"Spaced" to be remade for American television (merged)
10-31-07, 03:57 PM
#27
Senior Member
Spaced should've been in my top ten list in that other thread. I forgot about it because I only recently discovered it (and fell madly in love with it) thanks to this forum.
The idea of making an American version simply fills me with revulsion. It wasn't the premise of Spaced that made it work, it was the execution. The vision of the stars/writers and the director is what made that show great.
Lightning in a bottle.
The idea of making an American version simply fills me with revulsion. It wasn't the premise of Spaced that made it work, it was the execution. The vision of the stars/writers and the director is what made that show great.
Lightning in a bottle.
11-01-07, 07:12 AM
#31
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by Perkinsun Dzees
I'm confused here. Wasn't SPACED just a ripoff of the U.S. sitcom NED AND STACEY?
11-01-07, 11:26 AM
#32
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
When I saw the thread title, I thought this was going to be an NBC remake comedy. First the news of an The Office spin-off and now this... could it get any worse?
If Pegg & Wright haven't even been contacted about the US remake of Spaced, I won't be watching. It's on Fox, so it'll be cancelled after 2 or 3 episodes.
If Pegg & Wright haven't even been contacted about the US remake of Spaced, I won't be watching. It's on Fox, so it'll be cancelled after 2 or 3 episodes.
11-01-07, 11:37 AM
#33
DVD Talk Limited Edition
I really don't see how this could work. SPACED is one of my favorite shows, but like others have said it was Pegg, Stevenson, and Wright who made that show work. You could tell they poured so much love and passion into it. The rest of the cast was pitch perfect as well I found.
This just seems like a bad idea, compounded by the lack of involvement by Pegg and Wright. Granted, I did say the same about The Office, but that seems like it is the exception to the rule of the remakes of late.
Remaking this doesn't make any sense. Why don't they remake something like Teachers which I think would translate to American tv pretty well.
This just seems like a bad idea, compounded by the lack of involvement by Pegg and Wright. Granted, I did say the same about The Office, but that seems like it is the exception to the rule of the remakes of late.
Remaking this doesn't make any sense. Why don't they remake something like Teachers which I think would translate to American tv pretty well.
11-01-07, 11:51 AM
#34
DVD Talk Special Edition
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Originally Posted by boredsilly
Remaking this doesn't make any sense. Why don't they remake something like Teachers which I think would translate to American tv pretty well.
11-01-07, 10:39 PM
#35
DVD Talk Gold Edition
What a low blow that no one contacted Wright, Pegg, or Stevenson before doing this. I hope it doesn't make it past the pilot.
From Wright's blog it seems like they are all rather disgusted:
Here's the link to the full blog post on Twitch:
http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/edga...paced#extended
From Wright's blog it seems like they are all rather disgusted:
As I said in my previous blogs, I don't personally have any format rights to the show, they belong to Granada USA and I'm pretty sure that while Simon and Jess would get paid for the reversioning of their original scripts, they don't necessarily have the power to call the whole damn thing off. (And I can confirm that Simon at least, would like nothing more than to pull the plug).
I digress. Aside from all the legal aspects to my involvement, any self respecting fan of the show knows that along with Simon, Jess and Nira Park, I put my heart and soul into that series. So the implication in the trades by Wonderland and Granada USA that we may be involved in this new version absolutely pains me.
As I’ve said, I wouldn’t necessarily want to be involved in a new version of SPACED. We’ve gone long enough preserving the memory of the original by not doing a third series, not to mention turning down SHAUN TV versions and sequels. Getting involved with this would be a insult to the fans who’ve supported the show for nearly ten years.
As I’ve said, I wouldn’t necessarily want to be involved in a new version of SPACED. We’ve gone long enough preserving the memory of the original by not doing a third series, not to mention turning down SHAUN TV versions and sequels. Getting involved with this would be a insult to the fans who’ve supported the show for nearly ten years.
http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/edga...paced#extended
11-01-07, 11:01 PM
#36
DVD Talk Legend
Wow, this just boils my blood. Spaced is one of the finest shows produced in decades, and it's right at the top of my list of favorite shows ever, right along with The Office, Arrested Development, and so on. This is nothing but a slap in the face of Edgar, Simon, Jessica, and everyone else involved with the original show.
I could understand how they would want to remake The Office, and that worked fine. It was a basic premise, they contacted the right people, and while the US version is different than the original UK show, it still has many of the same qualities.
