NBC, Copy, Copy Copy

[FUNdamental]

For the past two years I have looked forward to watching the television show Coupling whenever I had access to the BBC. When digital cable became available in my area, I signed up, paying upwards of $80.00 a month so I can have access every Friday night to BBC America's airing of the most brilliant television series since" Sports Night." (If you saw the episode of this short lived Sports Night when, I believe his name was Josh, confused the terms "secular" and "non secular" in front of Hillary Clinton, you experienced one of the funniest non slapstick jokes ever on television).

To my horror, I just heard NBC has finished taping seven quickly made
episodes of COUPLING, a series for the US and Canadian market based on the
creative, funny and charming British show of the same name. In the US version, the six sexy single early thirty somethings live in Chicago, and their dating/working lives intertwine in hapless and predictable ways.

Now, if you want a technique for creating a train wreck, look at the
production team. The US version's secondary writer, Phoef Sutton, whose
Hollywood credits include writing for the last two seasons of "Cheers," the
awful Bob Newhart show "Bob" and the forgettable "Kristen," is also
(God help them) executive producing. To further destroy any hope of this show working, NBC Studios, the same people that bought us "Leap of Faith" and "The Michael Richards Show," are producing the American version. Oy Vey.

Remember what happened to The Weakest Link? NBC bought over everything they
could to try and make a go of this British game show on this side of the
pond. They failed. When is NBC going to learn, look for creative new
programming options and stop trying to carbon copy other shows. The current
rosters of NBC programming are shameless imitations of other ideas currently or recently on the air. And, we all know copying doesn’t make for compelling and interesting TV. I mean, how many “Law and Orders” is NBC running? I wiltelevision).

To my horror, I just heard NBC has finished taping seven quickly made
episodes of COUPLING, a series for the US and Canadian market based on the
creative, funny and charming British show of the same name. In the US version, the six sexy single early thirty somethings live in Chicago, and their dating/working lives intertwine in hapless and predictable ways.

Now, if you want a technique for creating a train wreck, look at the
production team. The US version's secondary writer, Phoef Sutton, whose
Hollywood credits include writing for the last two seasons of "Cheers," the
awful Bob Newhart show "Bob" and the forgettable "Kristen," is also
(God help them) executive producing. To further destroy any hope of this show working, NBC Studios, the same people that bought us "Leap of Faith" and "The Michael Richards Show," are producing the American version. Oy Vey.

Remember what happened to The Weakest Link? NBC bought over everything they
could to try and make a go of this British game show on this side of the
pond. They failed. When is NBC going to learn, look for creative new
programming options and stop trying to carbon copy other shows. The current
rosters of NBC programming are shameless imitations of other ideas currently or recently on the air. And, we all know copying doesn’t make for compelling and interesting TV. I mean, how many “Law and Orders” is NBC running? I wiltelevision).

To my horror, I just heard NBC has finished taping seven quickly made
episodes of COUPLING, a series for the US and Canadian market based on the
creative, funny and charming British show of the same name. In the US version, the six sexy single early thirty somethings live in Chicago, and their dating/working lives intertwine in hapless and predictable ways.

Now, if you want a technique for creating a train wreck, look at the
production team. The US version's secondary writer, Phoef Sutton, whose
Hollywood credits include writing for the last two seasons of "Cheers," the
awful Bob Newhart show "Bob" and the forgettable "Kristen," is also
(God help them) executive producing. To further destroy any hope of this show working, NBC Studios, the same people that bought us "Leap of Faith" and "The Michael Richards Show," are producing the American version. Oy Vey.

Remember what happened to The Weakest Link? NBC bought over everything they
could to try and make a go of this British game show on this side of the
pond. They failed. When is NBC going to learn, look for creative new
programming options and stop trying to carbon copy other shows. The current
rosters of NBC programming are shameless imitations of other ideas currently or recently on the air. And, we all know copying doesn’t make for compelling and interesting TV. I mean, how many “Law and Orders” is NBC running? I will cevision).

