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US TV Networks Ruin Another Great UK Show

There's a long history of UK TV shows being remade here in the US. Nevermind all the TLC shows (Changing Rooms, etc), Millionaire, Weakest Link, Deal or No Deal, American Idol - there are a ton of sitcoms that have come over. The Office, for one. They're remaking the excellent The IT Crowd on NBC this spring. Even classics like All in the Family and Sanford and Son were remakes.

A few years ago, NBC decided to remake the show Coupling here in the US. Although I watched all the episodes, they took the fun and spark out of the show. It was lambasted by critics and quickly canceled.

I love the original version of Coupling. The biggest criticism of the original was that it was a British version of Friends. While there was 3 men and 3 women in the show, that's pretty much where the similarities end. Coupling was funnier, smarter and more out-there then Friends ever was. Here's a quick clip (somewhat NSFW):

There's plenty more clips on YouTube.

Anyways, Variety reported yesterday that Fox has its sights on remaking another UK show I love, Spaced. The original Spaced starred Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz). Variety describes it here:

"Spaced" revolves around a young man and woman (played by Pegg and Stevenson in the U.K. version) who pose as a couple in order to rent a cheap apartment. They're soon surrounded by colorful neighbors and eventually begin a flirtation.

I'm worried they'll lose the magic of the original. Spaced was a geek show before there were geek shows (and I like the geek shows - Chuck, Big Bang, etc). The original was full of great moments and great music, and their gimmick of fast cuts and flashbacks has been done by a bunch of other shows. While I love How I Met Your Mother, it reminds me of Spaced in its style and tone.

I encourage you to go and find this show and watch it. I found myself really identifying with the characters - they're all looking for their place, finding themselves and others. It's chock full of pop references and great moments. In fact, here's the first episode on YouTube,

Please, Fox, don't ruin Spaced. I'm already starting to worry. Here's a snip from a CHUD article about this.

You all know who McG is, so I'll allow you to seethe over that in your own time; Adam Barr is a TV guy who is responsible for The New Adventures of Old Christine. He also worked on Will & Grace. The only bright spot on his resume is a number of episodes of Parker Lewis Can't Lose. There's no mention on IMDB of him buying gerbils and hamsters and putting them in the microwave for kicks, but I don't see a reason to rule that out just yet.

You can read more about this at the official Spaced site.

Series co-producer and director Edgar Wright said on his MySpace page that he and Simon Pegg haven't been involved with the remake and don't stand to profit from it either. He writes:

I can confirm too, that Simon was never contacted either. I don't really want to get involved at all, but it infuriates me that they would a) never bother to get in touch but still b) splash me and Simon's names all over the trade announcements and imply that we're involved in the same way Ricky & Steve were with The Office.

Also, it's worth stressing that I will not be profiting from this reversion, nor do they have to get permission from me to make it.

One last Spaced treat:

Posted by Mike at November 1, 2007 11:20 AM | Add to del.icio.us