I watched the premiere episode of Coupling tonight. Having seen the original British show of same name, couldn't help but think: "what a ripoff." 99% of the dialog was the same and it wasn't even funny this go around. So I was somewhat disappointed. Many of the jokes just fell flat. Maybe it has something to do with the lack of British accent. Or maybe it has something to do with the actors they chose for the American version. It should be interesting to see how the show fairs. I could be wrong, but something tells me it won't be must see tv for long.
Coupling
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I watched it too. I used MSN's guide to the best new shows of the season to choose what premiers to watch. This wasn't on it. The commercials looked good, so I considered it an oversight on MSN's part. Nope. It was bad. I've never seen the British version, so it was just bad on it's own. Not only was it barely funny, it seemed cheap. The sets seemed cheap. Even the film seemed cheap.
I agree with you assessment of NBC's production of Coupling. Last night I emailed NBC with this:
"Just writing to express how un-funny the NBC version of Coupling is. I love watching the BBC version. It is hilarious, however, the NBC production had me laugh out loud only one time. I don't know if it's the actors, their timing, or if it's the Brit factor."
"The one thing I can say is that Jeff should be more neurotic and Jane should be more dizzy. Come to think of it, there is nothing in the acting that distinguishes the men apart and nothing in the acting that distinguishes the women apart. They could all swap roles in the next episode and no one would know!"
"I'll stick to watching the BBC episodes I can on PBS."
I disagree with Carlos; the sets looked fine. The shows, only redeeming quality, but it won't be enough to hold everything up. ;)
I'd have to agree, the NBC version of coupling sucked. They tried to bring Cold Feet to the states and it failed within the first few episodes.
It begs the question is it cheaper to re-make a series than it is to buy the rights to show it??
I saw the US version and thought that they have chosen the actors based on how similar to the Brit actors they looked rather than them being any good. Either way it was dire....