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The IT Crowd US Pilot (2007) [video]

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Re: The IT Crowd US Pilot (2007) [video]

#121

Post by raffraffraff »

KerrAvon wrote: post #69
martinflack wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should look into BritBox[0], a BBC and ITV project, available on Roku, Amazon, and probably other platforms. I have no affiliation; I was just born and raised as a child in the UK and miss the shows. It's got quite a lot. [0] https://www.britbox.com/us/

It does, but it’s also a frustrating demonstration of the access problem. It’s mostly a cavalcade of endless police/detective/murder mystery shows. It has Red Dwarf and classic Doctor Who, but the panel show selection is spotty and they don’t bother to add new seasons in a timely fashion. It does have much of Would I Lie To You but they don’t add new episodes when they air in the UK. They seem to have given up on add…

I can't watch Red Dwarf any more. It has aged terribly. The overacting (eg The Cat), the canned laughter to fit the TV format... I think I was just "meh" about it until I listened to the audiobook read by Chris Barrie (the actor who played Rimmer). I didn't even want to listen to it but my wife insisted that I'd love it. I did. In contrast to the TV series, the book is fresh, genuinely funny and surprisingly astute. The story is narrated by Rimmer, who is a wonderfully awful character, full of self-loathing and false confidence. I challenge anyone to listen to that audiobook without finding embarrassing parallels between themselves and Rimmer. The characters of Lister and Rimmer are more fully developed, making the TV series feel thin and pointless in contrast. I suppose it was pitched too hard at evening British TV audiences of the late 80s.

Re: The IT Crowd US Pilot (2007) [video]

#122

Post by highwaylights »

colordrops wrote: post #82
LAC-Tech wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's face it, the US office was a more engaging show cast with funnier & better looking actors. That's really the secret to its success - it was just really good, end season slump not withstanding.

It's subjective - I found the UK office to be more funny and authentic. I couldn't watch the US version without cringing at the unnatural sitcom-iness of it.

To be fair the US office was as misguided and unfunny as this IT crowd remake until they started deviating from the source material.

Michael Scott not being David Brent is what saved the US office, and going in a wildly different direction is what allowed it to become what it ultimately did.

I say this as someone who loved both shows.

Re: The IT Crowd US Pilot (2007) [video]

#123

Post by teddyh »

mkwarman wrote: post #110
jrockway wrote: post #96

Too bad they didn't make it to episode 2. I feel like "they're not just THE emergency services, they're YOUR emergency services" is one of the most British things I can imagine. (I say that as an American, though, so I don't really know what I'm talking about.) The IT Crowd always impressed me with their set design. I was working as "IT" at the time, and our office was nearly identical to the one in Season 1. We had…

That's fascinating, I've never heard of hard drive data recovery using liquid nitrogen. Is the idea that the lower temperature prevents the drive from overheating long enough to recover the data? Sounds very cool.

I would guess that the hard drive platters seized, and the cooling made it shrink enough to un-seize.

Re: The IT Crowd US Pilot (2007) [video]

#124

Post by petepete »

nikau wrote: post #91
LAC-Tech wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think my issue with the UK office is that it was just too bleak and dull to be funny. I got the jokes, but it didn't make laugh, just made me kind of feel worse about life. This is not a "UK comedy is has more flawed characters" thing either, IT Crowd, Peep Show were full of terrible, flawed, miserable human beings but there were still some drama & larger than life aspects to those shows that gave it some element o…

The UK office felt like it could have been a genuine documentary vs the American version which felt more like a sit com. Not sure how you can find this bleak and dull: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6Eaz-1_3iA

Knowing the landscape of British TV at the time makes you appreciate The Office even more. It was awash with fly on the wall documentaries following people around their daily and working lives.

Stars of these programmes were just making their way into celebrity, like Jeremy Spake and Maureen from Driving School, and the people on slightly later shows knew their fame could be a path to them 'making it'. David Brent falls right into this category.

The Office was so incredibly well observed and authentic, it's a work of art.

