The official Kath and Kim (American Version) apology thread

Some American's may have seen the first episode of a newly commissioned comedy series called 'Kath and Kim'. Originally this is an Australian sitcom, with Australian actors and is actually quite funny. NBC America snapped up the idea and attempted to recreate it using American actors and American humour. It has failed dismally.

Now while the Australian version is funny and relevant to Australians, the American version has been lost in translation somewhere and watching one episode of this is enough to make one hope and pray for a swift death. I, on behalf of all Australians, apologise for this, although it may be NBC's fault for creating this spin-off, it was Australia that sold the idea to you.

If you wish to see the original version, Google "ABC Kath and Kim" and it will lead you to the Aussie version.

reply to post by Kryties


i thought the show had one very redeeming quality: selma blair. i will continue to watch the show as long as she is in it.

just like 'the office'

snapped from uk tv and lost everything that made it the office

its just another not very funny american show now

If the original Aussie version can intergrate into English TV really well why can't the Americans get it?

It's happened with Red Dwarf, The Office and now this, these shows always fail.I've said it before i'll say it again, Leave others comedy alone and make your own, if you don't get our stuff don't touch it and try to make it your own.

To be honest Steve Carrell make "The Office, An American Workplace" bareable.

[edit on 11-10-2008 by Chukkles]

... Well... I did watch "Kath and Kim"... and felt as though I was watching a slow motion train wreck. I waited for the humor. Okay - I giggled a couple of times - but mostly just shook my head and wondered why American TV could not come up with something better.
Many, many great programs/sitcoms on American TV have been stolen from English (British) and Australian programs that were doing well in its respective country.
I personally love THOSE (Brit and Aussie) versions better.
Unless the writers can Americanize "Kath and Kim" and give it a little more punch - it will tank in no time.

reply to post by Chukkles


To answer your questions:

All In the Family and Sanford and Son are both based on British shows and were extremely huge and profitable hits. They still play in reruns all the time. The networks have seen that it does work when done properly, and they love to mine the source until there is nothing left.
I will agree there are many more failures than successes, but then TV has more failures than successes on any given season.
They are already planning a version of AbFab, even though Rosanne Barr's version never got off the ground. I also wish they would leave the true British (and Australian) versions of shows alone. If there is a good idea, then it is OK to use the idea, but don't rape some beloved classic. Most of these shows get shown on PBS or BBC America here, so many have a cult following in America.

BTW, they almost had an American version of Doctor Who. Luckily the movie was made more like the British version, although it still wasn't very good.

I tried watching this... really.

I couldn't last more than 5 minutes.

I don't think it will last more than a few weeks. We seem to have a few lemons this year.

Taking shows out of their country of origin and redoing them is not an easy thing to do. I guess that could be part of it.

I just found the mother to be annoying and the daughter to be so unrealistically stupid that it was actually bothersome to watch.

I watched the American version last night. One episode was enough. What happened to Sharon, she was the best. Gina Riley and Jane Turner and Magda played their roles so well in the original. The US just ruined a great Australian classic.

I cant believe how crap the american version was

Its a disgrace to our version, as was the american version of faulty towers, the american version of Coupling and even the american version of the office had no where near the class like the original british version

Maybe the US TV networks should stop remaking things

reply to post by OzWeatherman


Coupling was the British version of Friends, which is a rarity (other countries copying our series). If producers see dollar signs, they will produce it. Look at all the reality crap out there.

Originally posted by kidflash2008
reply to post by OzWeatherman

 

Coupling was the British version of Friends, which is a rarity (other countries copying our series). If producers see dollar signs, they will produce it. Look at all the reality crap out there.

No it wasnt. It was a completely different concept for a start. It was inspired by a combination of the creators (Steve Moffatt) own issues with new relationships, and the characters and their perks were insopired more along the lines of the characters in Seinfeld, which he has said in many interviews (sorry I own the entire Coupling DVD set)

Only American Critics of the show labelled it as a friends duplicate. In fact the US version of coupling, was intended to replace friends, and was also considered to be to explicit for US television as it used exact dialogue, woprd for word, from the british version. Despite this, the american version was rubbish

reply to post by OzWeatherman

I own the entire Coupling DVD set

So do I I love the show.

reply to post by OzWeatherman


I saw the British version of Coupling and did not like it. To each his own, but I will agree the US producers turn most everything into crap.

One of my favorite shows on now is Pushing Daisies. I wish it would get better ratings as it is in danger of getting canceled. This is a great show and does show that American TV can be very inventive when it wants to be. I do hope it does get a chance to be seen overseas, and if not at least get the DVD of it.

Well, I applaud all the people that managed to get through the show at all. I tried to watch it and after about 10 minutes I had to give up. My mother keeps watching it and when asked why, she said "I'm waiting for it to get funny."

Then I heard that FOX is making a US version of "Absolutely Fabulous". I love the UK show and I'm horrified...but I'm still going to check it out. Maybe it'll develop into something of it's own like the US version of "The Office" did. I can only hope that Ab-Fab isn't ruined by this FOX attempt. It makes me think of that movie "The Birdcage". It's a remake of an excellent french film (La Cage Au Folles) which is LEAGUES better even though the script for the Birdcage is taken verbatim from it.

I'm sure the only way Kath and Kim and any remake can succeed is to at least partially individualize it but most seem to have gotten too lazy or cheap to make that kind of effort.

reply to post by kidflash2008

BTW, they almost had an American version of Doctor Who. Luckily the movie was made more like the British version, although it still wasn't very good.

Oh wow! I did see the American version of the Doctor Who movie. Wasn't it that the Doctor had to visit a city in America, and he had to use the atomic clock for something??? It was a long time ago since I have seen it. And it would be Interesting to watch, IF and WHEN the Americans have a DoctorWho show. How much worse can they mess with it?

I did sample Kath and Kim and almost died! Not one laugh, and a waste of Molly Shannon's talent. This is as bad as TV shows get, and that is saying a lot. I think NBC is going to get a massive overhaul come this next fall. I don't think very many shows will survive including "Heroes".

Why didn’t they just show the original series? Sure America wouldn’t understand lots of the content but if you watched more shows eventually you would get it just like we get it with all the American comedies down here. We got it eventually. Its good to understand others humour. Try it.

reply to post by kidflash2008


Hmmm, I didn't realize that Friends was based on Couplng.

The British version is hilarious. The American version is amusing, but not even close. As soon as I saw the first Coupling I had to see them all.