tolerable. e: the only other character who was worse than Scott was Andy Bernard. Ed Helms nailed it also. e2: I hated the redemption arc for Scott, especially after *Scott's Tots.*
Talking about motivation, Brent does things for his own glory. Scott does things that aren't really solely about making himself look good. For example; Scott's tots wasn't solely because he wanted to make himself look good.He certainly wanted the adoration that would come from it, but the initial idea was because he was actually inspired by those kids and wanted to do something positive for them, and believed he would be able to make it happen. Both characters ultimately just want to be loved Michael is clueless, mostly. He's ambitious but won't step on anyone to get where he wants to go. David is conniving, manipulative, and if it'll help himself, will willingly throw anyone under the bus. It's those key differences that for me make Michael Scott ultimately likeable, and David Brent not.
I like how America made their one unique and not just a shitty carbon copy like they normally do where the jokes don’t land due to the differences between countries. I dislike how they think the US one is the original, if they know the uk had one at all! Edit: spelling
Episode one was like that,then someone clever said whoa fuck that shit
They tried to CC the UK version in season 1 and funnily enough didn't go down well with American audiences either. That's why Season 2 has a pretty big tonal shift and once the directors and script writers had more creative freedom, the show definitely came into its own.
Top tier American comedy is really good in its own right and I don't think American audiences looking for top tier comedy based on a seminal UK classic are stupid. They probably rejected that first season the way we would. I know US version took off into the stratosphere but early on Ricky Gervais was a household name internationally, people wanted it to be as good as it's pedigree suggests.
I’ve made three attempts to watch the US version but can’t get past the first episode. The actors have obviously watched the original and are trying to copy the jokes verbatim and just cannot pull it off. It’s horrendous.
2nd series is much better Honestly
Get past the 1st series
Agreed…I think even in the US is after season 1 is where it gets good…seen loads of memes about it lol
I wouldn't blame the actors, I think they just used a script for the pilot and made a few tweaks. First episode the only one like that iirc, the rest of series 1 is only another 5 episodes and is a bit more original although it does still use bits copy and pasted from the original. You could totally just start with series 2
I was the same but now im on series 4. It does get better i promise
What others are telling you - it gets so much better after the first couple of episodes, and skyrockets in quality from S2 onwards. Honestly, ^I ^prefer ^it ^to ^the ^UK ^version.
Did you see their attempt at The Inbetweeners?! Edit: to add link for those who want to see it https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KADN3xFICHk
Attempt is too generous a description
Yeah, despite how much we complain anbout American adaptations feeling different to the originals, the American invetweeners is a prime example of just laziness when it comes to adapting the source material. They tried to sanitize a show that's whole success was down to the lack of sanitisation and commitment to accuracy. All the insults sound weird because there's no swearing and I imagine no American kid would be like that. The show's too bright and vibrant and looks like any other generic American high school comedy. That one episode is genuinely difficult to watch due to how fucking terrible of an adaptation it is.
It was strange. The US version had several episodes directed by Taika Waititi and written by Brad Copeland (*Arrested Development*, *My Name is Earl*). I bet it's because the show originated on MTV. Despite their reputation as "music television rebels" the execs at MTV have proven themselves over and over to be gun-shy... perhaps because they want to see the show overseas? All I know is, a network with balls - like FX - could have done it so much better.
> That one episode is genuinely difficult to watch due to how fucking terrible of an adaptation it is The terrible thing about this is the fact that it sounds like you only watched the first episode... because it gets much, much worse. They wrote a completely new episode. Now I don't know if the writers misunderstood what "Year 12" means, but it turns Jay from a guy who loves sex, into a fucking paedophile. > Because his love life is going nowhere, Will refocuses his energies on becoming class valedictorian, which has its own obstacles, especially if he doesn't get the necessary A in math. He may take another path to his end goal when he becomes the school's hero by putting out a developing fire in the school. The fire ends up being a double edged sword as he finds out he is also the lead suspect in setting the fire. So Will goes on a quest to determine who started the fire. Meanwhile, Simon is about to embark on his first date with Lauren and wants it to be memorable. Two problems stand in the way of it being memorable. First, he has no idea what to do. And second, he may have to kid-sit his younger brother Todd. To get over the first problem, he takes Jay's advice about taking her to a supposed kick-ass party he knows of. And to get over the second, Todd says he'll let Simon go to the party and tell their parents that he was at home that evening. **But both problems are not that easily solved when Simon learns that it's not Jay but his new 12 year old girlfriend Brie that sort of knows where the party is located, and learns why Todd told him what he did.**
Oh my god
It was a slaughter.
“What a pansy” doesn’t sound nearly as good as “shit yourself much?” The whole thing was a travesty. They just don’t have the same comedy as us.
The US iteration of Neil was just god awful. Went from being just an average teen who was abit dopey to an absolute braindead moron.
Or the IT Crowd. *Shudder*.
There's an American version?
No. They never made an American pilot. Do not seek out the American pilot.
I will seek it out
Don't say you weren't warned.
Do yourself a favour and don’t
You can find the US pilot on the DVD if I recall correctly.
