I am a big fan of UK television so perhaps that makes me bias, but a number of US shows have been copied from the UK. The ones that are most popular, and the ones that you are most familiar with would be most notably, the new-ish MTV show Skins, NBC's the Office, and Showtime's Shameless. A few more that should be mentioned include Men Behaving Badly, both versions of it are really old (19 & 15, respectively.), Life on Mars, Top Gear, and Whose Line Is It Anyway. Check them out if you like.
Let's dig right in.
1. Starting in with Skins (US vs. UK): Since this series as been deemed the most controversial in a very long time, I have to wonder why there was no big uproar in the UK about it. Anyway, as far as the US series goes, it's an replica as the UK one except it is four seasons behind and doesn't have the same characters (the names are the most the same but there is no charisma.) There is nothing to make you care about them. There is one less person, because the producers decided to erase an entire character (the only black character, by the way). For example, Tony, who is a charming douchebag, is not charming at all. Just a douchebag and within ten minutes, you wonder why he has friends. Watching the pilots of both shows, I found that the US version was difficult to watch.
So who won?
Skins (UK). The UK version has more situational comedy than the US version, however I think the US version tried too hard to put that comedy out there. Another thing that is making the US version unpopular is the fact that it is on MTV; I realize that they were trying to reach a young audience, however that kind of content has to be on a network like HBO, Starz, or Showtime. Honestly I think that a US version should not have been pursued at all, because they didn't improve on anything; they hacked it to pieces.
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2. The Office (US v. UK): A lot of people who watch the Office, starring Steve Carell, don't know that it was originally a British comedy, starring Ricky Gervais, who is starting to find his feet in the US, with shows on HBO like Talking Funny and The Ricky Gervais Show. Unlike other television shows stolen from the UK, The Office (U.S) has been the most successful, with over a hundred episodes, and unlike other shows, went on longer than its UK counterpart. I watched the pilot from both series and the dialogue (script) is practically the same, so either it's the actors that has made this series so successful or cultural differences in audiences.
So who won?
I'm going to say the US version and the reason why I say that, not just because of the fact that the The Office (U.K.) only had two seasons, but because the US version captured the essence of a lot of the characters. For example, the UK version didn't really gauge the reactions of the staff to David Brent, the Regional Manager, and there was no explanation for various people that showed up, like the man who picks up Dawn. I think that in the end that made a big difference.
3. Shameless (US v. UK): The new US version premiered on Showtime in January of 2009. According to Wikipedia, the Pilot was viewed by almost one million people, making it the most successful launch since 2003 with the cult hit, Dead Like Me. Watching the first two episodes of both series, I found some inconsistencies, but not the good kind. The UK version was released in 2004 and has just been picked up for a ninth season. It has been categorized as a comedy drama and is BAFTA-award winning television show.
So who won?
The UK version is a little more believable when it comes to the possessions the kids have; for example, in the US version, Ian has an iPod color mini and the house is equipped with a large flat screen television. The US version has Emmy Rossum playing Fiona, the eldest sister, however, when comparing her performance to Fiona from the UK version, Anne-Marie Duff, she doesn't compare.
Let's dig right in.
1. Starting in with Skins (US vs. UK): Since this series as been deemed the most controversial in a very long time, I have to wonder why there was no big uproar in the UK about it. Anyway, as far as the US series goes, it's an replica as the UK one except it is four seasons behind and doesn't have the same characters (the names are the most the same but there is no charisma.) There is nothing to make you care about them. There is one less person, because the producers decided to erase an entire character (the only black character, by the way). For example, Tony, who is a charming douchebag, is not charming at all. Just a douchebag and within ten minutes, you wonder why he has friends. Watching the pilots of both shows, I found that the US version was difficult to watch.
So who won?
Skins (UK). The UK version has more situational comedy than the US version, however I think the US version tried too hard to put that comedy out there. Another thing that is making the US version unpopular is the fact that it is on MTV; I realize that they were trying to reach a young audience, however that kind of content has to be on a network like HBO, Starz, or Showtime. Honestly I think that a US version should not have been pursued at all, because they didn't improve on anything; they hacked it to pieces.
2. The Office (US v. UK): A lot of people who watch the Office, starring Steve Carell, don't know that it was originally a British comedy, starring Ricky Gervais, who is starting to find his feet in the US, with shows on HBO like Talking Funny and The Ricky Gervais Show. Unlike other television shows stolen from the UK, The Office (U.S) has been the most successful, with over a hundred episodes, and unlike other shows, went on longer than its UK counterpart. I watched the pilot from both series and the dialogue (script) is practically the same, so either it's the actors that has made this series so successful or cultural differences in audiences.So who won?
I'm going to say the US version and the reason why I say that, not just because of the fact that the The Office (U.K.) only had two seasons, but because the US version captured the essence of a lot of the characters. For example, the UK version didn't really gauge the reactions of the staff to David Brent, the Regional Manager, and there was no explanation for various people that showed up, like the man who picks up Dawn. I think that in the end that made a big difference.
3. Shameless (US v. UK): The new US version premiered on Showtime in January of 2009. According to Wikipedia, the Pilot was viewed by almost one million people, making it the most successful launch since 2003 with the cult hit, Dead Like Me. Watching the first two episodes of both series, I found some inconsistencies, but not the good kind. The UK version was released in 2004 and has just been picked up for a ninth season. It has been categorized as a comedy drama and is BAFTA-award winning television show. So who won?
The UK version is a little more believable when it comes to the possessions the kids have; for example, in the US version, Ian has an iPod color mini and the house is equipped with a large flat screen television. The US version has Emmy Rossum playing Fiona, the eldest sister, however, when comparing her performance to Fiona from the UK version, Anne-Marie Duff, she doesn't compare.
However, the reception of the US version of Shameless is great. From what I've heard, it's simply because of the accents. There are good aspects of both version, so I"m going to leave it to you.
Visit http://www.sho.com/site/shameless/video.do for and youtube for the Shameless (UK). Tell me what you think in the comments below.
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