I'm afraid of Americans

[trinityofone]

Trailer for ABC's Life on Mars remake

...

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

There goes my strategy of remaining cautiously optimistic! Reality: 1, Optimism: 0

Also, I think it's worth noting that I finally hit my limit with American Voice Over Guy. I miss the calm, soothing voices of the BBC. I can be ex-pat now?

Picture it:

Some Guy in a Pub, 5 Years From Now: So what finally drove you away? Was it political?
Me: Nope. They remade Life on Mars.

Comments

[dogeared.livejournal.com]

Oh, my god. :| DO NOT WANT.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

GET IT AWAAAAAAAAY.

*hides behind couch*

[slodwick.livejournal.com]

GOD. It might not even be so terribly, horribly wrong if they cut out that ridiculous announcer, and didn't try so hard to make it look like some wacky dramedy like it's fucking Desperate Housewives. TRIN, IT MAKES ME SAD IN THE SOUL.

*icon is suddenly appropriate*

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

IT MAKES ME SAD, TOO. Because I wanted to give it a chance! I really did! I mean, it's set in L.A.—that's my city! How cool would that have been if it were good, or even, you know, DECENT?

The removal of announcer guy will almost certainly improve it, but still... I was totally planning to watch the pilot, and now I'm not sure I'll be able to get through it without being very, very drunk.

I believe your icon depicts EXACTLY what John Simm said in reference to this! (In my head, anyway.)

[amireal.livejournal.com]

Okay, even as I am not a HUGE fan of the original LoM, I can that is-- probably not so amazing.

HOWEVER.

COLM MEANY. Which I think is amazingly ironic and other things. *G*

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

Look, he's my favorite Crazy Irish Space Terrorist ever, but he's just. Not Gene Hunt. AT ALL.

*sniffles*

[dovil.livejournal.com]

Because it would have been so hard just to play the original on American TV?! It's not like it's not in English. :(

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

Oh, but didn't you know that poor Americans like myself can't understand British people, or, in fact, anyone who speaks in an accent that differs from our own? I had to have a translator follow me around the entire time I lived in Ireland. Siria and I have never carried on a conversation without the aid of an interpreter. Trufax!

[j00j.livejournal.com]

American Voice Over Guy is totally annoying.

Although the part where Gene Hunt is being played by Chief O'Brien? Hilarious.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

I believe this has killed what remained of my sense of humor. Now there is only hair-rending and weeping.

And, of course, Zool.

[shadowhuntress.livejournal.com]

Yee-ah. I couldn't get rid of my o_O face while watching that. I've always liked Colm Meaney, but this is just a pale Gene imitation. He deserves better, and so do we.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

I LITERALLY FACEPALMED. It was just...gah.

Los Angeles deserves better. It could have been so cool! Damn damn damn.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

Going rapidly in the other direction, in fact! *flees*

[taurenova.livejournal.com]

The Voice Over Guy + Cheesy 70s Blaxploitation movie music = FAIL. And I normally like cheesy 70s Blaxploitation movie music.

It's trying to hard to pitch the wackiness. LoM was about Sam's journey and his totally gay relationship with Gene. About learning who you are and where you come from and why you are who you are. And solving crime and kicking ass whilst at it.

Though, as I commented to a friend of mine, I do like that Colm Meaney is clearly playing Gene Hunt via the Grumpy Irishman school of acting. At least he's trying to play the show differently. Unlike everyone else involved.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

I'm sure Colm Meaney will do something interesting with the part. However, I don't want something interesting with the part. I want our Gene Hunt. Which I guess means I was unlikely to be satisfied no matter what, but the wacky wackiness! and SWATteam!Sam aren't doing anything to convince me I am being too picky or sentimental, that's for sure.

I think the preexisting fandom will have to make up for this by writing a LOT of porn. *nods solemnly*

[amalthia]

From what I saw it looks like they are copying everything from the original??? but I liked the other guy that plays Sam more...i've only seen one episode of Life on Mars but I already like the UK version better.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

My recommendation: watch more of the original and pretend the U.S. version does not exist. John Simm and Philip Glenister will make denial a lovely experience, I promise you. :)

[sweetvalleyslut.livejournal.com]

I can't even watch it. It's still David. E. Fucking Kelley, isn't it? Blech.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

Yeah, although he may be leaving. Not that that would help at this point. SIGH.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

WHAT EVIL WILL THEY PERPETRATE NEXT?

...

Don't answer that.

[amezri.livejournal.com]

That trailer makes me want to stab someone. I was mildly excited to see Colm Meaney, but still. This is not my show! :(

At least the Spaced remake got axed.

