MovieChat Forums > Spaced (1999) Discussion > In some ways... an American remake shoul...

In some ways... an American remake shouldn't have failed

posted 14 years ago by oddball_oddity-1
28 replies | jump to latest

Just hear me out. Spaced didn't need to be remade. Topping the chemistry of the original cast would be difficult at best. The executives who decided to remake it were absolute scum for not consulting Pegg or Wright before remaking the series.

STILL, I wonder just how bad the pilot was. In terms of style and format, it shouldn't have been that difficult to emulate. It has a lot of American references. In American terms, it basically is Three's Company meets Family Guy. Standard sitcom elements with self-aware humor and references. The premise is great.

For fans of the original series, obviously you're gonna be annoyed. I was annoyed. But when I think about it... for those unaware of the original series, it really shouldn't have been that difficult to introduce them to a remake.

I'm not saying what they did was right, by any means. Just... how could they screw up something so badly, none the less?

[–] jaydubsky 14 years ago

I didn't know they re-made it here, but I'm not surprised that it failed: I think a great part of what works about "Spaced" is the specific people that were involved.

"Death, you are my bitch lover!"

[–] chris-1826 14 years ago

This is what you missed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDsdBB1LUto&feature=player_embedded #at=213

Cake or death? Cake please.

[–] Munstrum_Ridcully 14 years ago

Seems that they did the same thing here that they did with Fawlty towers, Dads Army, Porridge, Red Dwarf and The IT Crowd.
Buy the rights to a series that is already successful and popular, decide what it is that makes it so, then cut all of that out and replace it with old jokes and two dimensional characters, recast the show with people who are grossly miscast, change all the character names then sit back and wonder why it is *beep*

René Descartes was offered a drink
he said "I think not."
And disappeared.

[–] john_locke4 13 years ago

What the *beep* did I just watch....

----------------------------------------
DON'T TELL ME WHAT I CAN'T DO!

[–] therefdotcom 8 years ago

i also did not know about the remake. thanks for the link. wow, that's terrible.

[–] rehtep69 14 years ago

Dear god, what is the American obsession of taking something and re-making it? Do you guys really need to have something translated from English to English? No one else does this sort of thing. It failed, like most American coppies, and rightly so. It is basically saying that something is good but America can do it bigger and better while taking a piss on the source material.

[–] chris-1826 14 years ago

It's simply because it's easier than coming up with something original. We do it too, perhaps less so but we're not immune to the idea of remakes.

Cake or death? Cake please.

[–] TheSnappySneezer 14 years ago

How is your remake of Law & Order? It sounds more interesting than the US one because of the cast, Peter Davison and Freema Aygerman from Doctor Who. I really hate Law & Order though. Your remake of Golden Girls and The Jeffersons were pretty abysmal.

I grew up on remakes: All in the Family, Three's Company, Too Close For Comfort and Sanford & Son and loved them all. I have since seen the originals and love them too. They feel different. Your shows creators generally market their scripts over here, they pursue it and make a lot of money from it though in the case of Spaced, it was done behind their backs. A nasty trick indeed. Now this all being said, there was a wider divide between us in the 70s, that gap has shortened, while The Office has found a lot of success, I never liked the original. Life on Mars failed and was an insult, I think it damaged the brand which was getting a sort of cult following over here and great reviews, I am speaking solely of the UK original in regards to good reviews. US fans protested heavily the remake of Spaced, it is one of the reasons for the fail. I saw the clips, aside for a slight like of the US Daisy, I hated it and was most insulted by Brian's replacement as I am an artist and felt he captured a tortured artist perfectly and the US guy was a caricature. I do not think we need remakes anymore but I am never going to bash or put down those four great shows I mentioned above, they are classic TV and are good remakes. They used the early scripts as a launching pad for a situation and expanded upon it. The actors and writers took the characters elsewhere, particularly Three's Company which was much more farce, double entendre and slapstick than Man About the House which felt more like a predecessor to Friends than anything else and I did love Man About the House but I loved Robin's Nest much more which worked a lot better than Three's a Crowd. The series Coupling has been said to be loosely based upon or inspired by Friends, I did not care for this series but much moreso I truly hated the US coupling, mostly because of an actress that some might have considered "hot" that they forced on the long running sitcom Just Shoot Me, she kind of ruined it, made the ratings tank and the show was cancelled, it was corporate interference not feeling the vibe of the show that people liked and a cultural shift to these people who are not the greatest actors or actresses in the world, but are just thought to be prettier to the IIC (Idiots in Charge), the same thing happened to Sliders and is why I do not care much for the look of the US Being Human, the characters are too fake plastic pretty people while the UK one is full of interesting distinctive people that I find truly beautiful, the sort we do not get to see on TV anymore of here. What worked about those four classic series is the casting, they went for talent, skill and chemistry, Everything landed just right.

