Wasn't He British Before? (Or What's With All the Remakes?)

[walkwithheroes]

Recently, three different United States television stations (SyFy, MTV, and HBO) debuted three different shows (Being Human, Skins, and Shameless). What do all these shows have in common? They are all U.S. remakes of popular U.K. serials. This, in itself, isn't very new. U.S. televisions stations have been remaking television shows - from around the world - for decades. Classic shows like All in the Family and Sanford and Son were based on British sitcoms, Till Death Do Us Part and Steptoe and Son, respectively. Recently, other shows like The Office, Kim and Kath, Scoundrels, and Life on Mars and/were remakes, as well.

All of these remakes of television shows, have lead me to a question:

01. Why remake and not bring the shows over/or why remake when the shows are already airing in the States? Being Human, Life on Mars, and Skins have all aired on BBC America; Shameless has also aired in the States. My guess is that, in some ways its cheaper to just remake shows or the big wigs believe the average American citizen wouldn't 'get' shows from other countries.


There's another thing I think about: which is better - the original or the remake? Personally, I think it depends on which one you watch first. Personally, I watched the U.K./original versions first, so I liked them better. I think that people tend to prefer whichever version they see first.


Finally, I think it's unfair to call U.S. television stations "stealers" or "unoriginal", because they take shows from other countries. Many countries remake shows from around the world. The Office has been remade in five different countries; Life on Mars was also remade in Spain; the Korean drama The Devil has been remade in Japan; Wipeout has also been made in several countries, as well. Basically? Every country remakes all sorts of shows.


Do I like it? Not really. But, it looks like television remakes are the wave of the future. (That and crime and medical dramas.)

Comments

[lastingdreams8.livejournal.com]

Personally, I think it depends on which one you watch first.
I agree. It's like that with books too, I feel. Like, whichever you find amazing first isn't so easily topped by another version.

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

Yes. Anything - films, tv, books, whatever - that you see/read first, that's usually the one people prefer. Like, my older sister and her husband watched the U.S. Being Human first and adore it, but can't make it past the first episode of the original U.K. series. Or my friend can't watch movies based on novels she reads, because the films never live up to her hopes. It's just the way things are, I suppose.

[thedorkygirl.livejournal.com]

It's because Americans won't watch anything with a foreign accent - or don't, whatever. The market expands when you remake them, more money than just publishing originals in the US. THIS IS NOT TRUE but it is.

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

Your comment seems very true to me. Look at those Chinese kung fu movies that sometimes play on cable - they are all dubbed. Americans don't like subtitles or accents. It makes me sad.

[kitmarlowescot2.livejournal.com]

Nothing is ever original. That's why copying is considered the sincerest form of flattery.

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

Maybe. But, I have to slightly disagree with you. There are only so many plots in the world, only so many character archetypes, but. . .that doesn't mean you can't put them in different ways. I'm not tried of the cliches or the copies - I'm slightly annoyed with all the remakes of television shows and films. The original is right there.

[nathskywalker.livejournal.com]

I don't get it either and it's the same with movies. They are remaking the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larson with Daniel Craig and Mara Rooney in the US when I know for sure that the Swedish versions of those movies have been in theaters over in the US. And there are other cases (The Ring and a million other things).

I'm a huge fan of Life on Mars (UK version) and I tried to watch the US version but I couldn't. Not that it lasted all that long, anyway. I'm not a fan of remakes but it seems like such a normal thing in the US. Instead of simply being satisfied with the original, they feel like they need to remake it with a director / actors that are recognizable in the States for some reason. As if the foreign versions weren't good enough to be appreciated by a large audience.

Usually, I get annoyed at it and roll my eyes, then decide to ignore it but with the Stieg Larson books / movies, it seriously pisses me off for some reason. I don't know why.

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

Speaking of movie remakes - one of my personal pet peeves is the way America keeps remaking Japanese and Korean horror/suspense films. The originals have something special in the way that they are often more psychological driven. The remakes are often more about blood and sex, or just plain boring.


I'm a huge fan of Life on Mars (UK version) and I tried to watch the US version but I couldn't.

Agreed.


I'm sorry to hear about the Millennium Trilogy. I've never seen the original, but I do know a few people who are annoyed with the remake. It's all about the money.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Hee! I was talking about the same thing today! Snap! I think the remakes are usually unnecessary, and I firmly believe that the original is the best (and I also think that the book is always better and don't like when they cahnge too much in films). I must be a "purist".:D

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

I just read your post, and I agree with you on many points. I understand remaking a film or television series that is older, say twenty or forty years older. That's happened before. I can understand wanting to open up a new generation to it. But, I just don't get why they make remakes of television shows that are still airing in their original country or why they remake films that are only five years old. (Case in point: the awful and completely stupid American remake of the Korean horror/suspense classic A Tale of Two Sisters)

[att123.livejournal.com]

I agree with you on some points. I always usually go with the first version I watch, and its always been the British version.

But lately there seems to be an overwelming amount of remakes in America. I just don't understand that. Wouldn't it be cheaper to show the original? Does it have to be "americanized" so that people will watch it? It just doesn't make any sense to me.

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

I think the average American producer or head of a television company believes that the average American won't understand or like anything foreign. Sadly, for the most part, that is true. I also believe - I could be wrong - that its cheaper for American studios to buy the format (scripts, basic plot, character outlines) of a show than to buy the show outright.