The US one had other goals, it's just an American sitcom with a nod to mockumentary and zany unbelievable antics.

Re: The IT Crowd US Pilot (2007) [video]

#126

Post by anonymous_sorry »

Longlius wrote: post #20
dotBen wrote: post #8

I'm pretty sure this pilot is the same script as episode 1 of the original UK series. Clearly someone felt the need to recast and reshoot the series with US actors (plus Richard Ayoade), like they did the US Office. I wonder if that's old thinking (or wasn't actually needed) - the amount of UK TV that's now on Netflix and other OTT platforms seems to suggest that US audiences are open to enjoying original UK series w…

Part of it is simply different television formats. The Office UK specifically aired on BBC One without commercials which meant that it had to be cut down to fit on a major network's timeslot of 20-24 min. Shows like that typically have to go to special TV stations like PBS or BBC America in order to get a commercial-free timeslot or (in BBC America's case) finagled into a less common time slot with weird commercial b…

> And then there's the larger issue of a lot of British TV actors simply not having the recognizability of their American counterparts which is a major selling point

Just a note that I don't think any of the actors in the original version of The Office were recognizable in the UK before it aired. So either it is more important in the US to have a big name attached, or TV execs at least believe so, or they remake it for other reasons and the big name is a nice-to-have.

Re: The IT Crowd US Pilot (2007) [video]

#127

Post by kelnos »

KerrAvon wrote: post #65
bckygldstn wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There was a US remake of Taskmaster, which is like 50% a panel show. It was exceedingly terrible despite keeping 1 of the 2 UK hosts, and especially compared to the excellent New Zealand and Swedish Taskmaster remakes. I agree about access though. I've introduced a bunch of US friends to Taksmaster who devour the seasons available on youtube, but are then out of options to see the rest.

It’s ridiculous how much money they are leaving money on the table in the US. Taskmaster (UK) has a huge following among US teenagers, at least in my area.

Teenagers?! Hell, I'm 41 and I love the UK Taskmaster. It's pretty popular in my late-30s/early-40s American friend group.

Re: The IT Crowd US Pilot (2007) [video]

#128

Post by u02sgb »

teddyh wrote: post #123
mkwarman wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's fascinating, I've never heard of hard drive data recovery using liquid nitrogen. Is the idea that the lower temperature prevents the drive from overheating long enough to recover the data? Sounds very cool.

I would guess that the hard drive platters seized, and the cooling made it shrink enough to un-seize.

Yes, have used a similar technique of putting the drive in the freezer. Didn't believe it would work, surprised when it did.

Re: The IT Crowd US Pilot (2007) [video]

#129

Post by kelnos »

jonathankoren wrote: post #86
dotBen wrote: post #8

I'm pretty sure this pilot is the same script as episode 1 of the original UK series. Clearly someone felt the need to recast and reshoot the series with US actors (plus Richard Ayoade), like they did the US Office. I wonder if that's old thinking (or wasn't actually needed) - the amount of UK TV that's now on Netflix and other OTT platforms seems to suggest that US audiences are open to enjoying original UK series w…

The UK show has like 6 episodes in a season, while an American show needs at least 22.

That seems to be changing, though, for many popular (expensive?) shows. Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley, all the recently-new Star Trek series, The Expanse, The Mandalorian, The Orville... They all have seasons in the ballpark of 10 episodes.

Re: The IT Crowd US Pilot (2007) [video]

#130

Post by ungamedplayer »

LAC-Tech wrote: post #120
emsixteen wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> UK office [..] was just too bleak and dull > [..] has no relief, it's just pure misery. That's kind of the entire point mate. There is plenty of relief, but it's not your typical American sitcom relief.

Yeah look I understand the UK is a bleak and miserable place filled with bleak and miserable people, mate. But to those who have dwelt in lands with sunshine and hope the original Office is a shock to the senses.

As someone who physically lives in neither, and in the "Sunshine state" of Australia. The original office wasn't a shock to my senses. Australia is definitely closer to British humour than americano humour.
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