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Why do they even try

Sydde

Sydde

macrumors 68030
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Aug 17, 2009
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From time to time, some TV producer sees a show on British television and says, "Hey, that's popular over there, let's see if we can make it a hit in America." So you get things like the abject failures of Red Dwarf or Coupling, or the horror that had been Man About the House.

Now they are trying another popular show, Top Gear. After seeing a couple episodes, I am really not seeing anything there. They seem to be attempting a direct copy, but the presenters seem to completely lack any presence, personality or chemistry, the camera work is well below the bar that the original has set, and the humor just limply falls over.

Has anyone else seen both? Does the US version have any potential at all for being watchable?
 
Well the Australian spinoff is pretty forgettable, in all the ways you've mentioned. As much as I am a fan of the original, I can't bear to watch the local version, it tries waay to hard and it doesn't even have any decent cars either.

Just to vent as well, we have a local Iron Chef that just started, and it is the worst copy ever. From the insane japanese guy to the american translators, it's all copied to disastrous results.
 
Most Americans don't understand British humor. Personally I love British comedy including Red Dwarf and other shows like Faulty Towers and Are you Being Served.

I am the Stig! :cool:
 
Till Death Do Us Part gave you All In The Family. Some things work if they're well-adapted, some don't. You even picked up The Weakest Link. It's far more rare for an American show to be adapted for the UK than vice versa, probably because it's just cheaper to buy it.

I read that Life On Mars tanked over there.

When discussed in a UK interview with SFX, original creator of Life on Mars Matthew Graham, was asked his opinion on the US remake. His opinion was "Have you seen it? It beggars belief, doesn’t it?”. He goes on to speak of how he discussed future Ashes to Ashes endings and theories with the US team, stating they thought the UK ending "wasn’t extreme enough". He spoke of how strong endings should be there for the viewer to work out, where as the US ending was like "coming up with something and going ‘Hey-hey, you never knew this, but Gene is a Martian!’”, which he felt was a mistake.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_on_Mars_(U.S._TV_series)
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Two nations divided by a common language.

For my part, I tend to prefer HBO-type American shows, drama or comedy, but I'm not British. Keep your paws off Doctor Who, though.
 
Well seeing that I have every single show of the original TOP GEAR save on this very hard drive. The new show blows. I am the biggest Top Gear fan on the planet and to see it produced in such a half assed manner really yanks my chain. The US version is horrible, no witty banter , horrible cinematography, boring boring boring.

...and I AM THE STIG!!...oh wait jokes over , the limey bastard outed himself already:mad::mad::mad:
 
nospeed411 said:
Well seeing that I have every single show of the original TOP GEAR save on this very hard drive. The new show blows. I am the biggest Top Gear fan on the planet and to see it produced in such a half assed manner really yanks my chain. The US version is horrible, no witty banter , horrible cinematography, boring boring boring.

...and I AM THE STIG!!...oh wait jokes over , the limey bastard outed himself already:mad::mad::mad:
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Yes he did.... :mad:

To be honest, I haven't seen the American version. Guess I won't even give it a try.
 
Top Gear US is a little rough out the gate but there is potential.

What it needs to do is find it's own voice. Next episode looks to have at least some originality to it.

The hosts will never be the same as Clarkson, Hammond, and May nor should they try to be. Some people are complaining that it isn't the same as Top Gear UK while some are complaining there is too much the same.

It all boils down to Top Gear UK being around for so long and having such a dedicated fan base. I am a fan of both shows and see no reason why both cannot exist. The first episode of Top Gear US is miles better than the first episode of Top Gear UK, and that is thanks to Top Gear UK. Now they just need to break out and find their own voice.
 
wpotere said:
Yes he did.... :mad:

To be honest, I haven't seen the American version. Guess I won't even give it a try.
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I warn you to keep a vomit bucket handy if you do attempt to view it...it's really that bad.