Oh about the closest thing to Spaced in the US is a TV series called Community, It is not based on Spaced but I think the comedy is the same and Spaced is mentioned by the creator in one of the episode commentaries so he respects it. This series has a remarkable cast with remarkable chemistry, Please give it a chance.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] Wannie_The_Sane 13 years ago

It's because you damn Brits only make like 14 episodes of great shows! What the hell?

Imagine if Spaced in America was actually good (for example I like the American The Office). I don't see how it could ever be good, but imagine if it was! We'd have 14 to 22 episodes in the first season alone! Times that by 2 to 5 and now we could have 100 episodes of an amazing show instead of just 14...

I guess I'm just a starry eyed dreamer...

Anyway, this cake is great. It's so delicious and moist.

[–] BlackEden 13 years ago

Hey idiot! (Wannie The Sane)

In case you haven't noticed, it's not the PEOPLE - and where they are from - that are responsible for production, it's the production companies. Hollywood has a lot more money compared to the production companies in the UK.

Now if Hollywood took the billions they spend on making TERRIBLE remakes and gave it to the UK, everyone would love TV again (and movies)

It's nothing to do with American or British, it's to do with Hollywood and the fact that they have destroyed every form of art imaginable.

[–] Chelios24 12 years ago

"Hey idiot! (Wannie The Sane)

In case you haven't noticed, it's not the PEOPLE - and where they are from - that are responsible for production, it's the production companies. Hollywood has a lot more money compared to the production companies in the UK.

Now if Hollywood took the billions they spend on making TERRIBLE remakes and gave it to the UK, everyone would love TV again (and movies)

It's nothing to do with American or British, it's to do with Hollywood and the fact that they have destroyed every form of art imaginable."

You're right about Hollywood and money destroying things, but if you gave all that money to the UK, the same thing would happen. British shows are so refreshing in the US because they operate within constraints and have to get creative about ways of making it work.

For instance, it's refreshing to see "normal" looking people on British TV, whereas in America actors and actresses are so trendy and over-made-up that it gives shows this unrealistic, staged feeling.

[–] therefdotcom 8 years ago

with sitcoms it has been shown ever since fawlty towers, that no matter how hard you try, the first season will be the best and the second one can, while still be good, already will drop in quality.

since you are mentioning the office. i am glad that you like the american version, but even though the basic construct might be similar, it is hardly comparable to the original. the humor in the original comes from the bitterness of it all. it is rather a laugh at how terrible things are, than the US-Versions' "haha, look at that douchebag". Brant in the original is a far more tragic character than his counterpart in the US version. the office uk has a similar humor like the first seasons of "love soup" for example, something i have so far never seen in an american show. also let's not forget, that with almost every american remakes from uk shows, all subtlety goes right out of the window.

[–] Oolon_Colluphid 9 years ago

We don't need anything translated into English, we need it translated into American. Americans don't speak English anymore, we speak American, some of us even speak 'Murcan.

[–] rios_119 14 years ago

...characters were obsessed with American culture (movies, TV, games, music, etc.) That was the basis of the series and why it worked. It wouldn't work as an American series. I wasn't even aware that they made an American version. (Was it just a pilot?) It could only be doomed. (I'm an American who has loved SPACED for years. In fact, I bought a Region-free DVD player, just so I could watch the British DVD -- before it was available in the U.S.)

