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The IT Crowd US Pilot (2007) [video]

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

#191

Post by rsynnott »

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.

I think it'd be fair to say that the US has now somewhat embraced the less happy cheerful variety of sitcom; a lot of modern US stuff falls into that category. It definitely hadn't in 2005 when the US Office came out, though.

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

#193

Post by isthisnametaken »

Jaruzel wrote: post #149
oakesm9 wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The IT Crowd was actually aired on Channel 4, not the BBC. Channel 4 is publicly owned (for now…) but is fully funded through adverts. The ad break timings likely don’t match what you have in the US though (at the start and end and a single break in the middle over a 30 minute runtime).

Fully funded? I was under the impression that they get a small slice of the licence fee?

S4C (Sianel 4 Cymru, Channel 4 Wales) receives some licence fee funding (partially via the BBC making programmes for it), but it's a separate entity to Channel 4

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

#194

Post by rsynnott »

autoexec wrote: post #14
googlryas wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not at all. There's a cadre of people who enjoy British television programming in America, but they don't count. I'd estimate that the number of people that have watched for example the UK office is maybe 1% or less than the people that watched the US office in the US.

You wouldn't have look very hard to find an American who has seen Downton Abbey, Doctor Who, or Bake Off. The biggest problem keeping Americans from watching UK TV is access, not some inherent dislike or disinterest in compelling television whenever British people are involved. A show has to be wildly popular before Americans even get the chance to be exposed to it, which really limits the amount of viewers for UK pr…

Downton Abbey in particular was _designed_ for export (and I'm pretty sure is more popular in the US than the UK). If it was designed purely for a domestic market, it would probably have been a lot less... naive?

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

#195

Post by dark-star »

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…

They did the same with "Coupling", a funny UK sitcom that was actually unbearable to watch in its US format. Something about the the jokes just doesn't translate 1:1 to American actors or whatever...

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

#196

Post by richeyryan »

jjulius wrote: post #66
pram wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He was in Anchorman as a pretty iconic character, he wasn't exactly obscure.

40 Year Old Virgin came out the same year as the first season of The Office, I'd imagine that helped give it an early boost too (edit: and vice versa).

I believe this is why The Office got a second season. The network and audiences weren't convinced by the first season, but Carell became a star overnight, so the network was willing to keep the show going. Then the writing team found their grove, delivered a second season vastly superior to the first, and the rest is history.

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

#197

Post by corobo »

LAC-Tech wrote: post #75
Longlius wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

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.

I honestly can't remember the UK office. No faces no names no plot lines. I just finished another US office binge.

Going to get my UK passport rejected saying this haha. I definitely prefer the American underlying hope than the British underlying despair. I've already got the latter built in!

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

#198

Post by boomboomsubban »

jldugger wrote: post #170
boomboomsubban wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The CW tried licensing Taskmaster and it got abysmal ratings. They'd be better if they did same day broadcasts, but any later wouldn't be enough to replace those teenager's current watching methods.

> The CW tried licensing Taskmaster and it got abysmal ratings While I usually like Reggie Watts' work, his persona on the show was too cerebral. Felt like someone at The CW got afraid of the word 'master' but figured they could balance it out with a nice black guy role playing a psychotherapist for the competitors. Also Lisa Lamponelli was just 100 percent angry the entire season, as if Alex Horne was personally res…

You're discussing the US version on Comedy Central. A few years ago The CW licensed and aired the British version. It got terrible ratings and was dropped after a single episode.

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

#199

Post by rsynnott »

tragomaskhalos wrote: post #125

I wonder if anyone ever tried to do a US version of Father Ted, as that would certainly have been an atrocity for the ages. Although I can't imagine Mathews and Linehan getting on board with such a thing.

There have been at least three attempt; thankfully they seem to have sunk without a trace.

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

#200

Post by rsynnott »

mejutoco wrote: post #153
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…

I feel exactly the same way. Shows like Black Books or In betweeners I find funny with a dark humour, but there is a kind of uk comedy show (Staht lets flats, Peep show, Friday night dinner) that I just find depressing. The usually involve some "loser" character getting hit with unfortunate circumstances over and over.

> Friday night dinner

The TV execs evidently don't agree with you; Friday Night Dinner is currently on its _fourth_ attempt at an American remake. I can't imagine it working out well.

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