No its not a remake of Friends! - Coupling (2003) Discussion

[–] steve.schonberger 22 years ago

So, Friends as a core cast of three men and three women, all single, and Coupling as three men and three women, all single. But beyond that, I don't see the connection -- Coupling is funny. Even if the US Coupling ends up as a pale shadow of the UK original, it is still likely to outshine Friends.

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[–] sdosangh011 22 years ago

This show has more in common with Seinfeld than a Friends. The US version will not be as funny as the British version, although I am trying to keep an open mind. I just don't see these actors being able to pull of some of these characters like Jeff.

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[–] servo-15 20 years ago

Actually, the British version of COUPLING WAS a remake of FRIENDS. Doesn't have the same characters because it was trying to be it's own show.ALL IN THE FAMILY and THREE's COMPANY were based on British shows. They had different characters.

If British version of COUPLING's not a remake of FRIENDS, why do all the television critics, experts, producers, and those that were involved with the showclaim it is? How are you smarter than those in the industry (and those in the show)?

The plastic Viking hat is a bonus. As random Viking hats usually are.

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[–] jamiehughes 20 years ago

because they are american and probably compare every sitcom about single people to friends. It's like saying that Red Dwarf is a remake of the Hitchhikers guide just because they are both based in space. Also I doubt that the writers of coupling say it is a remake of friends. If is was a remake of friends I think that we would have probably seen some court action before now.

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[–] servo-15 20 years ago

because they are american and probably compare every sitcom about single people to friends.

Actually, this was talks with the producers of the British version of COUPLING.

Also I doubt that the writers of coupling say it is a remake of friends. If is was a remake of friends I think that we would have probably seen some court action before now.

Not really. THREE'S COMPANY and ALL IN THE FAMILY were based on British sitcoms. The show Bill Cosby had in the mid-late 90s (called simply COSBY) was based on a British show called ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE. There have been many attempts at an American version of FAULTY TOWERS (one with Bea Auther and the most recent with John Lauroquette).

Hell even SURVIVOR is taken from a show called OPERTION CARUSO (as in Robinson Caruso)

The only time that any remodling of a show from another country that saw an exact word for word done with the new cast was the first episode of the US version of THE OFFICE.

The plastic Viking hat is a bonus. As random Viking hats usually are.

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[–] themightymartin 20 years ago

Except of course Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Big Brother, The Weakest Link, Red Dwarf, Queer as Folk...

"We can't bury Shelly... she's... she's a friend of ours!"

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[–] servo-15 20 years ago

WEAKEST LINK (NBC Prime Time version) is the only one that can be considered an exact clone because it had the same host.

MILLIONAIRE-Regis (and Merideth Vereara for that matter) put their own spin on it and made it their own.

BIG BROTHER-there's versions all over. First major difference between the UK version and the US one is that people actually watch the UK one for reasons other than nothing else being on (and if I am not mistaken, it's more like the first year of the US one in that the viewers vote off people). But if you're going to go the reality show route, you forgot AMERICAN IDOL.

Didn't know there was an US version of RED DWARF.

QUEER AS FOLK-that's similar to the whole discussion of FRIENDS/UK-COUPLING. Same concept (gay SEX IN THE CITY), but the situations are more in tune to the local.

The plastic Viking hat is a bonus. As random Viking hats usually are.

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[–] themightymartin 20 years ago

RED DWARF USA: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103521/

Ok it didn't get past the pilot stage, but it's still almost word-for-word taken from The End, the original UK pilot. There are the odd differences for the different cultures ("Death? It's like being on holiday with a group of Germans" becomes "Death? It's like being at an Amish bachelor party"), but in my opinion it still counts in the conversation.

And what kind of spin did they put on Millionaire to make it different?

On the subjext of reality shows, I think I also left off the fact that Survivor, the one with the people marooned on a desert island, also started off over here.

"We can't bury Shelly... she's... she's a friend of ours!"

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[–] servo-15 20 years ago

RED DWARF USA: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103521/

Ok it didn't get past the pilot stage, but it's still almost word-for-word taken from The End, the original UK pilot.

As was the first episode of the US version of THE OFFICE, but the following eps went their own way.

And what kind of spin did they put on Millionaire to make it different?

Really just the style of the host. Merideth Verera's version feels (or felt, not sure if it's still on) different from the Regis one (and that's before the addition of the extra life-line which may not even be on the UK version).

On the subjext of reality shows, I think I also left off the fact that Survivor, the one with the people marooned on a desert island, also started off over here.

Produced by the same person.

My original point was that the people behind the UK verion of COUPLING say that it's a UK version of FRIENDS, so dispite the original poster's rant, it is a copy. I'd think the people that made the show know more on the subject than a guy that starts a rant months ago and doesn't return to debate the subject when shown facts that might debunk it.

You've debated the subject more than he did, and I still don't know your opinion on wether or not COUPLING is a remake or not.

And for the record, I don't see any problem with this sort of thing. THREE'S COMPANY is one of my all time favorites an it was taken from a UK show. So for me to say it's wrong would make me a hypocrite.

The plastic Viking hat is a bonus. As random Viking hats usually are.