To my horror, I just heard NBC has finished taping seven quickly made
episodes of COUPLING, a series for the US and Canadian market based on the
creative, funny and charming British show of the same name. In the US version, the six sexy single early thirty somethings live in Chicago, and their dating/working lives intertwine in hapless and predictable ways.

Now, if you want a technique for creating a train wreck, look at the
production team. The US version's secondary writer, Phoef Sutton, whose
Hollywood credits include writing for the last two seasons of "Cheers," the
awful Bob Newhart show "Bob" and the forgettable "Kristen," is also
(God help them) executive producing. To further destroy any hope of this show working, NBC Studios, the same people that bought us "Leap of Faith" and "The Michael Richards Show," are producing the American version. Oy Vey.

Remember what happened to The Weakest Link? NBC bought over everything they
could to try and make a go of this British game show on this side of the
pond. They failed. When is NBC going to learn, look for creative new
programming options and stop trying to carbon copy other shows. The current
rosters of NBC programming are shameless imitations of other ideas currently or recently on the air. And, we all know copying doesn’t make for compelling and interesting TV. I mean, how many “Law and Orders” is NBC running? I will continue to watch the BBC version of Coupling, the US version has failure written all over it.


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[Twinplets]

Originally posted by FUNdamental
To my horror, I just heard NBC has finished taping seven quickly made episodes of COUPLING, a series for the US and Canadian market based on the creative, funny and charming British show of the same name. In the US version, the six sexy single early thirty somethings live in Chicago, and their dating/working lives intertwine in hapless and predictable ways.

OK, so NBC took a great BBC sitcom and turned it into a clone of one of their own already-popular sitcoms, but set in a different city? I give it a season, maybe two if they stick it in the right time slot.


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[bwsmom]

Well, H*ll must've frozen over, because for once, I couldn't agree with you more, FUN!!!

First, with regard to Sports Night, what a marvelous gem of a show that ABC laid to waste!! I'm so glad it's in syndication on cable, and now the entire series is out on DVD! A testament to how great that show was is the fact that all of the main stars have gone on to bigger and better things. There should (and hopefully will) be more like it.

Second, I agree with you wholeheartedly on this "copy the British" craze American tv has gotten into! Are the writers in Hollywood that far gone that they can't come up with anything original of their own?? Or is it just that the really good shows all end up on premium channels? There are only a handful of mainstream shows that I believe are truly original and worthy of watching, including the soon-to-be-sophomore American Dreams.

On this subject, FUN, you are dead-on right!! Here's hoping Hollywood can get it figured out soon and stop raiding British tv!!!


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[doglover22]

I agree too! We are huge British TV fans here and watch BBC America and the weekend PBS Britcoms as often as we can. This new watered down American version of what is the funniest show I have ever seen is terrible! I have seen a clip of the American version and the timing is all off (the pilot is supposed to be a carbon copy of the British pilot where Steve tries to break up with Jane). British humour is different from American, and I doubt that the new US will be as successul as the original version is with American and British viewers. I know that British television seasons are very different from American, but why don't they just run the orginal shows and leave it at that? Of course, you could not put a show like "Coupling" and regular American network TV because of some of the language and sexual discussions that take place, but that is another story. I will watch the American version for a few episodes just to try and give it a fair chance, but I think that the orginal version will still be better.

As a side note, why on earth are some American childrens shows dubbed over so the characters can be American? Shows like "Bob the Builder" on Nick Jr. and "Tweenies" on Noggin are all British and have been re-voiced with American actors? It is a real shame that produces don't give kids enough credit to think they won't watch a show if the speeking voices are not American.


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[FUNdamental]

My prediction is the American version will have more slapstick physical comedy (easier to do) than verbal based humor, which the Brits seem to have perfected on their version.

[FUNdamental]

TRAIN WRECK!

[pandybat]

I really can't see how NBC thinks it can compete with the Coupling series on BBC. Watching a show on cable or satellite is a whole lot different than watching one on public tv. Shows are much more open and the humor can go in different directions than it could on satellite or cable. It was probably doomed before it even started just for that fact.


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