What we'll get from a US version of Spaced is a totally bastardized version of the original premise, and it would be nothing more than the next dime-a-dozen sitcom cliche pile of horseshit.
I met Edgar, Simon, and Nick earlier this year. They're great guys, autographed my Spaced collection set and Shaun of the Dead DVD. It just really pisses me off that they'd even consider doing this, especially without contacting the guys and gals that created the original, without which these new morons wouldn't even be able to remake it in the first place.
Ugh.
I could understand how they would want to remake The Office, and that worked fine. It was a basic premise, they contacted the right people, and while the US version is different than the original UK show, it still has many of the same qualities.
What we'll get from a US version of Spaced is a totally bastardized version of the original premise, and it would be nothing more than the next dime-a-dozen sitcom cliche pile of horseshit.
I met Edgar, Simon, and Nick earlier this year. They're great guys, autographed my Spaced collection set and Shaun of the Dead DVD. It just really pisses me off that they'd even consider doing this, especially without contacting the guys and gals that created the original, without which these new morons wouldn't even be able to remake it in the first place.
Ugh.
11-02-07, 11:21 AM
#37
DVD Talk Reviewer
Thread Starter
On the other hand, it's too bad that Edgar, Simon, Jess and Co. are as equally pessimistic about any more original Spaced as they are this dreadful reincarnation. I didn't want a third series but I was still holding out a little, teensy, tiny bit of hope for an Office-UK-style special.
11-02-07, 12:01 PM
#38
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by droidguy1119
On the other hand, it's too bad that Edgar, Simon, Jess and Co. are as equally pessimistic about any more original Spaced as they are this dreadful reincarnation. I didn't want a third series but I was still holding out a little, teensy, tiny bit of hope for an Office-UK-style special.
Where did you hear of the pessimism? If accurate, that's too bad.
11-02-07, 09:50 PM
#39
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by andicus
Where did you hear of the pessimism? If accurate, that's too bad.
As I’ve said, I wouldn’t necessarily want to be involved in a new version of SPACED. We’ve gone long enough preserving the memory of the original by not doing a third series.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaced#Future
A special or possibly TV movie isn't out of the question though.
11-03-07, 12:13 AM
#40
DVD Talk Reviewer
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by Jay G.
A special or possibly TV movie isn't out of the question though.
Furthermore, at the Los Angeles screening of Hot Fuzz, Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright both confirmed that the show would not return in any form, as the actors are all now "too old", and they fear it would ruin a good thing.
11-03-07, 05:49 AM
#41
DVD Talk Legend
Yeah, but then the wiki goes on to provide a link to an article from Aug 2, 2007 that says:
"Although the series creators have debunked rumors of resuming the show for further seasons, Wright doesn't rule out some way to bring the Spaced crew back. Perhaps a reunion show?
'We never say never in terms of that...there's not going to be a third season, it would be silly now. It would be ten years since the first season, so I think the only option would be to do something that sort of like catches our heroes ten years later. And that can work brilliantly in the case of something like Before Sunrise -- or Before Sunset, I always get them mixed up.'"
"Although the series creators have debunked rumors of resuming the show for further seasons, Wright doesn't rule out some way to bring the Spaced crew back. Perhaps a reunion show?
'We never say never in terms of that...there's not going to be a third season, it would be silly now. It would be ten years since the first season, so I think the only option would be to do something that sort of like catches our heroes ten years later. And that can work brilliantly in the case of something like Before Sunrise -- or Before Sunset, I always get them mixed up.'"
11-04-07, 02:47 AM
#43
I never watched this but from what I've read in this thread it doesn't sound like a totally bad idea. If it was the personalities that the actors brought to the roles that made it successful then why cannot it work the same way with some really good casting?
I've watched both versions of The Office and they are both very similiar but it's Steve Carrell and Rainn Wilson that really make the U.S. version great and, imo, superior to the British version.
I've watched both versions of The Office and they are both very similiar but it's Steve Carrell and Rainn Wilson that really make the U.S. version great and, imo, superior to the British version.
11-04-07, 10:49 AM
#44
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by PopcornTreeCt
I never watched this but from what I've read in this thread it doesn't sound like a totally bad idea. If it was the personalities that the actors brought to the roles that made it successful then why cannot it work the same way with some really good casting?
