The BBC One arts programme, Imagine, ran an interesting (if not very heavyweight,) documentary on the above tonight.
There was also an interesting article on this theme in this weeks copy of the New Statesman too, which I've just finished reading (but sadly can't link to as it's subscription only).
Their slants were somewhat different, but both worth noting:
Imagine focussed heavily on the desire US TV Networks' to find long-running replacements for shows such as Friends which finishes at the end of this season. The emphasis for the Networks was very much on finding new sitcoms which "had legs" and also would hit the right demographics for advertisers.
In fact it was interesting just how open the Americans were about the 'cash cow' status a successful sitcom can acquire (and that this was a highly motivating factor in making the show,) a point not lost on Ricky Gervais and Stephen Marchant who are currently looking to adapt The Office for the US.
The show featured some great footage from previously adapted Britcoms such as Fawlty Towers (with Basil's character now played by a woman,) and the cover version of One Foot in the Grave, known bizzarely as Cosby in the US. I say bizarrely, b/c whilst the Victor Meldrew part was played by Bill Cosby, none of the characters in the show actually shared the same surname (except in real life!) as the shows title... Bill Cosby's character being none other than one Hilton Lucas...
The New Statesman meanwhile focussed on the quality of US comedy and drama writing - noting the snobby attitude of Brits to much US TV when in actual fact their standards are often higher.
I confess I didn't entirely agree - there is a lot of rubbish on TV in the US, just as there is anywhere else. But there's no doubt that the budgets are bigger, and the scripts for peak shows often much better (and churned out faster). Look consistently at the quality of writing on shows like The West Wing, 24, The Simpsons, Buffy etc. they are intelligent, well written and clever / sophisticated in a way that I can't think of many UK shows...
As a final aside - it was interesting to note that Stephen Moffat, the writer of Coupling - first shown on BBC Two here, and then briefly adapted in the US this Autumn - is married to a woman called Susan... and the names of the two leads in Coupling, Steve and Susan.... hmmm.... not something I had spotted before - a case of life imitating art or the other way round?
Leave a comment