By the way...after the polar expedition episode and the one where they went to drive across the spine of Africa....most tv bores me. Two phenomenally produced pieces.
 
nospeed411 said:
...it's really that bad.
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The worst part is that it really is not that bad. A bit like McNuggets when what you really wanted was tandoori. I just hope the American audience does not turn out like American appetites.
...after the polar expedition episode...
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That one kind of pissed me off. I mean, they should have been more up-front about which pole they were aiming for, but at least they could have used the magnetic pole at that time instead of where it was a dozen years ago.
 
Sydde said:
The worst part is that it really is not that bad. A bit like McNuggets when what you really wanted was tandoori. I just hope the American audience does not turn out like American appetites.

That one kind of pissed me off. I mean, they should have been more up-front about which pole they were aiming for, but at least they could have used the magnetic pole at that time instead of where it was a dozen years ago.
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That episode pissed me off because they claimed to be the first people to drive to the north pole in car. What they didn't mention was the fact they had a a massive support crew with at least one more identical hilux. I realize it would be naive to think that the challenges weren't set up but this one was just ridiculous.

Top Gear Aus was dreadful. They tried too hard to make it like the UK version. Way to scripted and there was no really chemistry between the hosts. I really wish they just brought the UK crew down here to do a few shows with an australian challenge and showing a few australian cars (not that we really have anything to different) rather then doing a whole series with a new crew.
 
British humour is just different is all. In a lot of ways I think it's funnier than American. It's more subtle, somehow.. somehow.
 
The US TopGear is a pretty disappointing attempt to copy the UK version.

Just wait til X Factor comes over here in 2011. Blah...
 
Melrose said:
British humour is just different is all. In a lot of ways I think it's funnier than American. It's more subtle, somehow.. somehow.
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British humor is indeed different.

But subtle...? Take just about any episode of Are You Being Served. How could Mrs. Slocombe's talking about her pu... I mean cat be described as subtle? Then there's Little Britain and Goodness Gracious Me-- both funny, both rather unsubtle.

Now, Waiting For God and As Time Goes By... they're definitely more subdued, if not subtle. In many instances, British comedy writers appreciate their viewers' intelligence. American writers tend to "dumb down" the jokes, IMHO. High comedy doesn't seem to last long in the US. Example: Police Squad! Great show, decent ratings, and the network cancels it after six episodes because it fears that the audience is having to think too much. WTF?
 
sammich said:
Just to vent as well, we have a local Iron Chef that just started, and it is the worst copy ever. From the insane japanese guy to the american translators, it's all copied to disastrous results.
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I love the American version of Iron Chef. The first time they tried it, it was terrible. The revamped it, brough in Alton Brown and its been great since. So it can be done just fine.

The biggest failure I ever saw was when they first tried the American version of Most extreme Elimination Challenge (MXC). They totally didn't get what made it funny as all heck on the original translated from Japanese version. They now have wipeout, which is a bit better, but so repetitive that its boring after a little while. They still make it about the competition and not about the ridiulous commentary they come up with.
 
wpotere said:
Most Americans don't understand British humor. Personally I love British comedy including Red Dwarf and other shows like Faulty Towers and Are you Being Served.
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The UK version of Red Dwarf was great. The US attempted remake was painful to watch at best. I've brought the entire series on DVD and caught the US pilot episode in the extras. My (_!_) is still mad at me for making it sit through that train wreck.

OTOH, anyone outside the UK know that US hit series, Survivor, was a remake of a failed British reality show?
 
NathanMuir said:
The US TopGear is a pretty disappointing attempt to copy the UK version.

Just wait til X Factor comes over here in 2011. Blah...
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Isn't X Factor pretty much a copy of (insert country here) Idol anyway? I guess we'll soon see whether people will jump ship to follow Simon Cowell. In the meantime, I'll watch reruns of AYBS? and Keeping Up Appearances, thank you.

Oh, and The Walking Dead, too, which I heartily recommend for Lost and 24 fans who don't mind the occasional rotting corpse. (Okay, okay, more than occasional.)
 
dXTC said:
Isn't X Factor pretty much a copy of (insert country here) Idol anyway?
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Not really. The public vote in X Factor is just for generating revenue, since the judges follow the script and vote off who they want to go anyway. Pretty cynical money-grabbing crap really.

Of course that doesn't mean I don't occasionally watch it :D
 
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