Yes, as long as BBCA keep showing UK Top Gear, other channels can show as many different versions of it as they want! And who knows, maybe some of it will be good.
I have to admit that the American version of Being Human does it right. They took the set-up and some of the storylines, and created a different show. Because they're allowing (I would even say encouraging) the characters to be different from the UK version, there's no "they didn't reproduce that correctly" problem. My only issue with it is that they use just enough of the UK storylines to make me constantly second-guess what's going to happen next. Sometimes a plotline will resolve in the same way (and they're a season or two behind), but sometimes the outcome is completely different. And sometimes I feel like the producers are doing it on purpose, playing with the expectations of those of us who've seen the UK version. The fiends!
I do occasionally have trouble with the accents on British television, so I can have some sympathy there, but I think Top Gear is easy for most Americans to understand. It's also not what I would call a dialogue-dependent show. If you miss a joke about Richard Hammond, does it really matter? But oh well. I do miss the days when everyone on Doctor Who spoke with an RP accent, though, because so much of that dialogue is important, and I don't always catch it all. But regional accents are interesting, too. And the best way to learn to understand them is to hear them. It doesn't hurt to be reminded that there are other places in the world, either.
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dancing_serpent
(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-21 07:56 pm (UTC)I have to admit that the American version of Being Human does it right. They took the set-up and some of the storylines, and created a different show. Because they're allowing (I would even say encouraging) the characters to be different from the UK version, there's no "they didn't reproduce that correctly" problem. My only issue with it is that they use just enough of the UK storylines to make me constantly second-guess what's going to happen next. Sometimes a plotline will resolve in the same way (and they're a season or two behind), but sometimes the outcome is completely different. And sometimes I feel like the producers are doing it on purpose, playing with the expectations of those of us who've seen the UK version. The fiends!
I do occasionally have trouble with the accents on British television, so I can have some sympathy there, but I think Top Gear is easy for most Americans to understand. It's also not what I would call a dialogue-dependent show. If you miss a joke about Richard Hammond, does it really matter? But oh well. I do miss the days when everyone on Doctor Who spoke with an RP accent, though, because so much of that dialogue is important, and I don't always catch it all. But regional accents are interesting, too. And the best way to learn to understand them is to hear them. It doesn't hurt to be reminded that there are other places in the world, either.