From Newsgroup: rec.arts.drwho.moderated
From Address: daibhidchenedelh@aol.com
Subject: Re: New American series

On 06 Oct 2012, YourName@YourISP.com (Your Name) wrote:

> In article , "Bok C"
>  wrote:
>> 
>> I don't know what you mean here.  Some American versions of British
>> TV shows have been flip flops, but others ones really took off.  Just
>> look at Being Human, Too Close For Comfort, Three's Company, Not
>> Necessarily the News, The Office, Sanford and Son, American Idol and
>> Queer and Folk. 
> 
> Most, if not all, of those are American shows "based on" of British
> shows (extremely loosely in some cases). They aren't re-using the same
> name or ideas, and have lots of, usually silly, changes that really
> make them into different shows.

Out of eight shows mentioned, three change the name completely, two 
change the name slightly, and three (Being Human, The Office and Queer as 
Folk) keep it exactly the same.

Yes, they certainly make changes. I would assume that an American Doctor 
Who would also make changes. I'm not sure how that indicates it can't 
possibly work.

>> I actually think it makes more sense to try launching an American
>> version of Doctor Who while it's still popular and running in
>> Britain.  Not only will help the ratings, but if it doesn't succeed
>> we still have the original British version to watch, and if it does
>> we have twice as much Doctor Who! It's win/win!
> 
> It can't work, and thankfully it's unlikely to even be attempted. You
> can't have two competing version of the same thing going at once. It
> destroys the coherence of the franchise ... hence Ron Moore's version
> of "Battlestar Galactica" has killed off the original, real
> "Battlestar Galactica", and JJ Abrams version of "Star Trek" has
> killed off the real "Star Trek" (to name just two cases).

The last time "real Battlestar" was made was 1980, some twenty years 
before Ron Moore. (And that's assuming you consider Battlestar 1980 to be 
"real Battlestar"; plenty of people don't.) Meanwhile, a wide range of 
"real Star Trek" novels are being published, from original series to 
Enterprise.

So on the one hand, we've got a show that was killed off at least two 
decades before the revival, and on the other, one where the original 
continues in a different format. I'm not sure either of those demonstrate 
that a remake "kills off" the original.

Meanwhile, the BBC have announced a fifth season of Being Human, 
suggesting the American series has had very little effect in killing it 
off.

If I'm honest, I'm a bit sceptical about the idea of a "Doctor Who US" 
(nothing against the US; I'd also be sceptical of "Star Trek UK" if 
anyone proposed such a thing; our countries are good at different things, 
television-wise). But I'm quite prepared to be proved wrong if anyone 
wants to have a go.

And if they have a go and fail, well, it'll just be another failed 
attempt at an American version of a UK series, like Red Dwarf US or The 
Minister of Divine (Dibley starring Kirstie Alley). Either way, I can't 
see it having an adverse effect on the original. And whatever happens, it 
can't possibly be worse than the UK version of The Golden Girls...

-- 
Dave
The problems in this world are not caused by those who love.
They're caused by those who hate.
--Arthur, King of Time and Space.

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