[–] Chelios24 13 years ago

The biggest challenge to British shows in America is the accent, quite honestly. Simon Pegg is easy enough to understand, but it took even me, someone who enjoys the occasional British movie or TV show, a few episodes to even understand what she was saying half the time. And with Spaced in particular, some of the references were obscure. It would suffer even worse than Community.

A good show is a good show, whether it's British or American, and unfortunately Americans don't want good shows. Was Spaced a success in Britain? I'm brand new to the show, one more episdoe in the first season to watch.

[–] Wannie_The_Sane 13 years ago

Hey, Community is still going! I'm not quite sure if you meant you liked Community but I love that show. They aren't really that similar, but they have a style that I would think would appeal to fans of Spaced.

I'm pretty good with accents for some reason. The only times I couldn't understand were usually if they said something I didn't understand... haha. Like in the first episode with the girl scouts in the closet, Marsha (who had one of the thickest accents I thought, but still quite understandable) shrugs and says "It's bob-a-job week".

I had to put on the subtitles just to figure out what she said, but it wasn't so much the accent as the fact we don't have that in Canada, so my brain didn't even know to combine the words bob and job.

Anyway, this cake is great. It's so delicious and moist.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] oreilly88 13 years ago

I just read up on Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright saying that the fact that the joke was a British show saturated in American pop culture references as the reason a US remake will never work... so yeah. I think that was the intention.

[–] Zz9pza 13 years ago

I'm sure there is a US version of Spaced on right now. It's called The Big Bang Theory.

I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.

[–] Marmadukebagelhole 11 years ago

Thanks. I haven't laughed like that in years.

@Twitzkrieg - Glasgow's FOREMOST authority

[–] therefdotcom (964) 7 years ago

you ......................................................................................................................... -> the point

[–] ColeMercury 13 years ago

There are some things that just don't translate well, though. Take the character of Mike, for example. In the UK, Mike being a gun nut and militia fanatic is hilarious. In the US, it conjures up images of neo-Nazis murdering Mexicans at the border.

[–] Zz9pza 13 years ago

Only on CNN and NBC.

I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.

[–] VinnieRattolle 12 years ago

Sara Rue as Daisy was perfect casting. Her former "Less Than Perfect" costar Will Sasso as Mike, not so much...

Judging from that bizarre YouTube montage of clips from the pilot, they made the exact same mistake that they made with the American version of "Coupling": instead of finding inspiration in the British show and letting it grow into its own creation, they badly duplicated the original. That never works, no matter which side of the pond it's on. Didn't work for "Coupling," nor did it work for "Days Like These," the BBC's doppelgänger of "That '70s Show." Actually, the final episode of the US "Coupling" that aired (and only 3 or 4 episodes were broadcast) was an original story and it wasn't bad... but the show was doomed by the cloned episodes that preceded it.

See, the BBC generally takes time to develop and perfect their shows prior to shooting, which is why episodes are fewer and there's a seasonal consistency. Hollywood on the other hand, orders a pilot in January, it's shot in March, further episodes are in production in August, it debuts in September and if it's lucky enough to still be around the following January, there's a very good chance it's been meddled with so much that it barely resembles that initial pilot. Ironically the aforementioned "Less Than Perfect" is a textbook example of that (Sasso was a one-time guest-star who became recurring, then got bumped up to costar, and ultimately became Rue's character's boyfriend as the network continuously toyed with the show's format).

"Spaced" could absolutely work in the US if it was developed and produced the British way, but I don't see that happening unless a pay-network like HBO or FX decided to give it a go. It's too quirky and offbeat to flourish on regular network TV. But the first thing they'd have to do is let the story/characters breathe on their own.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] quint88 12 years ago

in the recommended links there was a link to the US version of the IT Crowd. My god that was terrible

[–] jnc8999 (10) 7 years ago

They need Somebody like Seth MacFarlane, Seth Rogen, or Phil Lord & Chris Miller to produce the remake after all they seem like they understand the subject matter.