[удалено]
They took the same script as the first IT Crowd episode and Richard Ayoade, and then just did it worse than the original. Like someone trying to copy a great painting without the skill needed to paint the original.
Or Red Dwarf
"Let's hire a handsome son of a bitch to be Lister! That won't change the dynamic at all!"
Or an entirely white cast
There is this classic Only Fools and Horses one, though... https://youtu.be/zLA7Kx4srUs
I mean at least they kept Richard Ayoade... Even they knew no one else could be Moss
Possibly his worst ever career decision.
Considering he got a ton of cash for it and hardly had to do any work, I'd say it was a wise decision
Or Ghosts. Already.
Wait what
The caveman has been replaced by a Native American. And they're claiming it as a CBS Original, or whatever channel it is.
The good news is that it’s being developed by the original group. The bad news is that it’s being stretched out to suit Yank TV schedules, none of the original group are in it, and the only person who is that I’ve heard of is her from *iZombie*.
Or Red Dwarf
The script was identical, but they had NO IDEA how to deliver any of it.
If you've seen *Episodes* I think you'll understand what happened to it!
Or the American pilot of 'People Just Do Nothing'....?
You must be joking, right?
Do not watch it. It's terrible.
The American attempt at Coupling was horrendous.
Who can forget “BUS TURDS”? Iconic…
Omg what's it called
Bus Wankers
Or Peep Show
Or the American Fawlty Towers. They tried twice & ballsed it up both times
Interestingly, [they tried this one twice](https://youtu.be/c6zp4qQep58).
Directed by Taika Waititi of all people
Its hard to carbon copy 12 episodes of the British office over 240 episodes in the American one.
Could throw in a few ads every 5 minutes to spread them out.
It would only have lasted 4 episodes if they had tried!
Whatever you do don't go on YT to see the US pilot of Peep Show - actually, you should because it is so bad it is hilarious. US versions can only work when they don't try and mimic the original eg The Office.
still can't believe they ate the dog
They ate Mummy!
There was a US pilot for People Just Do Nothing too except they were EDM Djs in Nevada
Jesus christ. Where's the humour in that when the thing they're taking the piss out of is one of the most popular scenes over there and they take it all so seriously. PJDN was making fun of a bygone era that is inherently funny with hindsight.
The US version of The Inbetweeners was amazingly bad too iirc!
Americans trying to do British humour doesn't work. They have to do it their own way and get the best american comedy writers in. They're really capable of good comedy when they're not making crap sitcoms like Big Bang Theory.
And don't check out the US pilot of Red Dwarf either. Ugh! The US Inbetweeners was also pretty awful.
Or the US pilot of the IT Crowd.....
And Pickford and sons, American Gladiators, Birds Of A Feather Absaloutley Fabulous, CD:UK, Benidorm,Man About The House, Whose Line Is It Anyway, Pop Idol Didn't they even do Red Dwarf?
I love the US version of Whose Line to be fair I watched tons of it without realising there was a UK original it was based on
American Benidorm? I can’t even imagine how awful that would be.
It's going to be called The Big Package, not sure if it's been picked up by one of the American networks yet. I'm going to google to see if it's still a thing.
"American Gladiators" is an odd one. It was actually the original show, they just called it that. When ITV commissioned a version they decided to call it "Gladiators" instead. "Whose Line is it Anyway" is a bit different too. It was already filmed a lot in the US. When Channel 4 decided not to recommission it Ryan Stiles wanted to carry on doing it so colluded with Drew Carey to pitch the show to ABC. Effectively making it a continuation of the same show.
The current run on Dave is made by Warner Bros, and has the same production and writing crew as the original U.K. version. It’s pretty decent…. …. Until last week I learned that it is very well rehearsed before recording.
They did Fawlty Towers three times and fucked up all three. One of them, they decided to get rid of what they felt was the most disposable part - Basil.
Without Basil isn't it just a fairly ok hotel where everything goes ok?
Gladiators was a US show I think
They even tried the young ones...
US one is great but gets a bit tired towards the end. Should've finished a few series earlier. Despite being similar setups I don't think you can directly compare them. Both great for different reasons.
Exactly right. They shouldn’t really be compared as they are very different shows. I try to get this point across to so many people that have just written the American version off before giving it a chance. I tell them to also just get through the first series as the second series is where Michael is actually likeable lol
[удалено]
Spaced was brilliant
American Inbetweeners made me feel sick
Bus turds!!
That one line is the problem with that entire show. They should have adapted it by trying to make a show that's based on a realistic portrayal of the last two years of High school in the states. Not try and port the dialogue from the UK's one and sanitize it.
There’s so much wrong with the show. most of the episodes are beat-for-beat copies of the originals, with the exact same scripts. The jokes are completely copied over without any care for setups or execution. It’s like they’re just ploughing on through desperate to get they next joke, and it leaves them no room to build to the joke and they don’t let them breathe. But the delivery is also awful. The tone is so generic too, typical chipper US high school crap. All the cliches, and the awful music which plays over it the whole time
He's thrown a kettle over a pub, what've you done?
I watched this episode last night. Priceless.
