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MTV US Inbetweeners Remake

Mark Hughes from the Telegraph did a interesting review:

The Telegraph said:
The US doesn’t exactly have a great track record when it comes to remaking popular British shows.

Skins was axed after one season, The IT Crowd didn’t even make it past the pilot, and while The Office is about to begin its ninth season, opinion is split over whether it even comes close to the comic genius that is the British version.

When it was announced that The Inbetweeners was to undergo a US remake, fans of the UK show understandably groaned as the expectation was it would be sullied beyond recognition.

Fears that it would fail to live up to the standards set by its British forerunner were heightened last month when a pilot was aired and promptly panned by Brits and Americans alike.

But that was just a two minute pilot. “Don’t pre-judge it,” the British co-creator Iain Morris urged.

However after watching three episodes of the US version on MTV, I’m not sure I can reassure anyone that The Inbetweeners isn’t as bad as feared. The early shows barely raised a smile, let alone reached the comedic heights achieved by the Channel 4 version.

Because of the show’s huge popularity in the UK, the last thing I’d imagine the creators want is a direct comparison with the British version.

But given that the initial episodes follow, almost scene for scene and sometimes word for word, the British script, it is impossible not to compare.

There are even nods to the British-roots of the show. At one point Jay puts on a cringe worthy British accent while another scene shows a Union Flag hanging above his bed.

The set-up is identical. Four boys, Will, Simon, Jay and Neil, are unpopular high school students desperately coming up with plans to meet and impress girls. So far, so comparable.

But the first problem comes with the dynamic of the four. Part of the charm and amusement of the British version was the lack of loyalty shown by the four towards one another. Each would at any point turn on the other if the opportunity to mock presented itself.

The US version feels more like an episode of the Wonder Years at times as genuine themes of friendship and bonding are referenced far more explicitly and frequently than was ever the case in the British show.

Take this from the US Will: “I’ve got three friends who seem to accept me…I was not alone I had these guys, which was not much, but they were friends; partners on the turbulent road to adulthood.”

At another point Jay complains, with what I think were supposed to be genuine hurt feelings: “I just feel left out sometimes”.

And then there is the gratuitous scene in which the four have a friendly water fight, complete with close-up slow-motion shots, fixed smiles and background music.

The characters fit into the moulds created by their UK namesakes. Will is the new boy at school desperately trying to fit in. Simon is tormented over his unrequited love for Carly.

Jay is still regaling his friends with tall tales of sexual misadventure, although while the UK version did this in a way which allowed the viewer and his friends to laugh at his self-delusion, the US Jay is more cock-sure and annoying.

But it is Neil who has undergone the most frustrating change. While the UK Neil was amusingly slow-witted, the US version turns him into such an airhead that his inclusion is almost unnecessary, so lacking is his contribution to any scene.

The swearing too has been toned down in the US version, presumably due to the sensitivity of the American audience.

The only potential positive is that the early episodes of the show suggest that it may be able to pull away from direct comparisons with the UK version and create its own identity, much like the US Office.

A reasonably amusing scene in which Will mistakenly alters his Facebook page and goes on to alienate the female half of the school proves that the writers are not totally reliant on the UK scripts.

But the sooner it does this, the better, because simply using the current US cast to remake the existing British episodes is always going to leave MTV’s version coming up short.
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Apparently, the US version used the term 'bus turds' instead of what we know. I'm glad it failed. :p
 
All I can say is LOL! I'll watch it on the 5th (when it premiers over here) just to see how bad it is, glad it failed xD
 
The country that gave us Airplane and South Park gave us this. The US Office is passable, but this is embarrassing for all concerned. "Bus turds"? That doesn't make any sense at all. Awful.
 
So lets see how crap this is tonight (I expect it's going to be shocking compared to the uk version)
 
Blaze said:
The country that gave us Airplane and South Park gave us this. The US Office is passable, but this is embarrassing for all concerned. "Bus turds"? That doesn't make any sense at all. Awful.
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In fairness, said same country has also given us Epic Movie, Disaster Movie, Date Movie... shall we just say that they're inconsistent? ;)

Anyhow, be right back after Inbetweeners US of A!
 
30 seconds in and it's terrible :(

And I've turned it off after 15 minutes
 
You know, as much as I slagged it off before, I actually enjoyed that. I mean, it's still a pathetic rip off, but I still enjoyed watching it. :p
 
It was a much better effort than I was expecting! It's not exactly in the same league as our original version, but a decent attempt nonetheless.
 
Honestly the show is complete rubbish. But it wasn't as bad as I expected (Although that isn't saying much). It's good that they didn't 100% copy and pasted the UK version like Will eating a fancy lunch and the way he took a poo in the toilet before getting his picture taken were different. But overall, it's a boring and bland programme judging by the first episode
 
Well it's definitely obvious why the series' ratings have suffered. ???
Honestly, it was so boring I spent the whole second episode trying to figure out what park they were at, but to no avail. Anyone any wiser?
 
Adam James said:
Well it's definitely obvious why the series' ratings have suffered. ???
Honestly, it was so boring I spent the whole second episode trying to figure out what park they were at, but to no avail. Anyone any wiser?
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I have absolutely no idea. The only two B&M's I can think of that have blue restraints are Kumba and Kraken, and I'm pretty sure it was neither of those. The station looked more like the Incredible Hulk station with the tunnel going out but that certainly doesn't have dark blue restraints!

Having said all that though, it's probably likely that the park sections weren't filmed at the same place as the coaster bit :p

EDIT - Looking at it again, I'm pretty sure it has to be Hulk just with edited colours.

hulkcoaster.jpg
 
Watching episode 1. I don't like how some scenes are word for word copies of the original :-S

EDIT: This is just awful.
 
They was actually at two parks. Universal Florida and IOA. Is it sad i spotted this as soon as they was in front of a metal fence? :)

The coaster was Incredible Hulk. I found it funny that the ride exit was by Jurassic park :)
 
Why did people bother watching this? :O

We knew it was going to be another terrible US copycat/remake of the British version.

Saying that, I am intrigued as to how rubbish it was. :p
 
Dan said:
They was actually at two parks. Universal Florida and IOA. Is it sad i spotted this as soon as they was in front of a metal fence? :)

The coaster was Incredible Hulk. I found it funny that the ride exit was by Jurassic park :)
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I think the fact that they drove up into an open air car park dissuaded me that it was Universal ;)
 
Dear god, this topic is ridiculous.

The British version of the Inbetweeners wasn't even very good...
 
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