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[–] themightymartin 20 years ago

Personally I don't really see Coupling, the original UK version, as another version of friends. It deals with similar subject matter but in a completely different way. It's much more surreal, ruder and,in my opinion, wittier than Friends ever was. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Friends, but for me Coupling appeals much more to my (slightly sick and twisted) sense of humour.

"We can't bury Shelly... she's... she's a friend of ours!"

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[–] servo-15 20 years ago

From what I heard about the UK verision, it would probably appeal to my sense of humor as well.

I'm just saying that if the people that made the show say it's a remake, who am I to argue with them? I'd think they'd know more about what they are doing than I would.

The plastic Viking hat is a bonus. As random Viking hats usually are.

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[–] themightymartin 20 years ago

It may be that they originally set out to make it a british version of friends but it ended up going in different directions.

"We can't bury Shelly... she's... she's a friend of ours!"

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[–] servo-15 20 years ago

That's the way it usually goes. They'll have to make their own identity one way or another
The list I made up thread are good examples of that.
As os the US version of THE OFFICE.

The plastic Viking hat is a bonus. As random Viking hats usually are.

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[–] david-2008 19 years ago

Actually, this was talks with the producers of the British version of COUPLING.

Would you care to provide a source for that?

Becasue I have it expressed directly from both the writer and also the producer of UK coupling that it was NEVER meant to be a remake of friends.

The clues are all in the titles.

"Coupling" is about 'coupling', what happens when people couple up and the baggage they bring with them etc.

"Friends" (a far more all encompassing title) is about some friends, and the whole range of things that happen in their lives.

- If you look at coupling, there is never an episode about anything other than relationships, and aspects to relationships. In friends, there are plenty of episode about work environments and problems faced there etc, family relations ships, parents etc.

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[–] servo-15 19 years ago

I got that from reading interviews with those involved with the US version.

- If you look at coupling, there is never an episode about anything other than relationships, and aspects to relationships. In friends, there are plenty of episode about work environments and problems faced there etc, family relations ships, parents etc.

But the B-plots in those FRIENDS eps did deal with relationships. And sometimes the work plot affected a relationship (like Chandler having to transfer to a different state).

The plastic Viking hat is a bonus. As random Viking hats usually are.

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[–] monzza 19 years ago

Maybe the people who were involved with the US version of Coupling saw it as a remake of or being based on friends Friends but the original creator didn't.

The show was based on the relationship between the writer, Steven Moffat (Steve), and his wife, Sue Vertue (Susan), who was a producer on the show. He's said this in interviews on the Coupling dvds.

Your DNA must cry itself to sleep at night

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[–] jonnyhorne 19 years ago

Just for the record, there is a difference between basing a show on another and 'remaking' it.

A remake is taking the everything about the show, the characters, places, soundtracks and title and film it again for a new audience. They don't always use the same scripts, again because of the audience, so they sometimes entirely rewrite them.

A show that is based on another show has similar aspects to the original, such as three guys, three girls and a sofa, but everything else is original and has nothing to do with the show on which is is based.

Remakes of shows are:
Coupling (the US version)
Red Dwarf
Men Behaving Badly
The Office
Queer As Folk

Shows based on other shows:
Coupling (UK)
Flintstones (The Honeymooners)
Fraiser (Cheers)

If every show that had a similarity to one that came before it was called a 'remake' then we'd

jonny x

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[–] matthew-323 19 years ago

When the producers of Coupling said it was a British version of Friends, they probably meant a British equivalent, rather than a British copy - we tend to be a little less literal than the Americans. It deals with similar subject matter, and has, on the surface, similar characters - Geoff is the nutty one, a la Phoebe, Patrick is the thick stud, a la Joey, Sally is the vain one, a la Rachel - but these are simply stereotypes of society; lets be honest, pretty much anyone in America or Britain could take their own friends and apply a Friends character to them (I certainly can, and apparently I'm the one like Chandler).

At the end of the day, Friends is funny, Coupling is funny, but one's American, one's British, so they are different kinds of funny. My personal preference is for Coupling, but then, I am British, so that makes some kind of sense.

And, Jonnyboi, Frasier is somewhat different, in that it was a spin-off from Cheers, rather than being based on the idea of Cheers - the same relationship that Joey has to Friends, rather than the relationship Coupling has to Friends.

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[–] jonnyhorne 19 years ago

I didn't mean it was your typical spin off, but in the sense it used similar stock characters to Cheers, in the same way that they remade Scarface, it was something off a spin off from the original film as well as being a remake.

A tenuous statement to make, I know, but it is somewhat rooted in fact, the honest answer is, I was struggling to think of more spin offs.

jonny x

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[–] themanwithathousandcomments 19 years ago

Good points, except that Frasier isn't "based" on Cheers, it's spun off from Cheers.

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[–] jonnyhorne 19 years ago

it is a spin off show based upon the character of Fraiser from Cheers. Its just semantics.

jonny x

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[–] vmars080 11 years ago

The Susan and Steve who created the only "Coupling" have nothing to do with "Friends" and if people can't see that, I worry about their minds! All situation comedies have things in common, or they wouldn't be so easy to categorize - but saying Coupling was a rip off? Pfft. Go read or watch what the creators said - and lose the xenophobia. The US is hardly the center of the world.