However, there are some solid reasons for concern. One is that the original creative team wasn't consulted, or even contacted, for this new version. Another is that while The Office is sort of a universal context (almost everyone works), SPACED is based on a very specific view coming from characters created and acted by the same people, and shot a very specific way with a unique style. If you just looked at the general concept for SPACED, a group of friends/roommates hanging out and having adventures, you'd see that it's not that different from shows like Friends or Seinfeld. It's the specifics that make SPACED, so either the US producers are going to try and ape them and (likely) fail, or alter it so much that one would be left to wonder why they bought the property in the first place.
Another reason for the pessimism is that fans of shows don't like those shows being remade or continued without the original creators (or sometimes even with the original creators) because they love the original and don't want any new material to come along and sully the reputation/memory of the original via association. Then there are other fans who think anything other than the original is inferior simply because it's not the original.
Finally, some people are just generally pessimistic about remakes in general, since probably 90% of them are crap. Ironically, most original series are 90% crap as well, but people seem more willing to give original material the benefit of the doubt than they are remakes/spin-offs/etc.
The proposed US version of SPACED is hardly unique in this regard. The US version of The Office had plenty of hate spilled on it before it premiered, and the pilot episode of that show didn't help assuage many people's apprehensiveness about it:
Will NBC ever Learn - a US version of the office
American Version of 'The Office' a Let-down
The recent announcement of a spin-off to the US Office has generated a similar reaction:
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=515934
11-04-07, 03:45 PM
#45
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by Jay G.
'We never say never in terms of that...there's not going to be a third season, it would be silly now. It would be ten years since the first season, so I think the only option would be to do something that sort of like catches our heroes ten years later.'
11-05-07, 09:29 PM
#46
DVD Talk Reviewer
Thread Starter
"Spaced" featured a lot of movie parodies. And they weren't necessarily the newest or most famous movies. They were just movies that the creators thought were awesome. It seems unlikely that the American show would be able to resist spoofing current, popular movies as opposed to actual favorites.
11-06-07, 04:27 AM
#47
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Originally Posted by sb5
They already did, last year (Teachers - US version). It was on on NBC for 6 episodes before it got canceled.
03-04-08, 01:47 AM
#48
DVD Talk Reviewer
Thread Starter
Variety reports that Fox snagged this as a potential new show, officially, I guess.
Luckily we get the series in R1, at long last!
Luckily we get the series in R1, at long last!
03-17-08, 06:05 AM
#49
McG Remakes Brit Classic Spaced
Just read the following article over at Aintitcool.com
Link: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/36016
Well i have been a fan of this show since it first aired and feel that it has only gotten better with age. To read that of all the people in Hollywood to try and remake this ground breaking TV show for American audiences is going to be McG is totally disheartening. And not only that, but he along with the studio involved have blatently taken the whole concept, ideas and brilliance of the show without the involvement of the original team behind it. Whist i am not surprised by this (as Hollywood seemed to run out of good ideas a long time ago) i cannot believe that they are so stupid. Why would they not want to get the original team involved? Money i guess is the simple answer. This was a show that didn't need to be remade...it was perfect. Why not commission another series or 2.....now that i would be happy with. The original team back and providing us with brilliance in writing, acting, directing, editing, music choice and tickling our funny bone all the while.
To end i would like to say that McG is a talentless dick of biblical proporsions. I would say that he can go screw up the Terminator franchise and leave this alone...but someone beat him to that instead. Maybe he should just do "Charlies Angels 3: Satans balls Sucker"
Link: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/36016
Well i have been a fan of this show since it first aired and feel that it has only gotten better with age. To read that of all the people in Hollywood to try and remake this ground breaking TV show for American audiences is going to be McG is totally disheartening. And not only that, but he along with the studio involved have blatently taken the whole concept, ideas and brilliance of the show without the involvement of the original team behind it. Whist i am not surprised by this (as Hollywood seemed to run out of good ideas a long time ago) i cannot believe that they are so stupid. Why would they not want to get the original team involved? Money i guess is the simple answer. This was a show that didn't need to be remade...it was perfect. Why not commission another series or 2.....now that i would be happy with. The original team back and providing us with brilliance in writing, acting, directing, editing, music choice and tickling our funny bone all the while.
To end i would like to say that McG is a talentless dick of biblical proporsions. I would say that he can go screw up the Terminator franchise and leave this alone...but someone beat him to that instead. Maybe he should just do "Charlies Angels 3: Satans balls Sucker"
03-17-08, 06:54 AM
#50
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
McG is behind two of TV's best shows - Supernatural and Chuck. Because of that, I can give him a few free passes to see what he can do with other stuff.