# Why does American tv ruin British shows? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 31, 2004, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-tv-ruin-british-shows/257714 "2004-07-31T13:41:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-tv-ruin-british-shows/257714/21 "2004-07-31T23:14:33Z")
> [@Vetch](#): > > I was a big fan of the original Cat (even though I can’t remember his name) Danny John-Jules. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2004, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-tv-ruin-british-shows/257714/22 "2004-07-31T23:21:25Z")
Granted I don’t have a TV and therefore haven’t seen it, but isn’t ‘The West Wing’ derived from ‘Yes, Prime Minister’? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-tv-ruin-british-shows/257714/23 "2004-08-01T01:25:45Z")
I don’t think so. I think West Wing was/is just another in the long stream of “realistic” shows about interesting proffessions. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-tv-ruin-british-shows/257714/24 "2004-08-01T01:50:10Z")
> [@qts](#): > > Granted I don’t have a TV and therefore haven’t seen it, but isn’t ‘The West Wing’ derived from ‘Yes, Prime Minister’? Judging as a fan of both, nope. Nor have I ever seen such a connection ever suggested before. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-tv-ruin-british-shows/257714/25 "2004-08-01T02:04:57Z")
As was mentioned in a post early in the thread, it would seem that TV execs don’t have much regard for the level of sophistication of the audience. We have to be hit over the head before we get it seems to be the idea. I would bet that after Audie Murphy described the events that earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor and left the room, an exec leaned over to the writers and said, “You can punch that up a little, can’t your?” ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-tv-ruin-british-shows/257714/26 "2004-08-01T04:25:30Z")
Since this is about television, I’ll move this thread to our arts forum, Cafe Society. bibliophage moderator GQ ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-tv-ruin-british-shows/257714/27 "2004-08-01T05:10:10Z")
Isn’t Coupling based on Friends? Last Fall the TVGuide insisted that the US version of Coupling was the remake of the British remake of Friends, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-tv-ruin-british-shows/257714/28 "2004-08-01T07:37:26Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > I think that British humour is often more subtle than American humour: Yeah, you don’t get much more subtle than Benny Hill chasing a woman in her underwear around a tree. 😃 Besides, you Brits can’t even _spell_ humor. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-tv-ruin-british-shows/257714/29 "2004-08-01T07:39:10Z")
(Oops, shouldn’t have said “you” Brits, judging from Misnomer’s location.) ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-tv-ruin-british-shows/257714/30 "2004-08-01T11:25:56Z")
> [@Vetch](#): > > I don’t usually do this, but actually it’s Til Death Us Do Part 🙂 > > Terry Farrell as the “Cat”? Although I was a big fan of the original Cat (even though I can’t remember his name) if you’re going to replace him then I could definitely live with Terry Farrell …mmmmm… Ironically, I could definitely live with the [replacement Dax](http://www.tenthplanet.co.uk/features/gallery/largephotos/Nicole-de-Boer2.jpg) as the the replacement Cat. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-tv-ruin-british-shows/257714/31 "2004-08-01T13:31:52Z")
> [@](#): > > I can`t name one movie about Vietnam that even mentions Australians being there fighting alongside the USA and South Vietnamese… or mentioning Aussies in WW1 Since you didn’t say “I can’t name one _American_ film…” 😃 I saw a film about Australians in Vietnam that was made (I think) in the early-'80s. I don’t remember the title, or much about it; but there was a scene where the guys were going to embarrass the chaplain by presenting him with a masturbation device. The padre accepted the gift gratefully. “Oh, a wanker! And a very nice one. I’ve never seen such good workmanship.” As fofr WWI, there was Peter Weir’s _Gallipoli_. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-tv-ruin-british-shows/257714/32 "2004-08-01T13:48:49Z")
> [@Stormz](#): > > …and I hope American`s aren`t so stupid they can understand most of the English accents (Geordie`s excepted, like) without having to resort to subtitles. Consider me mildly offended. I take comfort in the fact that you screwed up the grammar and can’t use proper apostrophes. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-tv-ruin-british-shows/257714/33 "2004-08-01T13:49:18Z")