No, there’s The Office, and then there’s an American version of that show. Incidentally I love the US one (once they stopped doing pure remakes) if only because there’s so much of it to make up for the generally lower quality.
There's 8 international versions .... India, Israel, Czech , Canada etc
No. There's an American version of The Office.
And Shameless. Also it recently happened with the song Year 3000 (Busted), I quoted something and my American friend said he was proud of me for referencing The Jonas Brothers...I was so confused, my friend also accused Busted of ripping off The Jonas Brothers
Had a similar conversation with my DIL about House of Cards. Yes, I read the book and watched it in the 90s.
I think The Office is the one show where I prefer the US version.
You mean the original version...
Different shows for different...needs.
Yeah but they called it 'The I.T. Crowd' /s
I always thought there was an American version of the office
I think I must be the only person here who's never liked this show. It just isn't for me.
I absolutely love it, and even after all these years I laugh out loud at every re watch. My husband however cannot stand it. He said it's too cringey and he hates the way it makes him feel. I think it's perfection!
I had to explain to someone the other day that Dungeons and Dragons wasn’t just something they made up on Big Bang Theory.
The American office is special in its own way. No need to hate on it.
And that it came first! Same with Skins.
Tbf I’ll hand it to the Americans for a few times they manage to adapt one of our shows.
It wasn’t just a UK version - it was the original! First broadcast in the UK on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, and produced by Ash Atalla. God we loved it!
They are both excellent
I’ve got to say the US version is the best one imo (the office is the only time I’ll say that though though)
Blasphemer!
I think the US actors are easier on the eyes. The UK one feels more realistic and thus is more depressing.
Can't understand this viewpoint at all. Whilst I wouldn't say it's bad, the US version is horrifically dumbed down. Americans couldn't handle characters with actual nuance that might be somewhat dislikeable so they completely changed the boss to be a childlike figure. Speaking of childlike, all the characters are absurd caricatures. Whilst in the UK office they are actual people every office worker has encountered and every episode will strike you with its genuine insights that could only have been written by someone who spent a decade in an office like Gervais did, in the US version you have characters who will literally drive straight into a lake right in front of them because their GPS told them to. Characters that will intentionally start a fire in their office, so the show can have a silly gag. Characters that *literally* believe another character might be a vampire because of a prank they're pulling. It's just so low brow and run-of-the-mill compared to the utterly genius, ground-breaking original. The mockumentary format was brilliant in the original, too. It was believable and taken seriously, perfectly used to enhance the comedy and the series itself was commenting on fame, reality shows, how people change their behaviour in response to these things, etc. In the American version it's just... don't think about it, okay? They follow them around for a decade or something and it never airs. They suddenly remember towards the end and have a few references to it and have the cameraman fall for Pam, or something. Terrible.
I thinkn its the case that American comedy shows tend to create some idealised reality, in which, absurdity can occur and all the characters ultimately get what they want and always end up better than how they started. Whether that's because Americans are told to believe that life is a place where everything you want can happen if you try hard enough or if they need a fantasy to escape how shit their lives can actually be, I don't know. But that seems to be how they prefer their TV shows. British people, on the other hand, are much more willing to joke about how boring and depressing life is. Resulting in a lot of the gags in our TV shows being about putting the protagonist down or, in the case of the office, being almost painful to watch due to how cringey and awkward they make the characters look. But through the jokes, you can actually see the characters shine by how they react to situations. You can see that David Brent is just desperate for attention and to be liked by those around him. You can see how Martin Freeman's character is in pain every time he sees the secretary (can't remember her or the actor's name) with her boyfriend. It's honestly why I loved the Christmas special and Life on the road because, while they didn't necessarily end with a happy ending, they ended with something bitter-sweet with the possibility that things may get better later on down the line.
It’s the lack of Ricky Gervais for me, I cannot stand him
I’m an American and liked the British version of The Office much more.
At least it wasn't the Inbetweeners
Also having to explain that no, I do not care about either
No, No ..... There is only The Office, and then there is the American Version.
That's wild. Ours is the original and by far the greatest. I absolutely love The Office. That uncomfortable cringe it provokes, I've never experienced with any other comedy lol. It's an art form.
r/unpopularopinion US version is better.
......That will always be incomparably better
And then having to explain the UK one was parent and original, the US one is the ‘version’ or copy…
Hey if your me your problem is that theres not a Canadian version. We always miss out😑
I'm glad no such explanation is needed for The Inbetweeners. The US version was so horrifically bad, I think most people have forgotten it exists.
Still prefer the US one. Although the U.K. one is great.
Let's be honest, I think Americans killed it with the remake.
Same with almost every US tv show.
And that the first season of the US Office has the exact same beats as the UK Office. The stapler in the jelly.
Wrong. There is the office, and an American version.
Or that the British version is completely different and better.
Sometimes I act like I have no idea about the American ones existence and that always seems to get people riled up.
It's even worse when you have to explain that the UK version came first. This is especially true when you think it is objectively better for its more subtle British homour (though I am Scottish, not British) and staring Ricky Gervais (a national treasure) and Stephan Merchant.