Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

What?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    What?

    Just turned on the TV in my hotel and there is an American version of Life on Mars. What the fuck?

    Is there no successful foreign series and / or film that the US doesn't feel the need to remake? Why do the networks there make the assumption that nobody in the USA could deal with stuff that happens in London or somewhere outside the country, with slightly different accents?

    Are there any other countries that do this? Is there a Chinese version of Friends or a Brazilian CSI?

    Harvey Keitel is playing Gene Hunt. It's doing my head in.

    #2
    What?

    Law & Order UK...

    Comment


      #3
      What?



      That memorable British remake of Married... With Children.

      Comment


        #4
        What?

        I don't think the issue is simply that the networks are trying to eliminate cultural differences by remaking these shows. I think it's more to do with the economics of the American television industry.

        Foreign series tend to have far fewer episodes than American ones. To make money in American tv, insofar as I understand it, you have to make tons of episodes and then get them syndicated (i.e., get them into reruns). If you are simply buying episodes from abroad, you lose the ability to churn out the necessary number of episodes needed to turn a profit. You also don't have control over the profits made from re-runs or selling the show to foreign countries. My guess is this is the real driver.

        And to answer your question, yes, remaking series goes on elsewhere. Russia has an almost note-for-note remake of Married With Children and a version of Law and Order. There are versions of The Office all over the world. I am sure there are many, many others.

        Comment


          #5
          What?

          But if you're buying in a series, what you're doing is making an easy buck. Granted I'm sure it's a much much smaller buck than churning out 17 episodes of CSI a year, and syndicating them worldwide, but there's less risk, since all you do is pay for the series and then sell the advertising in the breaks. Which is what everyone else in the world seemingly does with a vast array of US shows from Seinfeld to House.

          I understand that one of these ultra successful programmes makes massive amounts of money (which is presumably why things like Law and Order and CSI have spawned so many offspring), but I also assume that less successful ones may even make a loss. Looking up this "Life on Mars" clone for example, told me that they canned it after one series, and I'm guessing that outside of those weird "taking American TV to the developed world" channels (I saw it on AXN) they didn't sell it much. Would it even have broken even?

          Thanks for the info re: other countries. Lyra: is there really a Law and Order UK?

          Comment


            #6
            What?

            There sure is with Bradley Walsh playing the Jerry Orbach role, rain coat included.

            That Married...With Children remake was unspeakably awful.

            Comment


              #7
              What?

              Looking up this "Life on Mars" clone for example, told me that they canned it after one series, and I'm guessing that outside of those weird "taking American TV to the developed world" channels (I saw it on AXN) they didn't sell it much. Would it even have broken even?

              Possibly not but the track record is solid, stretching back to All in the Family (Till Death Us Do Part) and Sanford and Son (Steptoe and Son) to the current remake of The Office. The producers are investing in a concept that's been proved elsewhere which, from their point of view, reduces the risk substantially. On balance they're almost certainly right. I've no evidence but I'm guessing that if you looked at the number of British remakes over the past twenty years or so, the ratio of successes is a fair bit higher than for brand new shows.

              Comment


                #8
                What?

                Law & Order: UK is terrible, but it has Jamie Bamber, and I love him, so I will watch it. Sad, eh. It could be better with original scripts rather than adapting old US ones, but then there'd be even less point to it as well.

                Comment


                  #9
                  What?

                  In Argentina, certain big North American series have to be remade in Spanish as part of the deal whereby the original gets televised. The remakes are nearly always exact line-for-line translations of the English-language originals.

                  Comment

                  Working...
                  X