Please, no "the original was better" stuff. At least not til a few episodes have aired. Anyways, initially, I read that the show was really bad. But then I saw some clips and it's looking kind of good. I hope it works out and is successful, even though I'm tired of our tv and film makers not having any original ideas. As long as they don't just copy episodes of the original, I'll be happy.
Yeah it was virtually "word-for-word" It' wasn't very funny, and I kept thinking about the original. I'm not sure it can work, I don't know.
that totally sucked in my opinion.....nothing wrong with Americanizing the original concept and having different stories, but word for word? people who haven't seen the original might find it entertaining, but it is nowhere near as good.
the reason they did it word for word was because they tried to americanize coupling and it failed miserably. Obviously NBC is run by lab mice.
I enjoyed it between watching parts of the Rockets game. Screw the original, I never saw it so it doesn't exist.
If NBC decides that the third time's a charm and they want to Americanize "Black Books," then I am ready and availible to play Bernard Black.
I didn't know this until about a year or two ago, but some of our greatest shows were British first: All in the Family, Sanford and Son, and Three's Company. I also had no idea John Larroquette's show from a few years back was supposed to be Fawlty Towers (probably because I never bothered to watch it).
I watched it and it was ok. My only problem was thinking about the original and comparing the actors. The guy playing "Gareth's" part was horrible. Not funny at all. I'll give it a couple more views, but in no WAY will it even come close to being as entertaining as the original.
I bet you guys are the same ones who say such and such movie "wasn't as good as the book", aren't you?
I thought some of it was pretty funny..but I couldn't just sit and watch the whole thing..I was watching the Rockets at the same time. So yes good to watch during Rockets commercials. I haven't seen the original.
British comedy snobs will probably ruin this for the rest of us and we'll be forced to see crap like My Wife and Kids on our television guides for years to come. Just because it's not as good as the original doesn't mean it can't be better than most of the other stuff on television.
I don't understand the emphasis on Americanizing British comedies. I never saw The Office, either version, but the British version of Coupling was much, much better. Why not just air the British version? Surely they can pay enough to the BBC for syndication rights. Other countries enjoy our shows without the need to make their own versions of them. Can you imagine an Americanized version of Monty Python? Or Dr. Who (actually they tried, and it sucked)?
I watched parts of it and was pleasantly surprised. I was familiar w/ coupling and the US version s u c k e d, but this was kinda funny. I have not seen mouch of the original office though. I also thought that the regional manager did pretty well. I don't know about ya'll, but the show did seem remarkably familar to my 'cubical' experiences. We once had a coworker who spent a sunny weekend (we all lived in Orange County) cataloging all of his possessions for insurance purposes. He couldn't decide whether to write down every title of his paperbacks or to just take photos of them. And if he took photos, could he just take photos of the spines or did he need the covers? He was seeking advice. yikes
I think the reason is for whatever reason, most of the US doesn't relate to British comedy. I know I hear co-workers laughing at and quoting away Monty Python. I sit there thinking "that's got to be some of the most unfunny, stupidest crap I've heard". Besides, some of the greatest shows in American history were rip-offs of British shows - the formula has worked. Shows like All in the Family, Sanford and Son, Three's Company, American Idol, etc. Oddly enough the British have taken from us, too... I think "Who's the Boss" was a show they took, but I'm not sure.
I agree with you there. I'd much rather see completely original television shows, but I'll take a funny Americanization of a British show over most of the stuff that's on television now.
