Remake Rant
I watched the first episode of the US version of Shameless last night that aired on the premium cable Showtime channel.
What's the point? Seriously? The original UK show is still going strong after seven seasons. It's a great show. Why remake it? The original is already in English.
I'm sure that Studio Execs, in their infinite wisdom, probably think "mainstream" American audiences can't understand regional British accents. What a joke. Probably the same audience of people who refuse to watch movies in other languages with subtitles. And, of course, the sexuality in the US Shameless is toned down a bit, for American puritanical tastes. Other than that, pretty much a shot-for-shot remake of the original.
Besides The Office and All in the Family (the only exceptions to the rule in my book), I find the original versions of most British shows (including Queer as Folk, Life on Mars, Coupling, The Eleventh Hour, The IT Crowd, and Top Gear) vastly superior to their pale American counterparts.
Syfy is now doing the same thing with Being Human. And MTV with Skins. What utter bullshit.
Hey, here's an idea. Why doesn't the BBC or ITV remake Ron Moore's Battlestar Galactica and cast all UK actors? Heck, Jamie Bamber could play the same role and use his natural accent. And whomever's cast as Gaius Baltar could have an American accent to seem different and special. Give me a break. Absurd.
Could Shameless be just as good as the original and go its own way with new story lines like The Office did? Maybe. Odds are not in its favor. Like I mentioned earlier, of the 104 shows adapted over the years (listed here), I only consider two superior to the original.
So, in my opinion, less than a two-percent chance that Shameless can grow and mutate outside its original parameters into something special. If it does beat the odds, I'll catch up with it in five to ten years on Netflix or Blu-ray. Until then, I'll take my chances and ignore it. Plenty of other stuff to watch in the meantime.
Don't waste your time and just watch the original.
What's the point? Seriously? The original UK show is still going strong after seven seasons. It's a great show. Why remake it? The original is already in English.
I'm sure that Studio Execs, in their infinite wisdom, probably think "mainstream" American audiences can't understand regional British accents. What a joke. Probably the same audience of people who refuse to watch movies in other languages with subtitles. And, of course, the sexuality in the US Shameless is toned down a bit, for American puritanical tastes. Other than that, pretty much a shot-for-shot remake of the original.
Besides The Office and All in the Family (the only exceptions to the rule in my book), I find the original versions of most British shows (including Queer as Folk, Life on Mars, Coupling, The Eleventh Hour, The IT Crowd, and Top Gear) vastly superior to their pale American counterparts.
Syfy is now doing the same thing with Being Human. And MTV with Skins. What utter bullshit.
Hey, here's an idea. Why doesn't the BBC or ITV remake Ron Moore's Battlestar Galactica and cast all UK actors? Heck, Jamie Bamber could play the same role and use his natural accent. And whomever's cast as Gaius Baltar could have an American accent to seem different and special. Give me a break. Absurd.
Could Shameless be just as good as the original and go its own way with new story lines like The Office did? Maybe. Odds are not in its favor. Like I mentioned earlier, of the 104 shows adapted over the years (listed here), I only consider two superior to the original.
So, in my opinion, less than a two-percent chance that Shameless can grow and mutate outside its original parameters into something special. If it does beat the odds, I'll catch up with it in five to ten years on Netflix or Blu-ray. Until then, I'll take my chances and ignore it. Plenty of other stuff to watch in the meantime.
Don't waste your time and just watch the original.