How to Remake it in America
Reviewed: The Killing (Thursday, Channel 4)
Well, well, well; what have we here? There has been a trend in recent times of American TV copying shows from other countries. It’s nothing new, really, as the concept stretches back at least as far as All in the Family and Archie Bunker, who was a 1970s’ American take on the BBC’s Alf Garnett, a racist West Ham fan dreamed up by Johnny Speight and made real by Warren Mitchell in Till Death Us Do Part.
But where there was once a trickle, there’s now a considerable stream – and some of the shows have proved hugely successful. The US Office springs immediately to mind. And while Ricky Gervais’ original may have attained instant legendary status, Steve Carrell’s American version has lasted a hell of a lot longer, and even survived Carrell’s departure.
Less successful, though was Worst Week, an American version of the BBC’s Worst Week of My Life. It only lasted one season, despite a great chemistry between Kyle Bonheimer and Kurtwood Smith. The problem wasn’t the show’s cast, but its very limiting premise: what can go wrong for a couple in the lead-up to their wedding.
More recently, MTV has been working on an American version of teen drama Skins, while another big Channel 4 hit, Shameless, recently crossed the Atlantic, with William H Macy in the Frank Gallagher role.
Fans of BBC FOUR will have been aware of, and most likely watched, the Danish whodunit Forbrydelsen, which was screened earlier this year. A darkly atmospheric piece – like a cross between Ingmar Bergman, David Lynch and the Coen brothers - it was the kind of show that gradually sucked you in rather than grabbed you like, for example, recent American cop show imports such as Blue Bloods, Detroit 1-8-7 or The Chicago Code.
Thankfully, the American version, retitled The Killing, has stayed quite loyal to the original (or so I’m told as I never saw it), although that will be of no matter to most viewers, who wouldn’t be too pushed about watching the original anyway.
Cleverly replacing its glum Danish location with Seattle, which comes across as a wet and miserable place, the pace and feel of the show is very different to mainstream American whodunits: there’s absolutely no sense that anyone’s in a hurry, and the clothes are more jumble sale than designer labels. Mireille Enos is solid as the main detective, Sarah Linden, but Joel Kinnaman is great as fellow cop Stephen Holder. Is he a good cop, a dodgy cop, or a pragmatist who realises that broken eggs = omelettes? Even more impressive is Michelle Forbes (Homicide: Life on the Streets, True Blood) as Mitch Larsen, the mother of the teenage girl whose murder is central to the show.
So it’s another three cheers for the remakes, and an overdubbed copy of The Ring to the begrudgers.
New this week
The Corrie Years (Wednesday, UTV)
Even non-soap fans could get sucked in by this three-part series that focuses on 50 years of storylines which have been major talking points throughout the history of Coronation Street. It promises to touch on the plots and characters that have made headlines and courted controversy, broken new ground in television drama, challenged taboos and reflected the changes in society which have occurred since the very beginning of this very British soap in 1960. Narrated by David Morrissey, the programmes will exclusively feature previously unseen footage, cast interviews both past and present, as well as classic highlights from the show.
The opening episode is subtitled The Headline Makers and concentrates on stories that over the past five decades have made the headlines. These include the 1963 story of factory worker Sheila Birtles, who was meant to commit suicide; Deirdre Barlow’s affair in 1983 with Mike Baldwin; more recent stories such as Sarah Lou’s Baby and Sally’s cancer battle.
A must for all Corrie fans, it would also be a superb introduction to the show for anyone else.
The Hour (Tuesday, BBC TWO)
Romola Garai, Dominic West and Ben Whishaw star in this new, Mad Men-ish drama which takes viewers behind the scenes of a British broadcast news room. It’s June 1956. Alexandra Palace, London, and BBC reporters and soulmates Bel Rowley and Freddie Lyon have had their fill of covering dull and predictable stories in the newsreels. When Bel is approached by Clarence Fendley to run a new weekly current affairs show called The Hour, she spots an opportunity for her and Freddie to make the kind of ground-breaking news show they’ve always wanted.
Stars Go Racing (Wednesday, RTÉ One)
This year’s summer reality show on RTÉ sees a variety of celebs (Linda Martin, Jean Byrne, Mike Denver etc) venture into the world of horseracing, learning the ropes with trainers and pitting themselves against each other to see who has the greatest horse power.
Ending this week
The View Presents James Ellroy (Tuesday, RTÉ ONE)
In the final of this excellent (if rather short) series of interviews, John Kelly ends on a really high note chinwags a true modern literary great, James Ellroy, AKA the demon dog of American crime fiction. Elroy’s probably best known for his LA quartet series of books: The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential, and White Jazz. He also has fascinating personal life.
Repeat of the Week
Sherlock (Wednesday, BBC ONE)
Well worth another look, this fine reinterpretation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary sleuth was one of the Beeb’s greatest ventures of recent years. If you missed it first time around, you’re in for a treat.
Hidden Gem of the week
Castle (Tuesday, RTÉ One)
We complained about the timing of this fun show before, but sure no one listens. The wonderful Nathan Fillion (Buffy, Desperate Housewives, Firefly) strolls through the set as Rick Castle, a crime novelist suffering from writer’s block who gets to hang with NYPD homicide cops because he’s mates with the Mayor. In this week’s episode it’s a race against time for Beckett and Castle as they try to solve a child kidnapping case.
