“U.S.
REMAKES OF BRITISH TV SERIES,
FROM TW3 AND ALL IN THE FAMILY
TO THE OFFICE”
Over
the past 40 years, some of the United States' best known TV series
were remakes of shows from the United Kingdom. How and why the networks
changed the shows along the way reveals much about American expectations
and attitudes toward television.
Such
shows range from All in the Family, Sanford and Son and Three's
Company in the 1970s to Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Queer
as Folk and American Idol in recent years.
This
one-hour talk is built around video clips of British series and their
American clones — the successful remakes and the not-so-successful
ones. It examines what changes the U.S. networks make, and what those
decisions reveal about the differences between the two countries,
their television industries, and the expectations that their TV viewers
bring to the media.
I also
offer an 80-minute version. The longer version includes a brief look
at shows that traveled the other way, such as the British remakes
of Good Times and Who's the Boss.
Booking Information:
Contact Steven Capsuto directly at stevecap@dca.net.
