TVSquad

I agree with you and Zucker. Coupling sucked. I don't think I laughed once while watching that show.

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I think his point was that Zucker meddled with the show so much, that *he* (Zucker) f**ked it up and made it into the crappy show that it was.

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Zucker was right the US Coupling was horrible, BUT the UK Coupling is one of the funniest shows ever made. What went wrong? The US verison was word for word a copy of the UK verison but it was not funny. Why?

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Woah same creator and writer? What went wrong? The UK version is hilarious but the US version absolutely sucked...

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He's not saying that Zucker sucked because NBC canceled the show. He's saying Zucker sucks because Zucker's and NBC's meddling with the production of the show, including the barring of Moffat from the taping of the second pilot.

The UK version of the show is hilarious. I'd definitely recommend to anyone who likes to laugh.

Here's some of what Moffat said in 2003 (quoted from the zap2it.com link):

"I have no knowledge of the research," Moffat wrote. "Truth is, I don't have much knowledge of anything. I was barred, by NBC, from attending the taping of the second pilot, as was Sue [his wife, and 'Coupling' producer, Sue Vertue], and we were told, quite firmly, to take a creative 'back seat' thereafter.

"So! Four episodes in and cancelled. Well done at the wheel, guys! See that thing on the horizon over there? That'll be our fourth U.K. season. See ya!

"Been keeping my mouth shut about this for a while, professional decorum and all that. But with NBC's shameful backstabbing of its own creative team -- a creative team who were hobbled throughout by NBC's own continual, flat-footed interference -- clearly professional decorum hasn't made it as far as L.A.

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Yeah, the American version of Coupling wasn't all that great. Maybe the actors were good, but the characters didn't translate well into an American setting. The charming and quirky from Britain just became annoying and stupid in America. But as I heard it, it was the network notes that really killed it, all the funny things in the British versions of the episodes were removed "because the Americans wouldn't get it". That's why it became a watered down, run-of-the-mill sitcom just as bad as everything else.

But the British version rocks, probably one of the best shows ever made.

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I have an interesting perspective on the show. I never saw the episodes that were remakes of the British original, but I was interning on the Universal lot and started going to the weekly tapings of the episodes with original scripts. They were great. Funny, original, great cast and great writing.

Alas, TV viewers never got to see these episodes except in bastardized versions. When the first few episodes didn't get huge ratings, NBC decide they'd make up for lost revenue by selling something like 6 extra minutes of advertising. Well, take a 22 minute episode and cut out 6 minutes, and it's a struggle to make the damn thing coherent. Any extra funny bits or cool character moments had to be sacrificed. So the episode that aired wasn't nearly as good as what they shot. NBC took what could have been their next great hit (and if you don't believe me, look at the first season of Seinfeld) and blew it for a quick shot of ad revenue. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

-- Andy
Myspace.com/MastersofHumility

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Sometimes remakes for US tv just don't work. I suppose The Office version is ok but not nearly as good as the "original" in my opinion. Can't wait to see what they are gonna do with "Life on Mars" which I don't really think needed a remake either but oh well...

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I get where Moffat's coming from. The differences in the UK and US versions are astounding. While the UK Coupling is not my favourite show (Arrested Development, Spaced and Alan Partridge hold those spots) it was damn funny but it lost everything in translation. I'm not saying it would have been fine-and-daddy if they left the reigns with Moffat, but I am saying that because they took him away from the creative process, and handed back a vastly inferior show, he has the right to feel angry at NBC.

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I agree that sometimes US remakes of UK tv shows don't work. Coupling is one of the best examples. The British show is hilarious but the US one was really lame. I'm sure network interference had something to do with that but I also think that sometimes jokes just don't translate well from UK to US tv. You can't simply make a carbon copy of a successful UK show and assume that it will work - the US Office is a good example of that. I am a huge fan of the UK Office and watched the US pilot and hated it. By chance, I happened to catch the second season premiere (the Dundies) and really liked it. It struck me that the show had stopped simply being a copy of the UK show and had found it's own voice. I think the US Office is now as good as the UK Office.

I don't know if Coupling US could have evolved in a similar way, but I doubt it. Personally, I don't think the cast of Coupling US was as talented or charismatic as the US Office cast (which is the main reason many of my friends watched the US Office during its first season). More importantly, it seems pretty clear from Moffat's comments that the network had strong ideas about the direction they wanted the show to go in. I agree with all the posters who have said that he is absolutely justified in his anger. I can't imagine how angry I would be if I was banned from the set of my own show.

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Agreed:
1. The original BBC Coupling was and still is incredible. IMO, its humor has Seinfeld-esque longevity.
2. The US episodes of Coupling that "re-used" the UK scripts weren't very funny,

BUT....

If you watch the US episodes that DID NOT air in the US, I think you would change your opinion about the US version. The show really started to stand on its own.
Unfortunately, it wasn't given a chance.

With all the fantastic writing that Moffat has done, I'll trust him when he blames Zucker.

PS: Steve Moffat has also been writing the very new UK series Jekyll. Check it out!

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Fire Zucker, save the network.

http://its-over-tv.blogspot.com/search/label/nbc

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#1 reason the American version didn't work is also the #1 reason the 4th season of the UK version didn't work - NO RICHARD COYLE. He MADE that show. It would have been ok without him but it was GREAT with him.

Also, they british version was way more sexual than a show on American network television would allow. The actors weren't terrible, but there weren't very good.

Is someone here going to tell me that Oliver was 1/10th of the character/actor that Jeff/Richard Coyle was?

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The aired episode did suck but then so did the first episode of the us office. Both had the problem of basically taking the UK script and re filming it which could have been where the problem was.

If it had been given a chance to find its feet and its own identity maybe it would have gone on to be a critical success like the office has

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The US version sucked out the gate! I thought the casting was all wrong, why do they go a change things around? The UK version was so much better, and funnier. Somethings don't translate. The acting styles of UK shows is just funnier somehow, plus you can get away with so much more over there than you can get away with over here. Could they have done the sex shop episode here? or the melty man? How about Susan's battery consumption? I don't think so. Not on NBC, FOX maybe, but not NBC.

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Wow Bob what a lovely comment.

What exactly do you mean was Zucker's involvement that "fucked it up" if the show ran in it's own timeslot except? Standing behind the author muttering "You suck" or what?

I sometimes wonder how you come up with stuff like this that expresses so much how you don't really think about something that is mentioned but what you thought about it back then and how you feel about it and just writing that down instead of taking the new information and maybe, just maybe actually use it to gain some insight.

When I first came here I didn't understand all the bashing you got every time you wrote something about a show that seemed a bit... condescending.

This is the third time I got a reason to understand those people. I sometimes would really love to find out what the reason for this is. But then again I guess you don't read these comments anyway...

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The only thing Coupling had going for it: Rena Sofer.

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Steve Moffat's "Jekyll" = one of the besst series of the year!!

Seriously, it's REALLY, REALLY good TV. As a fan of shows like THe Wire, Sopranos and Deadwood I like my TV smart and compelling - this series is both those things.

WATCH 'JEKYLL'!!

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Khamel: Spot on! Without the character of Richard Coyle, season 4 was a complete downer.

"I've always wanted to say this aloud to a woman: breasts!"

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