God save the remote

The past few days have certainly made it apparent that fall is in the air. The golden days of early autumn, sunny and sweet, have truly spoiled us. It's a wonderful time of the year when you don't need to run the air conditioner or the furnace. Blissful times of low utility bills.

But, sooner or later, reality rears its ugly head and the golden days become brown and cold. Time to begin spending more time indoors. Time to read, work on interior home improvement projects, time to watch television.

Television is one of my vices. I watch too much of it, and getting a digital video recorder (DVR) a while back has fed my habit. DVR is a wonderful thing, you can tell it to record episodes of your favorite programs to be stored and watched when nothing else worth watching is on TV.

One of the channels I enjoy watching is BBC America. The British sense of humor is a bit drier than ours, and they produce some compelling dramas as well. For two years, I watched a police drama called "Life on Mars" about a detective that was struck by a car and wakes up in 1973. Very entertaining, well written and acted.

A week ago, I saw the American version of "Life on Mars." The location had been changed to New York from London, and the cultural references had been changed, including the music (which was one of the best parts of the original). I was intrigued to see how well it would translate.

It really didn't for me. I learned that originally, it was to be set in Los Angeles and produced by David E. Kelley, who does "Boston Legal." His pilot was scrapped and the entire thing was redone. The new pilot was a shot by shot copy of the British version. Camera angles, lighting, everything.

This whole British TV to American TV got me thinking, then researching. It's amazing how many programs we are watching today got their start in Mother England.

Here's a brief list of programs that are airing now: "The Office," "Antiques Roadshow," "Trading Spaces," "Hell's Kitchen," "American Gladiators," "American Idol," "What Not to Wear," "Wife Swap," "Supernanny," "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," and two other new shows this fall: "Worst Week," and "Eleventh Hour."

It makes one wonder if there are any original ideas left. Whatever happened to good old American television? You know, like "Sanford and Son" or "All in the Family."

Yep, both were British first.

"Three's Company," "Welcome Back Kotter," both wonderful 1970s sitcoms.

Sorry, both were British first.

So, besides declaring our independence and saving them during World War II, it seems that much of our pop culture comes from Mother England.

It doesn't always translate. NBC, one of the most egregious "borrowers" of British TV, tried to adapt a popular BBC sitcom, "Coupling," in the 1990s. Sort of a "Friends" type show, but everyone was either sleeping with or wanting to sleep with someone in the group of friends. The show was adapted and cast, a pilot made and then scrapped. Recast again and given "Friends" as a lead-in. Cancelled after four episodes.

Some shows, I believe, never will be able to make the transition. BBC has a show called "Top Gear" that I began watching on the suggestion of my son-in-law. Three hosts review new cars, celebrities come on to drive a race course in the fastest time and some silly stunt is always done. One episode had the trio converting a car into a space shuttle type glider and attempting to launch it into orbit -- it exploded after lift off. Another episode had a man run through London, racing a car. The runner won, due to the congested traffic.

NBC (big surprise) is currently developing an American version. I predict a huge flop. The charm of the British show is the personalities of the hosts.

It's somehow sadly ironic that we declared our independence over 200 years ago only to still be a part of the empire every night on television.

As always, I welcome your comments. You can reach me by email at tstangl@lemarscomm.net, telephone 712-546-7031, x40 or toll free 1-800-728-0066 x40.

Thanks for reading, I'll keep in touch. Feel free to do the same.