British Sitcoms vs. TERRIBLE American Remakes

#shorts #british #uk

We take a look at some of the legendary British comedies and their not so great US remakes. From Red Dwarf to Inbetweeners, and even Fawlty Towers - it's all here (unfortunately)

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[Shearper]

i didn't even know there was a US remake of Fawlty Towers

[RadagonTheRed]

U.K. Versions: Original and make for the audience.

U.S. Versions: Made for profit and lacking any originality whatsoever.

[danielriley]

Every US remake of a U.K. show is a poor imitation (with the exception of The Office). Just stop.

[walterzamalis]

Horrifying fact of the week - it was quite literally Taika Waititi who directed the American remake of _the Inbetweeners_

[arkansasoutpost]

For me as an American, a lot of the appeal of British comedy is that it's British. You can't duplicate that in an American remake.

[CharlieyT]

The bit from American Red Dwarf actually made me laugh

[Charlesb]

One of the problems with all these U.S. remakes of several of the UK sitcoms shown was that the UK version includes a sarcastic tone in the speech that failed to be replicated in the U.S. remake. They way the characters are presented in the UK originals doesn’t try to make them more likable vs the U.S. remakes. There is a sort of British sarcastic humor American shows fail to replicate or shy away from which I think American audiences are more willing to embrace then the TV execs think and if ever they won’t, those British shows simply shouldn’t be remade for U.S. audiences.

As for the failure of all the U.S. attempts at remaking Fawlty Towers, I believe it’s that the secretly to the success of the original Basil Fawlty character is he total A-hole in the UK version expertly played by John Cleese. All the American remakes all had the Basil Fawlty stand-in written as at least partly likable due to the pressumption by U.S. TV network execs that American audiences wouldn’t go for a total A-hole as the main character of a TV show. So American TV shows with cantankerous characters have so far always made them at least partly likable or “jerks with a heart of gold”. Examples include Dr. House in House, Dr. Becker in Becker or Fred Sanford in Sanford and Son (Remakes of UK’s Steptoe and Son), Archie Bunker in All In the Family (Remake of UK’s Till Death Due Us Part) or Sheldon in the Big Bang Theory. Yes, these characters work in the sitcoms they appeared in but that’s not what you want in a U.S. adaptions of Fawlty Towers IMO.

[kalikalimai]

I agree U.S should stop making these disastrous shows. You can't beat the English in their own language.

[joexkid]

The us office is the only good remake I’ve seen, Michael Scott portrayed by Steve carrell is perfect

[MandyWatt-twsn]

Why don’t they just show the original UK shows in America instead of remaking them with American actors?? I don’t understand!

[victorhernandez]

The only good Fawlty Towers US remake is the Suite Life of Zack & Cody.

[RedX]

Britain is better at comedy than the U.S, this short just proves it

[l.salisbury]

How 'bout the UK classic Miranda... and the ill-fated Yank reboot "Call Me Kat"?
That US attempt had a lot riding on it since it was developed by Big Bang alumni!

[ThornOfSociety]

About the only good thing to come from the US remake of Red Dwarf was having Jane Leeves as Holly.

[raven_canopy]

Britisn did it way better on every single one

[NoahSpurrier]

Now list the good remakes. There were a few.

[nsyncrobot]

The only UK to US remakes that I genuinely like were shows like The Office and Shameless.

[crisbeginn]

Remakes are almost always not as good as the originals. But remake or not. Their is no disputing that the US has a lot better quality all around in film and television. Idk. Sometimes, I'm watching something made in the UK, and it looks like it was recorded 30 years ago. Lighting, sets, wardrobe, makeup, and just the technology and equipment quality is like night and day.

[Dim]

I didnt know Payne was a remake of faulty towers, went under the radar.

[benwiseman]

The only programme that worked was the office. Americans wouldn't know funny if it slapped them in the face.