The Inbetweeners USA

[Stevie B]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fxnY_98FNo&feature=player_embedded

[English Breakfast]

Well that totally missed the point.

[METALMAN]

I was literally sick just there.

Why can't they just watch British programmes instead of always making their own shitty versions?

That being said, the US version of The Thick of It seems alright so far. But Armando Ianucci did that I think, so no surprises.

[TGC]

I was literally sick just there.

Why can't they just watch British programmes instead of always making their own shitty versions?

That being said, the US version of The Thick of It seems alright so far. But Armando Ianucci did that I think, so no surprises.

That said there are likely dozens of American shows that were based on British programs that were not shitty versions. In some cases they might have surpassed the original. But blanket statements are more fun?

Oh and I am sorry for you that you LITERALLY threw up over a 3 minute or whatever trailer

[TKz]

Looks as bad as the original.

[METALMAN]

I was literally sick just there.

Why can't they just watch British programmes instead of always making their own shitty versions?

That being said, the US version of The Thick of It seems alright so far. But Armando Ianucci did that I think, so no surprises.

That said there are likely dozens of American shows that were based on British programs that were not shitty versions. In some cases they might have surpassed the original. But blanket statements are more fun?

Oh and I am sorry for you that you LITERALLY threw up over a 3 minute or whatever trailer

a dicto simpliciter.

don't get your knickers in a twist. I was obv joking.

[TGC]

I was literally sick just there.

Why can't they just watch British programmes instead of always making their own shitty versions?

That being said, the US version of The Thick of It seems alright so far. But Armando Ianucci did that I think, so no surprises.

That said there are likely dozens of American shows that were based on British programs that were not shitty versions. In some cases they might have surpassed the original. But blanket statements are more fun?

Oh and I am sorry for you that you LITERALLY threw up over a 3 minute or whatever trailer

a dicto simpliciter.

don't get your knickers in a twist. I was obv joking.

Yes. Obviously

[METALMAN]

innit

[Stevie B]

I'm interested how far they can take it. Always been a big fan of The Office US. Well up until Steve Carell left at least. Unfortunately I cannot see Inbetweeners US having near as many good writers or financial backing to even compete with the success of The Office... therefore I doubt this show will get past the amount of episodes they've already made based on the British series in order to take the Inbetweeners story any further. It's not a bash at it being a rip-off, but the fact the casting looks terrible and doesn't look all that funny. Guess we're see what happens... could end up being surprisingly good.

[METALMAN]

Oh wait, US Office was good (better than the original) for quite a while. I always forget that one. The rest are absolutely, positively shit. Without exception. They are literally shit.

[TGC]

Oh wait, US Office was good (better than the original) for quite a while. I always forget that one. The rest are absolutely, positively shit. Without exception. They are literally shit.

You are literally a moron

[METALMAN]

why do you let it bother you so much? :/

[TKz]

Oh wait, US Office was good (better than the original) for quite a while. I always forget that one. The rest are absolutely, positively shit. Without exception. They are literally shit.

US Shameless is way better than UK Shameless. No competition. At all.

[GoGo Yubari]

Oh wait, US Office was good (better than the original) for quite a while. I always forget that one. The rest are absolutely, positively shit. Without exception. They are literally shit.

You are literally a moron

Cut it out.

[LittleDaniel]

Don't worry GoGo, I got this.

And order was restored.

[TKz]

On the topic of EVIL AMERICANS remaking our shows...

Going of Wikipedia's list, the majority of shows remade for american audiences are reality shows. Which are then aired over here. And get popular. Like America's Got Talent. Actual recent shows (dramas/comedies) that anyone would be old enough to know and care about being remade or whatever recently are limited too...

