TVSquad

"Are You Being Served" would be good but it would need to be tamed down a bit.

"My Hero" would be a riot.

"Chef" could be a great hit for someone like Kelsey Grammer.

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Don't forget the U.S. versions of Eleventh Hour and (the failed) Top Gear.

The original Brit versions seem to be so much better than ours, but if I had to pick others to remake: "Gavin & Stacey" (which is in the works?) and maybe the miniseries "Jekyll."

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Porting successful British series over to the US always worries me. The Office is a very enjoyable show in the US but the Brit version is better. Life on Mars? Keitel does a wonderful job as Hunt but he will never be better than Philip Glenister. Still, both of these were successful in their American incarnations and I have to admit that they did a good job on them. (I did see the original Life on Mars American pilot and it was horrible)
But we also have such wonderfully horrid imports like Coupling. Coupling is one of the best Brit comedy series since Blackadder and we Americans managed to make it one of the most unfunny shows ever. There is a distinct disconnect between US and British humor (or humour) and it seems to be very hard to translate form UK to US for some reason.

I would prefer to keep the British shows British. I don't want to see anyone trying to make an American version of Jekyll or Spooks. No need to try to make Primeval or Dr. Who. And please don't ever try to remake a comedy series! AND comedy series! British humor is wonderful and trying to recreate it for an American audience -- well, something gets lost in the translation, or in the reception anyway.

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They should remake that old Doctor Who show...

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New Tricks!

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Also, Leverage is very close to a remake of Hustle.

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I think Coupling was mishandled and poorly promoted when it was adapted for NBC. Some of the final eps, (when they weren't literally transcribing the storylines from the UK show) were actually funny. I would suggest giving it another try, but there's already a show that I think has done it and that's "How I Met Your Mother." Stylistically, it's kind of similar (i.e. the way it's shot, having a lot of scenes in the bar, etc). Also the quirky characters are kind of alike (Barney = Patrick + Jeff; Ted = Steve).

I think the Blackadder gang should reunite before we even start talking about a remake. And yeah, it's way too British to be adapted.

My Family, I think, would make a good American remake. But people would say it's been done. I guess a lot of it has to do with casting, though.

Father Ted would be a hilarious one, but I have no idea how they would even begin to adapt that.

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Top Gear would have been better than the UK version ........with Leno, Seinfeld, and Tanner Foust (or Travis Pastrana) as presenters. Seriously, the concept is ratings gold, but it needs the proper host to make it entertaining. As soon as they settled on Eric Strommer, the show was dead. Americans are way more car crazy than Brits, and it's a shame that the only network show that's even aimed at gearheads is the intolerable Knight Rider. Since Ace Carolla is currently looking for a gig I hope he tries hard to revive this show without the guy who flipped his Camry hybrid in Holiywood.

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'Are You Being Served' was adapted back in 1979. but apparently 'Beanes of Boston' never made it past pilot.

From what I can remember the big-namers were
John 'Higgins on Magnum' Hillerman was Captain Peacock
Alan 'Laugh In' Sues was Mr. Humphries
Charlotte 'Mrs. Garrett' Rae was Mrs. Slocumbe.

I seem to recall Jane Leeves being attached to an American version of 'The Vicar of Dibley' at some point.

John Michael Higgins was attached to a 'Father Ted' remake at one point, but Im not sure where that is in light of his role on 'Kath & Kim.'

.. and the less said about the American version of 'Red Dwarf 'the better /grin

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While anything with John Michael Higgins is worth watching, I doubt the American public would accept the blasphemous nature of some of that humor.

I believe that "The Secret Diary of Desmond Pffeifer" (UPN?) was an attempt at an American Blackadder. (He was a secretary to Abe Lincoln, who was actually a horndog, etc). Didn't quite work out.

The Brits are able to couple high and low brow humor in a show like BlackAdder in a style that our artists have trouble replicating and our audiences aren't sure what to make of. That doesn't mean we shouldn't keep trying. After all, Sanford and Son was a remake of Steptoe and Son and was utterly brilliant (for its time).

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Nope, let the Brits do British humor - Americanization seldom works; case in point: The Office - shudders!

Mind you, I'm still waiting for the second season of Love Soup; give 'em a prod from me;o)

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I would like The I.T. Crowd...but with the original actors. So basically I just want more of them. Same with Black Books, and, of course, Spaced. Not McSpaced.

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Oh, and hey. What about the flip side?

Just watched the premiere episode of Law & Order UK. Not bad. When was the last time an American show got remade in Britain?

-Bret

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I tend not to be a fan of US remakes of foreign non-reality programming.

However, I would've given the adaptation of The IT Crowd with Joel McHale a shot. I think he's got the snark to be able to pull it off.

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I'm from the UK and remakes always worry me, but...

Mitch Hurwitz is behind AbFab and I have ultimate faith in him (Arrested Development is the finest ever sitcom of any country - and now Michael Cera has agreed to sign on!!- http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b101449_sources_michael_cera_joins_arrested.html)

SO, if Mitch was given the reigns, I'd trust him with...

Alan Partridge (genius)
Absolute Power (great sitcom about a PR firm representing governments, big business etc)
People Like Us (there was a third season planned to take place in the U.S.)
Spaced (actually, it's too special to ever really be touched)
Peep Show (believe one is being planned after a false-start failed pilot)
Nathan Barley
Brass Eye
Green Wing (possibly too surreal)
League of Gentlemen (again, possibly too surreal)
The Thick of It (a pilot with John Michael Higgins was made, but not picked up)

Love all these shows, and as a Brit, I'm patriotically annoyed to name Arrested Development as my number 1 all-time favourite)

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Doesn't anyone in Hollywood have a creative idea of their own they can focus on rather than lifting ideas from BBC?

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Is there some degenerative brain disease that prevents Americans from watching the actual British shows themselves? In this day and age when there's no technical reason why a show in the UK can't be available in the US the very same day, why do they need to be remade at all?

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