Masterchef
Original UK Series: Loyd Grossman (who just left the series) hosts
this BBC competition that pits cooks against each other to prepare their
favorite dishes.
American Remake: PBS has imported the format.
Max Headroom
Original UK Series: Originally created as a VJ, a 1985 TV movie told
the origins of Max Headroom (Matt Frewer), a computer generated character
living in a dystopian world dominated by television "20 minutes into the
future."
American Remake: Two seasons on ABC in 1987-88 was a brief phenomenon that included Max in a series of Coca-Cola ads.
Comments: The American series did not dumb down the pilot at all, in fact except for some minor cast changes and tweaking of the format to make it a continuing series, it was an accurate remake of the British original. Though short-lived, the US series was ahead of its time in predicting some of television's excesses of today.
Men Behaving Badly
Original UK Series: Men Behaving Badly
(1992-98). A bawdy but hilarious comedy written by Simon Nye about two
barely housetrained flatmates (Martin Clunes and Neil Morrissey) and their
lives and loves.
American Remake: NBC ran the US version for two seasons, 1996-97, which starred Rob Schneider.
Comments: What distinguished the British version was what losers Gary and Tony were, particularly the dump they lived in. But Americans don't like watching losers, and the US show had them living in a trendy Indianapolis apartment. A series of girlfriends and neighbors passed through the series but made little impression. Thankfully, BBC America now runs the original UK show.
My Guide To Becoming A Rock Star
Original UK Series: The Young Person's Guide To Becoming A Rock
Star (1999). Hilarious "How To" look at achieving success in the music
scene. An ambitious young Scottish rocker narrates the entire mini-series,
deadpanning his trials and tribulations in love and show business, although
the events aren't always quite as cut-and-dried as he describes.
American Remake: The WB began running it in March 2002 starring Oliver Hudson.
Comments: Amazing faithful to the original (right down to the British heavy metal parents) and it even expanded on material not covered in the original. But WB dumped it after less than a month.
Nevermind The Buzzcocks
Original UK Series: Begun in 1996, Nevermind The Buzzcocks is
a BBC-2 celebrity quiz show about rock music hosted by Mark Lamarr, with
team captains Phil Jupitus and Sean Hughes. Other panelists are either
musicians or comics. Lamarr is famous for expressing his opinion
and generally makes fun of everyone.
American Remake: VH-1 started it in March 2002 with Marc Maron as host, and Daphne Brogdon and Matt Price as team captains.
Comments: This, and the remakes of As If and The Young Person's Guide To Becoming A Rock Star all premiered within 10 days of each other in March 2002. Must be some kind of record!
The Office
Original UK Series: Only two seasons (12 episodes total) and a Christmas
special were produced of this parody of fly-on-the-wall docusoaps about
a dysfunctional sales office run by the world's worst boss David Brent
(writer and co-director Ricky Gervais).
American Remake: NBC has commissioned and has big hopes for this cult hit with a new cast including Steve Carell, Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson, and John Kraskinski.
Comments: BBC America's most popular comedy and winner of two Golden Globes awards for Best Comedy (and the rising star power of Steve Carell) apparently count for something as the NBC series makes it to two seasons.
On The Rocks
Original UK Series: Porridge (1974-77). BBC comedy set in a
prison with Ronnie Barker (The Two Ronnies) as a habitual criminal
who's spent much of his adult life 'doing porridge' (serving time).
American Remake: Short-lived ABC series in 1975.
Comments: The original is a fondly-recalled part of Barker's extensive career, the remake is barely remembered.
The Ortegas
Original UK Series: The Kumars At No. 42. A combination sitcom
and chat show featuring a Westernized Indian family and their clueless
son who is the presenter. The interviews are the best part as the guests
(mostly B-grade British celebrities) have no idea what is going to happen.
American Remake: A hispanic family is now the focus.
Comments: I always thought Kumars was a one-joke idea (okay, we get it: the son is an idiot) but the interviews are always fun. Are Americans ready for an existential chat show? This was on Fox's Fall 2003 schedule but never aired.
Payne
Original UK Series: Fawlty
Towers (12 episodes, 1975 & 1979). Continually ranked as the
funniest comedy every made in Britain, John Cleese and Connie Booth wrote
every episode, supposedly spending months working on every line. As Basil
Fawlty, the rudest, most inept hotelier ever, Cleese created a classic
comic monster that stands the test of time.
American Remake: The second remake of Fawlty Towers (see also Amanda's) ran briefly on CBS in 1999.
Comments: Star John Larroquette gave it his best shot, but he's no John Cleese.
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