Fox Remaking SPACED?  With McG?  Ugh.

Reader Comments

1. sarkoffagus 10/30/2007 @ 5:44am

   McG sucks at just about everything he McDoes. “Spaced” is a terrific show. Why does it have to be redone? Just grab DVD copies of Series 1 & 2 and watch them over and over again. Classic!

2. Ard Vijn 10/30/2007 @ 9:01am

   According to Edgar (writing on his blog) Simon Pegg wasn’t contacted either…

3. Rhythm-X 10/30/2007 @ 10:58am

   Total horses**t.  I don’t subscribe to the knee-jerk McG hatred that seems to be the usual reaction to the mere mention of his name - I thought the first CHARLIE’S ANGELS film was quite good for what it was, though the sequel just didn’t work - but this is a really, really awful idea.  If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it - and SPACED is about as far away from “broke” as it gets.  The only good thing I can say about this is that it might lead to some much-deserved US exposure for the real show.  I know plenty of people who got into THE OFFICE (UK) after seeing the American version.

   Of course, with the crap writers of the crap WILL AND GRACE on board, it might have the opposite effect.  Actually, I’ll cut this rant short because just thinking about SPACED in the hands of anyone involved with WILL AND GRACE makes me very, very depressed.  Hopefully it A: never makes it to air or B: it’s cancelled after a week or two.

   This is the single most upsetting thing I’ve ever read on Twitch.

4. logboy 10/30/2007 @ 11:01am

   if you look at edgar wrights blog you’ll quickly get a sense that, even though it’s reasonably frequently broadcast on american tv, america at large has a similar atitude to british comedy as it does towards foreign films. there’s a small audience for it, but unless it’s americanised, it simply isn’t acceptable.

5. Swarez 10/30/2007 @ 11:53am

   Never understood the McG hatred. I love the Charlies Angels films but I have never seen any of the TV shows he’s behind.

   As for Spaced, I’m ashamed to say (at least on this site) that I have never gotten in to that show. I tried and it just didn’t work for me. That’s why Shaun of the Dead was such a pleasant surprise.
   But the remake doesn’t bode well for me, I love Will and Grace but somehow I don’t think this will work, unless the writing is stellar and the cast supperb.

6. Andrew Cunningham 10/30/2007 @ 1:25pm

   McG’s pilot for Chuck was fantastic work. His sensibilities are probably a better match than most.
   Not that it’ll be good, but less because of McG and more because it’s a show without a high concept that executives and audiences can understand.
   But if it clears the way for the original to finally come out here? Necessary evil.

7. Collin Armstrong 10/30/2007 @ 1:43pm

   I’m not a McG hater per se - I’ve enjoyed some of his work (esp. the first CHARLIE’S ANGELS).  I just can’t see this working - SPACED had such a perfect storm with casting, writing, directing.  Its more gonzo elements - part of what really charmed me - seem apt for fumbling.  Guess we’ll see.

8. ChevalierAguila 10/30/2007 @ 10:48pm

   So, people like matrix-esque annoying tricks? bad humour? idiotic characters? That would be the only reason why someone would like Charlie’s Angels, both films, because they were exactly the same damn thing.

9. Swarez 10/31/2007 @ 2:34am

   Yebb and they are hugely entertaining. They know they are stupid and that’s why they work as fun popcorn flicks that will take about 90 minutes of your time.

10. Ard Vijn 10/31/2007 @ 5:04am

    I’m with Swarez on this one.

    And bad humour is actually an artform in itself, because with the jokes being lousy you’ve only got timing left to work with.

    I’m convinced McG made exactly the movies he wanted to make, so I commend him for that. The only thing you can rightfully argue is that his tastes differ from yours.

11. sarkoffagus 10/31/2007 @ 5:30am

    You can actually “rightfully argue” anything you’d like since arguments are typically based on feelings and opinions. For instance, I can argue that whether or not you like McG, it doesn’t change the fact that remaking SPACED is a waste of time for everyone. Why can’t they just steal the idea and call it their own? Then they won’t risk soiling the name of a great British TV show.

12. Swarez 10/31/2007 @ 6:25am

    No they only risk getting sued by the BBC. That will work out great for everyone.

    You can’t say it’s a waste of time until you’ve seen it. Sure it sounds pretty iffy right now, but miracles do happen now and again. I’m just not sure that it will happen this time because it’s a very British show but maybe the pop culture referenses will translate well.

    But hey, maybe it will be so good it will get canceled right away like most good shows do.

13. Ard Vijn 10/31/2007 @ 6:47am

    Sarkoffagus says something interesting though: why didn’t they just steal the idea?

    Seriously, what makes Spaced so special? It’s the combination of cast, crew and location, and that’s all being changed for this remake.
    Surely it’s not the idea: bunch of diverse people live together in a house. Some of these people are friends, some of them fake being friends, some of them are slackers, intense, or all of the above. Mayhem ensues…

    I mean, that could be said of almost every sitcom, even some other British ones. It surely isn’t the story or the character names which made it brilliant? Change the names and there is nothing left to sue about!

