if you've seen grace point is broadchurch worth watching?
I saw GP..loved it, is Broadchurch the same..? Or can I pick up at season 2 ?
shareI've yet to understand US need to remake same thing that has been already made. If you liked copy, normally original is better. Least been case with the Bridge (be noted US Bridge was good too. but was too 1:1 of EU one) and most other remakes from EU TV shows.
shareFrom what I heard, it was money. (Big surprise.)
Had Fox TV simply licensed Broadchurch, all income resulting from it would have gone back to ITV and Kudos. By making their own version, Fox got to retain those royalties. Of course there weren't that many because Gracepoint crashed in the ratings in North America and failed to garner much of an audience elsewhere.
This is the moment when I should slap my forehead and say : Duuuh. I do not mind when show is inspired and customized for region its shown (it happens a lot in Europe too, so I cant just say US is copycats), but I often get amused, when you can just put both shows run on two screens and say its pretty much the same to the point of dialogue. I didn't realize remaking is that much more profitable or worth doing it.
I personally know very few shows that have good remake, but then again there are flops like "Sherlock in new york" that tries to copy BBC Sherlock and fails so miserably that i almost felt sorry for the crew making the US version. I am aware that IMDB rates that US copy relatively high, but if you compare to BBC's modern sherlock and quality the difference is clear.
Perhaps the potential profitability is unique to the US when it comes to remaking a show that was already done in English. I know there's a huge American fanbase for UK shows, but there are also a lot of viewers who won't watch foreign shows for one reason or another. Series like Downton may get through because they're set in the past and it's a lifestyle that doesn't really exist anymore.
I used watching Gracepoint as an interesting study in US writing and production vs UK. I did often pull up both shows side-by-side on my computer screen and compared the same scene as done in Broadchurch vs Gracepoint. So I found a reason to enjoy watching all of Gracepoint (other than getting to see David Tennant). In the end, watching them side-by-side exposed the poor choices the US writers, producers and directors made in ordering scenes, directing the actors, shooting cinematography and rewriting dialogue as compared to the British team.
I've yet to see Gracepoint, but since a local channel shows Broad on good time (at evenings, when i feel a bit of idle on my sofa with tea), I do not want to see Grace because of possible spoilers or the confusion seeing them side by side might cause.
But why wouldn't american viewer watch British show ? is it due visual language, spoken language, spacing, layers and way the story is represented ? I do understand why they made above mentioned "The bridge" because by all means subtitles is an alien life form for many people. But why refuse show in same language based on same premises. Or is it also american viewer in a way demands (from their POV) more politically correct cast, own slang and dialects or location they need to identify with ?
Certainly the swearing was a problem for the US. Even the word bloody was not allowed.
But that took a lot of colour out of the script. Compare Alec Hardy bellowing "Bloody Twitter" to Carver screaming "Who told that journalist?" Just not the same.
Sadly, I've seen some awful comments about Olivia Colman's looks and I fear that may have been the main reason they didn't bring her over to reprise Ellie Miller. After all, Chris Chibnall had Olivia in mind when he wrote the character and thought it was a pipe dream they'd get her. She was cast before David Tennant. But then she wasn't even asked to be in the US remake. To underline the point, the Gracepoint producers didn't try to cast a somewhat look alike as they did with Beth and with Susan Wright. They went for a statuesque blond. But what a loss!