Being Human

Coupling

The IT Crowd

Life on Mars

The Office

Shameless

Skins

Spaced

Teachers

The Thick of It

Of those, only 5 of them made it past a pilot or a pilot and a few episodes. The ones that continued are Being Human (doing well and from what I saw, more entertaining than the original), Life on Mars (I don't know about. I know it had Harvey Keitel), The Office (I don't think I need to defend it), Shameless (so much better than the UK version.) and The Thick of It (which is apparently quite good).

It's really not as bad as people make it out to be. Most bad ones are deemed a failure straight away whilst the good ones end up being better than the original in some cases. I'm quite happy for an american remake of Skins that I can just, you know, ignore, to exist if it means shows like The Office and Shameless are improved upon to such an insane amount.

EDIT: Oh, and here's a list of shows we remade from US shows as well. Because taking concepts that worked in other markets and reworking them for a different one isn't a US only thing.

[METALMAN]

I'm guessing the "EVIL AMERICANS" thing was aimed at me.

This makes me think I should probably now admit (again) that I was joking. My generalisation was so ludicrous and exaggerated that it clearly signified (I hoped) my intended point: that people get precious or wound up by US remakes are a bit silly. I do it quite a lot, so I thought you might have been used to it by now. At least I found it funny.

Ditto my use of "literally". Though my use of italics made the ironic use of the word stark raving obvious as well.

Ultimately it doesn't bother me. Life is too short to get wound up by people remaking programmes, just as it too short to get wound up by chart music.

One thing I do find a bit weird is the USA's seemingly constant need to rebrand and repackage British shows. It's a bit patronising. Why not just show the original transmission? Admittedly, there haven't been that many UK programmes I particularly care about that has been appropriated to America. Maybe that is because American TV companies generally pick up the most lowbrow series for their unsophisticated audience (THIS IS A JOKE). But I quite like the Inbetweeners. I was never fanatically dedicated to it, but I enjoyed it, and that remake looks awful.

On the other hand, I'm a huge fan of The Thick Of It. I treasure it to such an extent that I watch it regularly. I love it so much that I was actually felt a little insulted by the implied "we can do better than this" attitude of HBO! However, I resolved to give it a fair crack of the whip. I was glad I did. I found a programme that was different enough from the original that you couldn't call it a thoughtless rip off, but many of the ideas that I liked from the original were still there. Like I said, it was quite good.

I suppose the whole process is made worthwhile if it turns out the odd show that's better than its UK counterpart. Like the Office, I guess. But I didn't like the original Office all that much, so I actually like the US version because it is totally unlike the original. It's set in an Office, yes, but that's about it. The humour is completely different. In a good way, in this instance.

edit: I know it works both ways, but it largely seems to be reality shows the UK copies from the list, which is a bit different from taking a drama or comedy series, keeping the name but changing the characters and rewriting the stories. I've never watched any of the non-reality stuff the UK copies. I don't want to either.

[TKz]

Nah, EVIL AMERICANS isn't really aimed at you. Just the general internet reaction. I think a lot of it has to do with setting. We can watch US shows because we've been conditioned by years of their programming to understand their culture. Where as ours isn't quite so known in the US and could be fairly confusing. When they remake the shows, the intention is to take what made the original good and apply it to a more familiar setting and characters, allowing for a larger audience in the US to appreciate it.

It's why you won't see many US shows remade for the UK, because Hollywood dominating television and film has made the US a lot more known to us. It doesn't work the other way around, really. Not that all Americans are idiots and wouldn't understand the humor or anything, but it's definitely a safer bet to try and take a winning formula and make a hit with it for their audience than spending cash for the rights to air a show that might not translate well.

Sorry if that came across as me attacking you, I just thought I'd take this opportunity to air my frustrations of this attitude the UK seems to have about our shows being remade. I'm sure they'd love for the remake to be better than the original, but I don't think that's the attitude going in at all.

[GoGo Yubari]

A lot of British shows are aired in the US, but more on specialty networks like PBS and BBC America.

[LittleDaniel]

Guys, I've said it before, we just can't understand your thick Cockney accents and such!