    You’d get the same if the BBC would try to make an English version of Seinfeld. It wouldn’t work, although you could easily make a funny sitcom about a thirty-something bachelor yupping it up with his friends, provided you find the right comedians. Just don’t call them “Jerry” and “Kramer” and you should be scott free.

    And that’s just Sitcoms.
    It also amazes me when I hear people buy the remake rights to films as the Korean “Daisy” or Johnny To’s “Exiled”.

    What the hell are you going to remake about those if you change the cast and location?

14. Kurt Halfyard 10/31/2007 @ 7:48am

    well said Ard/

15. sarkoffagus 10/31/2007 @ 7:58am

    Ardvark, I completely agree.

    I mean, what exactly are they wanting to remake? The zany characters? The quirky sense of humor? The insane plots? All of the above? You can actually recreate all of that without a “Spaced” remake. Just take the basic premise of a man and a woman feigning an intimate relationship to rent an apartment and go from there. For us, it’ll be apparent that they’re ripping off “Spaced”, but most people won’t be aware of that, and legally there’s nothing BBC can do.

    I really think they just want people to associate a classic show with theirs, meaning that if “Spaced” was exceptional then it’s American counterpart must be as well. Perhaps if they just started from scratch with a similar idea, then they’d have their own series, no affiliation with “Spaced” and less of a chance of pissing off “Spaced” fans.

    But Swarez is right. Maybe, just maybe, it’ll be good. But it can also be good without being a remake.

    And on behalf of “Spaced” fans, I’d just like to end by saying: “Hello, Brian.”

16. That Jason Guy 10/31/2007 @ 8:52am

    Sarkoffagus, I literally laughed out loud at your Marsha reference! A classic example of an actor taking a mundane line of dialogue and making it come alive. Spaced is a brilliant series that was a perfect storm of talent both in front of and behind the camera. At the end of the day, an American remake, whether sublime or subpar, won’t change that for me. I mean, does anyone care or even remember the American attempt at cloning Fawlty Towers?

17. Ard Vijn 10/31/2007 @ 9:09am

    They did WHAT!!??!

18. Swarez 10/31/2007 @ 9:18am

    Well the show wasn’t just about friends living together in a house. The main draw to it were the pop culture referenses, fantasy sequenses that made the show funny for people out there. I don’t think you could simply steal that and say you thought of it yourself. Especially now after the show is a hit.

19. Swarez 10/31/2007 @ 9:22am

    Ard. Yeah a couple of years ago they did remake Fawlty Towers in the US. Can’t remember what it was called there but it wasn’t that great. But mainly because of the total failure of the main actor to match John Cleese’s comic genius. That show was great ONLY because of Cleese and nothing else. Without him it would have been a run of the mill farce sit com.

20. Swarez 10/31/2007 @ 9:49am

    Well Sarkoffagus might be right.
    I just saw an ad for a new show, internet only I think, called The “IT Room” about a group of IT workers in a big company. Nerd humor galore and a monkey.
    Sounds and looks awefully like the IT Crowd, aside from the monkey.

21. That Jason Guy 10/31/2007 @ 10:23am

    Swarez, I’m pretty sure “The IT Room” is just a marketing campaign for Dell computers very thinly disguised as a web-series. Looks more like a malformed hybrid of The Office and those old Jimmy Fallon SNL sketches than a ripoff of The IT Crowd.

    You may be slightly optimistic to learn that Richard Ayoade will be reprising his role as Moss, but I’m not holding my breath for this one to be any good. Besides, there’s a possibility NBC is going to pull the plug on it before it’s even aired:
    http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i8cf59c5ed3dd83b7701493d4698eecb9

    Oh, and I was wrong in my earlier post, apparently America has tried and failed to remake Fawlty Towers not once, not twice, but three different times:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fawlty_towers#Remakes_and_inspiration

22. Collin Armstrong 10/31/2007 @ 10:38am

    Something that won’t translate because of fundamental difference in the ways American and British TV enterprises operate is that the BBC frequently commissions shows which are designed to run a set arc (6 / 12 episodes).  American shows are commissioned to go for the brass ring - syndication (as many episodes over as many years as possible). 

    SPACED didn’t feature the tightest arc over its run, but it did grow its characters and showcased the evolution of Tim and Daisy’s relationship, bringing things to a sensible conclusion in a sensible amount of runtime (I’d sight the original OFFICE as an example of a series which played an arc to perfection across its run).  Think about all the superfluous directions long-running dramatic / comedic American programs take - FRIENDS and FRAISER come to mind very quickly. 

    SPACED’s creators worked their limits to the fullest while providing an actual closed-end story over the show’s run - not just 30 minutes of disconnected laughs each week.  That attitude goes out the window from day one in America.

23. harper2007 11/07/2007 @ 1:22pm

    I noticed people here saying how they risk the wrath of the BBC. No they don’t.
    Spaced was comissioned and funded by Paramount UK, LWT productions for the Channel 4 Television Corporation.
    Now from the comments I can only assume that this is shown on BBC America (Im in UK so i dont know). They don’t own the rights anyway.
    If something goes so incredible wrong as to ruin the heritage of spaced, they will have Paramount down their thoats....followed by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg.

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