Comments on: Law & Order: Unsafe vs American Dream & Buried vs. In Memory Of…

By: One-Ten

One-Ten — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:27:17 +0000

@Gridman There seems to be a mania for re-envisioning right now. Anything that can be described as a reboot or reimagining (anything but a remake, basically), from Batman and Bond to Star Trek etc. I guess it’s easier than thinking of something new.

I don’t have a problem with it if it adds something. But as you say there has to be a benefit over watching the original (and not just because it’s in colour/in your own language/set in your own country, either!)

L&O has, I’m sure, been described by Wolf as a “brand”. It’s not a description I like (I’d rather be a viewer than a consumer) but if the qualities are great performances and great writing as well as the destinctive storytelling style, then L&O UK was always destined to be somewhat watered down since the writing could only echo what had already been done, better, fifteen years before.

By: Simon Wood

Simon Wood — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:27:00 +0000

By: One-Ten

One-Ten — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:21:39 +0000

Hi Stuart. I totally agree with you; I’d have liked a series in the L&O universe, using the L&O style, but with original London stories. Remaking just invites (unfavourable) comparison (an invitation I couldn’t resist, too). And it would have been nice to have cross-overs.

Curious about the German version, though. I didn’t know they’d tried doing spin-offs in other countries too. Any details? Did they remake scripts there, or create originals?

Love Feeling Listless, by the way.

By: Simon Wood

Simon Wood — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:21:00 +0000

Curious about the German version, though. I didn’t know they’d tried doing spin-offs in other countries too. Any details? Did they remake scripts there, or create originals?

Love Feeling Listless, by the way.

By: Gridman

Gridman — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 02:24:10 +0000

You really have to wonder why programs are re-made or re-envisioned. Similar to what you’re describing here, there was a recent )now mercifully cancelled) US version of Life on Mars which was completely without the benefit of anything that could recommend it over the original.

(And do not get me going on the 2002 BBC version of Hound of the Baskervilles with Richard Roxburgh. What were they thinking?! )

By: Lone Locust

Lone Locust — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 02:24:00 +0000

(And do not get me going on the 2002 BBC version of Hound of the Baskervilles with Richard Roxburgh. What were they thinking?! )

By: Stuart Ian Burns

Stuart Ian Burns — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 22:02:16 +0000

Chris Chibnall strikes again then?

The first episode of this seemed workmanlike and a bit disappointing — with a decade or so worth of stories they decided to launch with one about dodgy heating. I’ve got the other four waiting on my PVR and I’ve not heard anything which would make me want to watch them.

Actually the only thing which would probably make me want to watch another episode would be a Munch cameo — it happened in the German version I think.

It seems to me that it would have been a much better option to keep the structure but write original scripts covering topics that are specific to UK law and courts. Sounds as though so much effort is being made to convert the original script inevitably leading to something being lost in translation.

By: Stuart Ian Burns

Stuart Ian Burns — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 22:02:00 +0000

Chris Chibnall strikes again then?

Actually the only thing which would probably make me want to watch another episode would be a Munch cameo — it happened in the German version I think.