# American Adaptations Of British TV Shows: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [June 25, 2023, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-adaptations-of-british-tv-shows-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/986095 "2023-06-25T21:20:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-adaptations-of-british-tv-shows-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/986095/21 "2023-06-26T14:51:15Z")
> [@kferr](#): > > The American version of _Red Dwarf_ never made it past the pilot episode. Same for “Beane’s of Boston”, the US version of “Are You Being Served?” It’s on YouTube and it is _abysmal_. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-adaptations-of-british-tv-shows-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/986095/22 "2023-06-26T15:36:15Z")
So not really different from _Are You Being Served?_ ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-adaptations-of-british-tv-shows-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/986095/23 "2023-06-26T17:38:32Z")
No, it’s _worse_. No chemistry whatsoever plus they got Tom Poston for “Old Mr. Grace”, Charlotte Rae for Mrs. Slocombe, and _[Alan Sues](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D-Z2AbHqE0)_ for Mr. Humphries. And they combined the role of “Mr. Rumbold” with the role of “Young Mr. Grace”; George O’Hanlon Jr played Poston’s _son!_ The only remotely redeeming bit was John Hillerman as Peacock. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2023, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-adaptations-of-british-tv-shows-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/986095/24 "2023-06-26T18:50:25Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Remade as American comedy, _Reggie_. They did WHAT now? Well, so they did. Richard Mulligan is fun to watch, but terribly cast to be anything like Reginald Perrin. > **[Reggie (TV series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggie_(TV_series))** > > Reggie is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from August 4 until September 1, 1983; it was based on the British sitcom The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. > Middle-aged Reggie Potter worries about work and home life, while having sexy fantasies about his co-worker. What an opening. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wSwZmu3n5O0/hqdefault.jpg "REGGIE opening credits ABC sitcom") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSwZmu3n5O0) ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-adaptations-of-british-tv-shows-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/986095/25 "2023-06-27T02:56:00Z")
Huge difference. _Are You Being Served?_ is silly (and vulgar) rubbish, but it’s executed with superb technique and professionalism. I think the difference here has something to do with the American caste system for actors. In England, it’s entirely possible for a single actor to do a James Bond movie, a sitcom, and live Shakespeare all in one season. In America, you’d think there’s a law against it. Another factor is that, in US television, people with no education other than an MBA think they’re creative geniuses, and leave their muddy footprints all over every show they come across. In Britain, writers are mostly left alone. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-adaptations-of-british-tv-shows-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/986095/26 "2023-06-27T03:08:11Z")
And—oh yes! There’s the way that American executives are frightened by any speech longer than about two typewritten lines. So the screamingly funny extended monologs in _Coupling_ and _The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin_ were sliced and diced and intercut with other scenes until all the juice evaporated out of them. Reggie: In fact, I provide a valuable social service. Colin: Mr Perrin! Are you trying to tell us that you provide a valuable social service? Reggie: No. Colin: But you just said— Reggie: I’m not trying. I‘m succeeding. If I had said, “I like squashy bananas,” I would have tried and failed to tell you that I provide a valuable social service, but I didn’t say, “I like squashy bananas,”, I said, “I provide a valuable social service,” thus succeedingly brilliantly in telling you that I provide a valuable social service! ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2023, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-adaptations-of-british-tv-shows-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/986095/27 "2023-06-27T03:13:58Z")
I didn’t get where I am today by not allowing for a long, entertaining monologue! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-adaptations-of-british-tv-shows-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/986095.md?page=1)