# Americans...as a big fan of Red Dwarf...
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-as-a-big-fan-of-red-dwarf/94607
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [November 21, 2001, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-as-a-big-fan-of-red-dwarf/94607 "2001-11-21T16:46:30Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@DMAAN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMAAN)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2001, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-as-a-big-fan-of-red-dwarf/94607/21 "2001-11-22T17:49:19Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by tevya \*
> \*\*Does anyone know of any other Bristish show to American show that I can use as a comparison? I’m sure I’m missing plenty but I can’t seem to think of any right now. I had heard at one time that Absolutely Fabulous was going to be Americanized (with Roseanne Barr as Edina for God’s sake!). Thank God they brought back the original instead. \*\*
Fawlty Towers was americanized with horrid results. John Laroquette was in that. It died quickly.
d
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### Author:  [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2001, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-as-a-big-fan-of-red-dwarf/94607/22 "2001-11-22T18:19:45Z")
British -\> American:
“Three’s Company” was based on a British series, “Man About the House”.
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### Author:  [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2001, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-as-a-big-fan-of-red-dwarf/94607/23 "2001-11-22T19:31:16Z")
Men Behaving Badly. American version is terrible.
Cracker in the UK became Fitz in the States. Cracker IMHO was one of the best TV prog.s in the last 10years. Fitz was a heap of crap.
One foot in the grave became that heap of crap with Bill Cosby in it.
Thank God Rossanne Barrs AB FAB was killed before it started.
I’m not putting down American TV BTW, I love a lot of US shows, just pointing out the bad remakes. I’m sure there are reverse versions aswell. I just don’t know them.
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### Author:  [@Niobium\_Knight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Niobium_Knight)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2001, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-as-a-big-fan-of-red-dwarf/94607/24 "2001-11-22T19:40:34Z")
i think the main problem with Red Dwarf in USA was they didnt know what “smeg” was.
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### Author:  [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2001, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-as-a-big-fan-of-red-dwarf/94607/25 "2001-11-22T20:36:17Z")
I think the main problem was the US re-makers didn’t “get” Lister.
In the original he’s a fairly dodgy scouser with deplorable personal hygiene, a bad complexion, a bent for petty larceny and a fondness for diabolically hot curries.
This didn’t translate terribly well, and IIRC the Lister of the US pilot is a blond, tanned, surf bum.
OTOH, the little tin-god Rimmer came across quite well, suggesting that over-weaning petty bureaucrats are cross-cultural. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Kendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kendo)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2001, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-as-a-big-fan-of-red-dwarf/94607/26 "2001-11-23T09:50:17Z")
It’s odd you’d say that **Apollyon** , because I found that whilst Lister’s character in the US pilot **was** kind of surf-dude like, he came across very well with the same kind of attitude that Craig Charles does. But, yes, he did like wildly different.
However, I didn’t like Rimmer at all in the US version - and I assume they had problems porting his character across because his role is severely reduced (to what can only be a few minutes screen time in a 25min pilot).
The Cat also comes across brilliantly in the US version, but steals a lot (I feel) from Danny John-Jules’ characterisation and voice.
By the way - not many people knew what “Smeg” meant in the UK either - until Dwarf came along. It’s kind of onomatopoeic though.
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [November 23, 2001, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-as-a-big-fan-of-red-dwarf/94607/27 "2001-11-23T14:44:37Z")
BBC to US successes:
**All in the Family** from **Till Death Us Do Part**
**Sanford and Son** from **Steptoe and Son**
BBC to US failure:
[Beanes of Boston](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0164386) from **Are You Being Served?**
BTW: I had to look up “smeg” after watching for the first time, and found nothing in the dictionary.
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### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2001, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-as-a-big-fan-of-red-dwarf/94607/28 "2001-11-24T01:44:35Z")
Smeg is short for _smegma_ - so look that up in the dictionary. 🙂
Interesting tale - my home country, New Zealand, had it’s own Red Dwarf fanclub. I contributed a few pieces of artwork to its magazine that came out a few times a year, including a pretty cool cover. The editor of that magazine, Justin, eventually shut down its production, partly because it was a bit of a thankless job, but mostly because he recently had had a sex change and his/her life had shifted focus somewhat.
She is now living happily as a woman named Kelly.
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### Author:  [@LorieSmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LorieSmurf)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2001, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-as-a-big-fan-of-red-dwarf/94607/29 "2001-11-24T04:36:36Z")
goldfish shoals nibbling at my toes…Fun Fun Fun! in the SUN SUN SUN!!
ACK!! I can’t get that damn song out of my head now…
Thanks a lot 😛
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### Author:  [@lesa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lesa)
#### Post date: [November 25, 2001, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-as-a-big-fan-of-red-dwarf/94607/30 "2001-11-25T01:48:23Z")
There are 4 Red Dwarf novels. Only 2 were put out in the US:
Red Dwarf : Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers by Grant Naylor \*
Better Than Life by Grant Naylor
The 2 other books are:
Backwards by Rob Grant
The Last Human by Doug Naylor
Your best bet on finding these two is ebay.
\*Grant Naylor is a “psuedonym” of Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, back when everything was happy and they were still writing together.
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### Author:  [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)
#### Post date: [November 27, 2001, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-as-a-big-fan-of-red-dwarf/94607/31 "2001-11-27T01:49:09Z")
Red Dwarf…Red Dwarf…yeah, I think I’ve heard it mentioned once or twice…
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