Even "Sanford and Son" was 'borrowed' from a British television show.

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[–] EastBayKiller 19 years ago

I agree it has much more in common with seinfeld than crappy Friends. Comparing to Friends is a huge insult. Coupling UK version is light yars better than anything on Friends. I'm an American and can honestly say that. The thing that made Seinfeld work and Coupling work is that they never fell in love they were pretty shallow.
"You want to get nuts??? Let's get nuts!!"

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[–] Calos 18 years ago

I think comparing a show that obviously shares nothing in common is just the untrained brain's way of understanding. Dumb audiences have been doing it since the television was rumored to exist.

FRIEND'S is a show with 6 friends.
COUPLING is a show with 6 friends.
THAT'S THE ONLY THING THEY SHARE IN COMMON.

The writing and structure of Coupling is completly different from Friends in that it's witty, unpredictable and very very clever. It never relies on a duck destroying an apartment for example (this is apparently funny).

So before anyone makes that judgement again, ask yourself what kind of audience you are.

"When there is any doubt, there is no doubt; that's the first thing they teach you"

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[–] apple_gerls 18 years ago

from what i gathered through material steven moffat wanted to create a show for the british that had the same status as Friends & Sienfeld. The show is centered around 1 relationship, Steve and Susan, Jeff provides the sienfeld edge by giving the viewer such terms as Giggle-loop (giggle stack just doesn't sound right) and Unflushable, much in the same that sienfeld gave "not there is anything with that" and "yadda yadda yadda". Patrick is unlike any other character i have seen and comparing him with Joey is lame due to the fact that Patrick actually gets laid. Sally is unique though i can see the resemblence between pheobe and Jane.

To get a great idea about what this show is about if u haven't seen it i believe you can go to youtube and view each episode in 3 videos. personal fav: "naked" from season 2.

P.S
The show can't be a copy of friends due to one simple reason, the relationship of susan and steve is there at the beginning, middle and end. The american way of going "will they, won't they" has destroyed alot of TV shows over the years, none more so that with Rachel and Ross.

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[–] commonwealth1996 16 years ago

The american way of going "will they, won't they" has destroyed alot of TV shows over the years, none more so that with Rachel and Ross.

I think both of you are missing a key cultural difference between American and British shows. In America, a sit-com often has 26 episodes a year if it's at all popular. The UK Coupling had 28 episodes total. To properly compare a British program to an American one, you'd have to shrink the American one down to six episodes a season, likely, the best six episodes.

See, Friends may have used a story about ducks in a few episodes to fill space, but Coupling couldn't even afford to waste space, making the British program more like an extended movie than a serial where most episodes can stand alone and don't contribute to an overall plot that would get trite quickly if spun into over 100 episodes.

Also, when considering the differences between 23 episodes a season and six, also remember that American sit-coms face the threat of cancellation with each instance of ratings. 23 or more times a year they face the prospect of cancellation if people aren't watching, so the "will they or won't they" plots go a long way to keeping shows afloat.

I'm not saying any of this to defend Friends or condemn Coupling but just to explain some complaints that I feel are cultural in nature. Both shows are incredible and should be appreciated on their own merits.

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[–] fantastical 17 years ago

If you ever listen to commentary on the DVD's, you'll find that Susan and Steve are based on the actual producer (Susan Vertue) and writer (Steven Moffat), who are married by the way, and what it would have been like had they met 10 years earlier. The writer wrote about himself, his thoughts, and his wifey got to add the woman's half, like facials never being on a date night and such.

it's not so much about 3 men and 3 women, as our two main characters, their exes, and their best friends. I don't really see any reason to call this a british version of friends just because you have the same ratio of males to females (omg 50/50!) and it's entertaining!

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[–] corazan34 17 years ago

NOOOOO, nothing to do with friends, Coupling is the best, is funny, witty, and overall is for and inteligent adult, is not a plastic, predictable serie like friends. Please there is not a point of comparision

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[–] leengee 16 years ago

Interestingly, I note the original Coupling is rated 9.2, which would make it number 1, if it was on the top 250 movie list. Friends is 8.9 (with about 9 times the total votes), which would still place it in the top 10, no worse than 7th likely. So, while you may like one show, and hate the other, generally, both seem to be pretty good. I have the complete series of both, and I watch them frequently, and enjoy both thoroughly. I'm sure there is no song I've heard more than the Friends theme. Obviously, there are similarities. Each character in Coupling bears a resemblance to a couple of characters in Friends, and vice versa.

I think the comment back there about Coupling being an English version of Friends meaning only the very basic premise was the best response. I don't believe that Coupling is "based on", not in the way that Sanford and Son is based on Steptoe and Son, of All in the Family, or The Office. These are a straight lift of the original show, reset in America. Coupling isn't "based on" Friends imho. It would be like describing Monty Python as a British Saturday Night Live, in that it's a sketch comedy show. It's just, similar basic concept, as it would be conceived and assembled elsewhere.

"Plan? There ain't no plan!" - Pigkiller

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[–] 16 years ago

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