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Big news from JMS by late June or so

Re: Fawlty Towers (was Re: Big news from JMS...)

Wasn't it JoBeth Williams and John Laroquette? I think it got pulled in even less than six weeks. It was awful.

That was the one. Laroquette played a character named Royal Payne, which should give you a good idea of where the series was headed right there. That was also the show's original title, but I believe they cut that to just Payne, which is what the audience was feeling. I usually like John Larroquette (and JoBeth Williams, who I forgot was even in the thing), so I'm sure I watched the pilot, but the sheer awfulness of it must have caused me to repress all memory of the event. The fact that I also forgot Julie Benz was in the show will give you an idea of how really bad it must have been.

According to the IMDB 9 episodes of the thing were shot, and 8 of them aired in March and April of 1999. There is no air date listed for the 9th show. Not sure if it means it never aired or if the IMDB contributor just couldn't find the air date.

The American version of Coupling not only made it past the pilot, it made it on the air. They seem to have commissioined a number of scripts, then shot them out of the intended air date order. In any event the IMDB lists episode 0 (Original Pilot), then episodes 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, and 11 for a total of 7 shows, only 3 of which have air dates listed on IMDB.

On the other hand, the American version of The Office seems to be doing well. (I've never seen either version, so can't comment on quality.)

Regards,

Joe
 
Re: Fawlty Towers (was Re: Big news from JMS...)

Julie Benz was in it?? I don't remember that either. I assume she was playing something like Connie Booth's "Polly" role. Unless she was so young she was playing one of their kids or something...
 
Re: Fawlty Towers (was Re: Big news from JMS...)

I assume she was playing something like Connie Booth's "Polly" role.

That's my assumption as well. Like I said, I barely remembered the show and didn't remember Julie being in it at all until I looked it up on the IMDB and saw to my surprise that she was listed.

The sad thing about the show is that Larroquette is actually one of the few American actors I could see playing a version of the standard Cleese physically imposing and very straightlaced "executive" type who is actually barely containing a volcanic rage. Cleese played many variants on this part in Python and Fawlty was a version of the character who couldn't quite repress his rage. With a good script I think Larroquette could do something similar while making the character his own. He didn't win all those Emmys for Night Court for nothing, and he was brilliant in the short-lived John Larroquette Show. But we'll never know. :)

Some British shows did seem to make the Atlantic crossing OK ('Til Death Do Us Part morphing into All in the Family and Steptoe and Son becoming Sanford and Son) but those were cases where basic situations and character types were transplanted to specifically American millieus and personalities. Carol O'Connor wasn't simply playing his Briitsh counterpart with an American accent, which is what too many of the more recent shows have felt like. Also the Lear "comedies" often got by more on their contemporary references and manufactured controversy than by the brilliance of their humor. That's why most of them are so dated and unwatchable now, unless you happen to remember all the minutiae of the 70s, and why their tone seems so shrill. I wonder if their British originals have suffered the same fate.

Regards,

Joe
 
Re: Fawlty Towers (was Re: Big news from JMS...)

John Cleese made a small fortune over the years optioning Fawlty Towers to various American stuidos and TV networks, none of whom got past the pilot stage. They found the series just didn't translate to an American setting or work without Cleese himself, so they gave up. All excpet the last studio who actually got a series on the air and proved that the concept didn't work in an American setting and without Cleese himself. I think it lasted about six weeks.

Wasn't it JoBeth Williams and John Laroquette? I think it got pulled in even less than six weeks. It was awful. One of the biggest problems was that in the American version, the Fawlty character didn't truly hate his wife. That gutted one of the funniest premises of the original series, IMHO.

Amy

I seem to recall an American Fawlty Towers starring Bea Aurthur, where she used the putdown "Never mind him, he's from Toronto." (I kid you not)
 
Re: Fawlty Towers (was Re: Big news from JMS...)

I seem to recall an American Fawlty Towers starring Bea Aurthur

Amanda's Place, from 1983. (A.KA. Amanda's - all of these shows had multiple titles, which is usually a sign that a desperate network is trying to "rebrand" them to increase ratings.)

Arthur played the owner of a seaside inn somewhere in New England. (Which may explain the Toronto jibe - maybe that's a real put-down in parts of Maine or New Hampshire. :)) I'm not sure if this was an official adapation of Fawlty or just what is sometime referred to as a "blantant rip-off" because the IMDB carries no "based upon" credit for John Cleese and Connie Booth, which would normally be there. Unless, of course, they saw the pilot and wisely sued to have their names removed.

For those keeping score at home, Amanda's Place was the second of three Fawlty-inspired series that made it on the air in the U.S. The first, from 1978, was Snavely (aka Snavely Place and Snavely Manor - see comment above.) It starred Harvey Korman and Betty White as Henry and Glady Snavely. The IMDB has almost no details about the series, but I'm guessing this was an actual legal adapation of Fawlty. In any event there is a character called "Petro", who I'm guessing was their version of Manuel, and what seems to be the "Polly" character played by Connie Booth is named "Connie" - which is either an adaptor's tribute of a thief's incredible display of chutzpah. :)

Regards,

Joe
 
Re: Fawlty Towers (was Re: Big news from JMS...)

John Cleese made a small fortune over the years optioning Fawlty Towers to various American stuidos and TV networks, none of whom got past the pilot stage. They found the series just didn't translate to an American setting or work without Cleese himself, so they gave up. All excpet the last studio who actually got a series on the air and proved that the concept didn't work in an American setting and without Cleese himself. I think it lasted about six weeks.

Wasn't it JoBeth Williams and John Laroquette? I think it got pulled in even less than six weeks. It was awful. One of the biggest problems was that in the American version, the Fawlty character didn't truly hate his wife. That gutted one of the funniest premises of the original series, IMHO.

Amy

I seem to recall an American Fawlty Towers starring Bea Aurthur, where she used the putdown "Never mind him, he's from Toronto." (I kid you not)
In the spanish version of of Fawlty Towers,which is dubbed into spanish,Manuel is South American.I think it was Brazil.
 
"Nerd Prom" has been circulating around a bunch of message boards for the last 4-5 years. My favorite, however, is "Nerdi Gras."
 
Re: Fawlty Towers (was Re: Big news from JMS...)

Wasn't it JoBeth Williams and John Laroquette? I think it got pulled in even less than six weeks. It was awful. One of the biggest problems was that in the American version, the Fawlty character didn't truly hate his wife. That gutted one of the funniest premises of the original series, IMHO.

Amy

It was definitely John Laroquette, but I don't have a clue who the female star was; it was that unmemorable. I watched because I love Fawlty Towers, but that show didn't resemble Fawlty Towers in the least.
 
Re: Fawlty Towers (was Re: Big news from JMS...)

Y'know, sometimes they really shouldn't try; they should just pick the original thing up and import it straight. Sure, some of the British-specific gags in "Coupling" eleuded me... but it's still the funniest and sexiest show I've seen.
 
Re: Fawlty Towers (was Re: Big news from JMS...)

It was definitely John Laroquette, but I don't have a clue who the female star was; it was that unmemorable. I watched because I love Fawlty Towers, but that show didn't resemble Fawlty Towers in the least.

it was definitely JoBeth Williams. I didn't remember her being in it either, but when I looked the show up on the IMDB, I and saw that Amy was right. :)

Joe
 
Re: Fawlty Towers (was Re: Big news from JMS...)

Trust Amy, trust yourself. Anyone else - shoot. :)

Might not be a bad motto over on the mod, these days. ;)

Joe
 

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