# In Praise of 'Ghosts' (British TV Series That Inspired The American One) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [December 31, 2022, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-ghosts-british-tv-series-that-inspired-the-american-one/977428 "2022-12-31T21:09:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2023, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-ghosts-british-tv-series-that-inspired-the-american-one/977428/61 "2023-03-31T10:01:08Z")
**Sad news!** This will be the last season of the series. > ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2023, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-ghosts-british-tv-series-that-inspired-the-american-one/977428/62 "2023-03-31T10:46:52Z")
Wonder if they’ll end it Python style, and have a giant foot squash the premises? ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2023, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-ghosts-british-tv-series-that-inspired-the-american-one/977428/63 "2023-03-31T10:55:59Z")
The right thing to do. It has been wonderful and I’m sure the fifth series will be too. leave 'em wanting more. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2023, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-ghosts-british-tv-series-that-inspired-the-american-one/977428/64 "2023-03-31T11:35:38Z")
I am so happy to see this thread. I’ve been watching / am all caught up on both versions and I adore them both, though the British version appeals to me a _bit_ more. I’ve been recommending it to everybody. I’m another who watched the UK version first and had misgivings about the American but it only took a couple eps to grow on me. One makes me laugh hysterically and the other is sweet and comforting. Can’t wait to watch _Bill_ but unfortunately I don’t find where I can find _Yonderland_. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2023, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-ghosts-british-tv-series-that-inspired-the-american-one/977428/65 "2023-03-31T12:19:56Z")
The woman who plays Mary in the BBC original (Katy Wix) is also in the new season of Ted Lasso. I couldn’t place her until I pictured her with dirt on her face. ---
**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:** [March 31, 2023, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-ghosts-british-tv-series-that-inspired-the-american-one/977428/66 "2023-03-31T12:24:50Z")
They’re finishing up the fifth series and yet I still haven’t been able to watch the fourth series; the first three were available on HBO MAX. And I kind of wonder if one reason they’re ending it now is because the cast (who are all executive producers on the US adaptation) are getting fat checks from that. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2023, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-ghosts-british-tv-series-that-inspired-the-american-one/977428/67 "2023-03-31T12:58:16Z")
More likely they will follow the dictum that its best to leave on a high note than to trash your legacy by having shark-jumping ghosts padding out their existence into Ghosts Series 10. Horrible Histories could have happily finished at the end of Series 5. Having a good income from the US version will give them options, but as an ensemble they probably want to avoid undue pressure on the partnership by producing work that only some of them may feel committed to beyond a certain point. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2023, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-ghosts-british-tv-series-that-inspired-the-american-one/977428/68 "2023-03-31T14:24:21Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > Horrible Histories could have happily finished at the end of Series 5. _Horrible Histories_ could have ended after season one. It was the same gags redone over. And over. And over. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2023, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-ghosts-british-tv-series-that-inspired-the-american-one/977428/69 "2023-03-31T14:31:55Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > The woman who plays Mary in the BBC original (Katy Wix) is also in the new season of Ted Lasso. The woman who plays Alison Cooper in the BBC original (Charlotte Ritchie) is also in the new season of ‘You’ on Netlfix. She plays this season’s main love interest / possible victim of Penn Badgley’s obsessive psycho murderer. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2023, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-ghosts-british-tv-series-that-inspired-the-american-one/977428/70 "2023-03-31T15:03:00Z")
> [@solost](#): > > The woman who plays Alison Cooper in the BBC original (Charlotte Ritchie) is also in the new season of ‘You’ on Netlfix. She plays this season’s main love interest / possible victim of Penn Badgley’s obsessive psycho murderer. I’m having a hard time picturing her in that role. I wonder if she’ll use an American accent. Also, does she remind anybody else of a young Margot Kidder > **[Margot Kidder | Actress, Producer, Soundtrack](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0452288/)** > > Known for: Superman, Black Christmas, Superman II ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2023, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-ghosts-british-tv-series-that-inspired-the-american-one/977428/71 "2023-03-31T15:06:28Z")
She does remind me of Margot Kidder. I did a little Googling, other have noticed this and added in Karen Allen of Raiders of Lost Ark, Animal House and Starman fame. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2023, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-ghosts-british-tv-series-that-inspired-the-american-one/977428/72 "2023-03-31T15:09:59Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > I’m having a hard time picturing her in that role. I wonder if she’ll use an American accent. No, in the latest season of ‘You’ the Penn Badgley character has changed his identity and relocated to London where he becomes a professor of literature. Charlotte Ritchie plays a British socialite who lives in an adjoining apartment building. Her estranged billionaire father, however, is played by Greg Kinnear, and makes no attempt at a British accent, so plays an American, in a weird bit of casting. I forget the exact backstory as to how that happened (Yank father / Brit daughter) in the context of the show. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2023, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-ghosts-british-tv-series-that-inspired-the-american-one/977428/73 "2023-03-31T21:27:10Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > _Horrible Histories_ could have ended after season one. It was the same gags redone over. And over. And over. But when you have a perfect bum or fart joke superbly told by an excellent cast, don’t you want to hear it again? And again in basically different costume? ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2023, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-ghosts-british-tv-series-that-inspired-the-american-one/977428/74 "2023-04-03T15:23:10Z")
I love the US version and just came across the original British version a few days ago HBO Max. I love this version too. The basement ghosts are a hoot! ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2023, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-ghosts-british-tv-series-that-inspired-the-american-one/977428/75 "2023-04-03T15:25:00Z")
Did you notice in the Brit version the basement ghosts are all played by the same actors that play the ghosts? Well except the little girl ghost. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2023, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-ghosts-british-tv-series-that-inspired-the-american-one/977428/76 "2023-04-03T19:05:18Z")
My wife and I just started this show yesterday. Very cute so far(we’ve seen 2 episodes). ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2023, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-ghosts-british-tv-series-that-inspired-the-american-one/977428/77 "2023-04-03T22:46:44Z")
On last week’s episode (March 27, 2023), one of the characters said something to the effect of, “I don’t get British humor.” Obviously an inside joke, considering that the show is the U.S. version of a British comedy of the same name. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2023, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-ghosts-british-tv-series-that-inspired-the-american-one/977428/78 "2023-04-04T11:53:35Z")
Can someone remind me how Julian (pantsless MP) happened to be at Button House when he died? I think it was some kind of political do but he wasn’t living there, right? Not to nitpick this fabulous show, just can’t recall why the house looks like it did in Fannie’s day when it looks (IIRC) modern in Julian’s flashback. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2023, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-ghosts-british-tv-series-that-inspired-the-american-one/977428/79 "2023-04-04T13:29:15Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Did you notice in the Brit version the basement ghosts are all played by the same actors that play the ghosts? Well except the little girl ghost. No I didn’t! I’ll have to look for that now. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2023, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-ghosts-british-tv-series-that-inspired-the-american-one/977428/80 "2023-04-04T20:52:38Z")
He was having an affair with the Lady of the house. Hence the pantslessness. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-ghosts-british-tv-series-that-inspired-the-american-one/977428.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-praise-of-ghosts-british-tv-series-that-inspired-the-american-one/977428.md?page=5)