Worth waiting up for
Bad time. Great show.
The United States of Tara (Thursday, RTÉ Two)
Toni Collette is fantastic in this occasionally uncomfortable, but often fascinating comedy-drama about a woman who’s suffering from a multiple personality disorder. Created by Diablo Cody (the brains behind Juno), Tara Gregson is a Texan-based wife and mother of two children who takes on any of a number of alternate personalities when she’s stressed, ranging from a wild and flirty teenager to a loud, beer-guzzling Vietnam vet. RTÉ are currently airing the second season, so hopefully they’ll also show the show’s third and final season. TUST isn’t one of the greatest shows ever made, but it’s adventurous and certainly different – and it’s got John Corbett. Mike and Molly it ain’t.
Guest stars of the week
The Rob Brydon Show returns to BBC TWO on Friday and his first guests include The Script, Matt Lucas and ventriloquist Nina Conti. Elsewhere, Michael J Fox returns to the small screen and makes a big impact in The Good Wife (Thursday, RTÉ Two) as brilliant disabled attorney, Louis Canning. On Monday’s Who Do You Think You Are? USA, actress Gwyneth Paltrow is the focus of a family tree investigation.
Casting Couch Corner
Who’s heading to what show
Former Absolutely Fabulous star Jane Horrocks will return to the small screen in the autumn on Sky One’s new comedy Trollied. It’s about a fictional budget supermarket in the north west of England, its bored checkout staff, ineffectual managers and wide range of customers. . .
Former X-Files star Gillian Anderson returns to Dickens once more next Christmas. After her previous role in the Beeb’s recent Bleak House adaptation, she will play Miss Havisham in a three-part adaptation of Great Expectations. . .
Fresh from his recent BBC role in Case Histories, Jason Isaacs will star in a new US drama called Awake, an Inception-style thriller about a cop (Isaacs) who regains consciousness after an accident to find himself living in two separate realities. . .
Sat Nav
Satellite Highlights
Body of Proof (Tuesday, Alibi)
Dana Delany left Desperate Housewives to take the lead role in this very watchable procedural drama about a neurosurgeon who becomes a medical examiner after a car accident leaves her suffering numbness in her hands. It’s like a cross between House and CSI and the impressive cast includes Geri Ryan (of Star Trek: Voyager fame) and Sonja Sohn (Kima from The Wire).
The Cape (SyFy)
This superhero caper about a cop who becomes a masked crimefighter is a mess from start to finish, but worth watching just to see geek fantasy girl Summer Glau (Firefly, Sarah Connors, Big Bang Theory)and former footballer Vinnie Jones (Wimbledon, Leeds) involved in one of the worst shows ever to get greenlighted. Yep, it’s Batman & Robin bad.
What You Watched
RTÉ’s top 20 programmes (viewed as live) for the week ending 19.06.2011
Figures in multiples of a thousand (eg: 500 = 500,000)
RTÉ One
1 Fair City Tuesday 534
2 Saturday Night with Miriam Saturday 514
3 Gran Torino Wednesday 449
4 Prime Time Thursday 447
5 The Consumer Show Tuesday 427
6 Prime Time Tuesday 419
7 The Frontline Monday 417
8 Fair City Wednesday 409
9 Fair City Sunday 399
10 The Big Money Game Saturday 393
11 EastEnders Tuesday 387
12 Health of the Nation Wednesday 359
13 EastEnders Thursday 356
14 Feargal Quinn's Retail Therapy Sunday 350
15 Off the Rails – The Complete Collection Wednesday 350
16 EastEnders Friday 347
17 Fair City Thursday 345
18 EastEnders Monday 337
19 Creedon's Retro Roadtrip Sunday 315
20 School of Rock Saturday 298
Tuesday’s edition of Fair City knocks Miriam O’Callaghan off the top with an impressive week-on-week rise of 68,000. It’s unusual for a film to make the top ten, never mind the top three, but that’s what Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino managed with a massive 449,000 viewers. Elsewhere, Feargal Quinn's Retail Therapy and Creedon's Retro Roadtrip both saw a sizeable slump in viewing figures.
RTÉ Two
1 The Saturday Game Saturday 365
2 The Sunday Game Live Sunday 206
3 Blue Bloods Tuesday 203
4 Hollywood Homicide Thursday 172
5 CSI Wednesday 167
6 The Sunday Game Sunday 166
7 Home and Away Thursday 144
8 Home and Away Wednesday 141
9 Blue Bloods Tuesday 139
10 Home and Away Friday 139
11 Livin’ with Lucy Tuesday 138
12 Home and Away Tuesday 127
13 Home and Away Monday 124
14 CSI Wednesday 117
15 Criminal Minds Monday 113
16 Tin Cup Saturday 111
17 The Simpsons Wednesday 108
18 The Walking Dead Monday 102
19 The Savage Eye Monday 96
20 The Big C Friday 94
The total number of viewers is down, but the GAA championship remains the channel’s biggest draw. Blue Bloods continues its rise, moving from six to three and breaking the 200,000 barrier – but the night’s second programme in a double bill only managed 139,000. Elsewhere, CSI also lost viewers over the course of a double bill, while it’s a clear indication that it’s a summer slump as The Savage Eye repeat and The Big C both made the top 20 with less than 100,000 viewers each.
John Byrne
