Did NBC's Coupling get a real chance?
 

I thought the first few episodes of the US Coupling were terrible. Well, not terrible, but not great. The last episode shown was good though. And I just saw the unaired episode and it wasnt bad either.

I'm not sure if this show got a fair deal from NBC. It was being groomed to take over the Friends slot but it got dumped after 5 episodes. NBC didn't even give it a chance to build an audience, find a groove, or just simply' get better'. There are shows like 'Happy Family' and 'Whoopi' that will wallow in mediocrity for seasons and suddenly, out of the blue, actually become pretty good shows. I think Coupling was pulling out of it's rut and if given a full season, might have actually been a good/great sitcom.

You'd think that with all the hype NBC showered on Coupling, they would have at least moved it around a bit, or brought it back as a midseason show. They just lost Friends plus Frasier and Fear Facter and Will and Grace aren't gonna carry a network.

D

The thing is when Coupling was on the air for the four weeks (and there is more than just one unaired episode, more like four - five unaired episode), it had better ratings then both Whoopi and Happy Family.

The episodes that were direct remakes of the original UK episodes weren't all that good, but as the show moved along and started doing their own thing with "original" episodes, the show was slowly finding it's groove. If there were more original episodes over remade episodes, the show might've been not as universally critically panned as it was.

I enjoyed the US version, but I still believe that the UK version is superior (that and for the fact it's one of the greatest sitcoms ever IMO).

I don't think it ever would have taken the Friends timeslot given the primary subject matter.

I agree with the sentiment that the remade episodes sucked while the original ones were okay.

The fact is given how uptight the US over the discussion of sex on network tv, NBC should have never tried this in the first place. It would have made far more sense for a cable network to have remade it. Of course, then what is the point since all you need to do is tune into BBCA for the real deal.

According to tvtome, only 4 episodes aired but there are 6 additional episodes that were completed but unaired.

To answer the OP's question: Nope, NBC totally did not give this show a chance. Airing it for 4 weeks and then never mentioning it again? Bad idea guys. I think that every network should let all 13 (or 6, or however many they originally ordered) air before deciding a show's fate. Always.

The thing is...They should have made the show good. Simply put. The first few episodes were awful. Well, that was THEIR mistake. NBC cancelled them because viewers tuned out after those awful eps.

If they had put together a solid show from the get go, maybe they would have had a chance.

But it doesn't work like that. It's not like they sat around saying, 'lets make a crappy show'. Miracle casts like Arrested Development or News Radio that start off with great chemistry are rare. It takes time for a group of people to learn each others grooves so they can play off of each other. Chemistry isn't usually automatic. Only half of the cast from Happy Family seem to work well together, and no one on Whoopi even act like they know each other. Coupling wasn't there yet, but you can't blame them after only 4 shows.

D

I never watched Coupling, either the BBC or US version, but I don't understand pulling it after 4 episodes. Actually I'll say this about NBC. They've put a ton of shows on their Thursday line-up that have pulled quickly, and yet all of them get better ratings than 90% of what's out there. Granted, they are probably just riding the Friends audience, but why not at least see if you have a show?

So many shows take a while to really get going, I'm thinking Simpsons or Seinfeld as prime examples. And something made NBC want to do the show in the first place. Why give up so quickly? Can't one at least move it to another night or something? I just don't get the logic of cancelling a show so quickly, you really can't judge anything that fast.

are any of these eps available anywhere on the net ?

i can only get the UK versions

I finally decided a couple of years ago to make a point never to watch any of NBC's new shows since they seemed to yank every one I got attached to (Hidden Hills, Inside Schwartz, Three Sisters).

I loved Hidden Hills. That show was destined for greatness. If only NBC had given it a chance.

I really liked Hidden Hills as well, especially the wife (Paula Marshall).

As for US Coupling, it just wasn't funny. I watched the UK Coupling first, so I am biased, but that was a funny show. Airing on NBC and cutting 6 to 8 minutes out of each episode really hurt the US Version.

I really enjoyed the US version of the show. I have only ever seen 1 UK episode. I think the problem with the US version was that UK diehards immediately panned it because it wasn't British. US audiences thought it was a rip-off of Friends.

It was funny. I laughed quite hard during the Sex, Death, and Nudity remake mostly for the fact on how they changed the ending.

I just saw one of the unaired original episodes, and I agree, it was funny! NBC definately pulled the plug too soon.

I liked Inside Schwartz as well. He was also on Married To The Kellys... both canned. Guess that guy just isn't having luck with sitcoms.