[faith-girl222.livejournal.com]

i knew it was going to be terrible when i saw they didn't even change the characters' names. part of what made queer as folk and the office successful as american shows was their willingness to, you know, actually make them american.

i'm not sure i can even watch that trailer.

[suzy_queue]

No, but they did change the year!

Seriously, what is up with that? Of all the random things to change.

[jetspeaks.livejournal.com]

Too many bad remakes of good shows makes for a legitimate reason to expatriate. Go with it.

(I refuse to read the article, though, or the preview, or whatever that link is. Only just started watching Life on Mars, and I really don't need to feel bad for them already)

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

I support you in not needlessly torturing yourself. Watching the original show is a much better use of your time. :)

[stillane.livejournal.com]

Oh god. I... oh. World of no.

The horrible thing is, I'm rather fond of both principle actors. If they were just in anything other than this, I'd be thrilled. I was even cautiously not-stompyboots about this, but... Wow. That's so very not Sam, and that's so very not Gene, and this world is not supposed to be fun yet. It's supposed to be incredibly disorienting and vaguely traumatic for at least a while, and then we come to the realization that it's really rather awesome to kick some ass. And then the creepy girl shows up to traumatize us some more. There should be a much more finely honed WTF?andwoe-to-whee! ratio, is what I'm saying. *sigh*

The thing I've been wondering all along, though, is this: does the concept really translate to an American audience? Not the whole time travel vs. coma aspect, so much, but the basic idea of Sam's displacement in this time frame. A lot of it depends on the audience going right along with Sam in feeling like we've taken a step back into wild and lawless territory, and I think it takes a lot more to convince your average American audience of that. We kind of like our good guys to skirt along the edges of the rules, anyway. You'd have to approach it differently, maybe. I just don't think network TV would let anyone push it far enough to get the same impact, if that makes any sense.

Oh well. *is sorrowful*

[trobadora]

The thing I've been wondering all along, though, is this: does the concept really translate to an American audience?

Oh, that's an excellent point. Why why why did they have to do this?!

[twelve-pastels.livejournal.com]

God help us if they get ahold of "Being Human"; it'd end up being a cross between "Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place" and "I Was a Teenage Werewolf". *shudders at the mental image* Thank heaven, at least, that they can't do a rip-off of "Doctor Who".

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

Is there actually some legal clause or secret pact forbidding them to? That would be reassuring.

[ms-maree.livejournal.com]

What city is it in?

And as a person who lived in Manchester for a year, I'm officially insulted.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

Los Angeles. Which, I maintain (http://community.livejournal.com/lifein1973/1195998.html?thread=14291678#t14291678), could have been awesome.

[trinityofone.livejournal.com]

It's kind of like the stuff that comes out of the ark in the first Indiana Jones movie. CLOSE YOUR EYES, MARION.

[wishingwell.livejournal.com]

Oh, lord. I can't even...:points: That is not JOHN SIMM! Or Philip Glenister, or Liz White. The first episode of this can only end in my bitter, bitter tears.

Which means, of course, that this will be a break-out hit and I will be the crazy one running around screaming, "Watch the original it is so much better what are you DOING?!...I'm moving to Canada." :/

[tikiaceae.livejournal.com]

Er... Is this supposed to be more "hip" version of LoM? *boggles* I don't get it.

Intervention is called for. I have to gather my American friends and force them to watch the original before they go back to the U.S. *plans*

[burntcopper.livejournal.com]

I think the problem is that they're basing it on the *american* cop shows of the time - streets of san francisco, etc - so the audience knows what the points of reference are. Which were of course more glamorous with more guns blazing. so the translation doesn't work in the same way. Since our 70s cop shows were things like The Sweeney. Which were more known for being gritty and kitchen sink and more sleazy than glam. That whole difference in how cop shows/soaps are handled on either side of the pond. I'm approaching this like a car crash.

[suzy_queue]

I watched the whole thing, jaw sagging. Sigh. I knew it couldn't be good, but I didn't think it would be this bad. I was at least charmed by the Blackpool remake. This....oy.

[charlidos.livejournal.com]

Yikes! Why, oh why?

It's so typical that the slightly weedy British Sam here is a very bulky sort of guy. And I'm quite sure that the subtle, sarcastic, dark humour of the original is completely lost here.

Ugh.

[aurora]

No, no, no. Just NO.

(I posted about this a while ago and we decided that maybe it wouldn't be so bad, but I retract that statement as of today. NO. Neither of the two lead actors could ever be as good as the real Sam and Gene.)

[trobadora]

OMG, DO NOT WANT. *cries*

[nusuth.livejournal.com]

will this (http://youtube.com/watch?v=ixToQbFc53A) make it better? at least it makes voice over guy entertaining XD