That first one I mentioned was _The Odd Angry Shot_ (1979). ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-tv-ruin-british-shows/257714/34 "2004-08-01T14:04:03Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > (Oops, shouldn’t have said “you” Brits, judging from Misnomer’s location.) Location is no indication of nationality, but the part where I say “I’m an American” is. 😉 I only lived in England for a couple years, but it was long enough to pick up one or two habits – such as adding a ‘u’ to words like ‘humor’ in my casual writing. _{grin}_ Regarding Benny Hill: 1) I said ‘often,’ and even pointed out that I didn’t say ‘always;’ and 2) it depends on your definition of humor (there, happy now?). 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sevastopol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Sevastopol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevastopol)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-tv-ruin-british-shows/257714/35 "2004-08-01T14:38:53Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > Since you didn’t say “I can’t name one _American_ film…” 😃 > > I saw a film about Australians in Vietnam that was made (I think) in the early-'80s. I don’t remember the title, or much about it; but there was a scene where the guys were going to embarrass the chaplain by presenting him with a masturbation device. The padre accepted the gift gratefully. “Oh, a wanker! And a very nice one. I’ve never seen such good workmanship.” > > As fofr WWI, there was Peter Weir’s _Gallipoli_. ‘The Odd Angry Shot’ ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-tv-ruin-british-shows/257714/36 "2004-08-01T16:01:19Z")
Also, aren’t most or all British shows a full 30 minutes with no commercials? Correct me if I’m wrong, but if they are a full 30 minutes, then most US channels couldn’t show British shows without chopping a quarter of the show off and then ruining it that way, or without changing their schedule around to allow for shows to run 40 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-tv-ruin-british-shows/257714/37 "2004-08-01T16:10:23Z")
I’ve always liked the British version of Whose Line Is It Anyway better than the American. Although the American version is nothing to sneeze at; Whose Line is just a darn good show. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-tv-ruin-british-shows/257714/38 "2004-08-01T16:23:17Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Isn’t Coupling based on Friends? Last Fall the TVGuide insisted that the US version of Coupling was the remake of the British remake of Friends, anyway. That’s like saying that _Romeo and Juliet_ is based on _Dick and Jane_. There’s just so much wrong with that statement… Big Hint: The US media is in _love_ with “It’s just like X only with Y!” snippets. You got to have a movie plot that can be summarized in an elevator ride. TV premises have to be cut even shorter to keep with US short attention spans. So _never_ believe such media snippets. They’re always wrong and completely misleading. E.g., the post-mortems for the US _Coupling_ blamed the _scripts_. The US scripts were of course lifted almost entirely intact from the UK version. So the bad acting, directing, producing, etc. weren’t mentioned at all for some Miraculous Reason. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-tv-ruin-british-shows/257714/39 "2004-08-01T16:44:08Z")
> [@Abbie Carmichael](#): > > I’ve always liked the British version of Whose Line Is It Anyway better than the American. > > Although the American version is nothing to sneeze at; Whose Line is just a darn good show. This is a good example, **Abbie**. I loved the original Brit **Whose Line…** and when they said they were doing an American version, I looked forward to it. But then it turned out to be a show called (IIRC) Kwik Wits and it was torturously bad…just ruined the whole concept, though you could see the basic underpinings they’d tried to copy. Then Drew Carey came out with the American **Whose Line** and was smart enough to use some British talent and follow the format slavishly…and it’s great. The other show tried to “Americanize” it too much and didn’t really trust the audience to understand a less telegraphed style of humor. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-tv-ruin-british-shows/257714/40 "2004-08-01T17:26:12Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Oh, they tried. Thankfully, the project never got past a 10 minute test video. Robert Llewelyn was brought over as Kryten. Interestingly, though, Terry “Jadzia Dax” Farrell was the Cat. Actually, I have a 25 minute American pilot episode sitting on my hard drive, with a male cat. And what’s-her-face that played Daphne on Frasier as Holly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-tv-ruin-british-shows/257714.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-american-tv-ruin-british-shows/257714.md?page=3)