And this is what the TARDIS looks like:



I looked up a Wikipedia article on the police kiosks that have been used in Doctor Who since 1963.
While the police call box kiosk is apparently unique to Britain, they did show an example of an American
call box based on the British precedent. Since this was in Barry Levinson's home town of Baltimore, I made
the joke that this was going to be the basis of an American Doctor Who.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_box

It is smaller on the inside.

doesn't Japan have something similar to a police call box in cities?
I faintly remember that being a word I learned in Japanese class and promptly forgot
Tarudisu, perhaps?

An American remake of a British import that has been doing fine in the US for years.



And I have yet to sit down and watch an episode of any of the various incarnations of DW.

Ehh, I'll just wait until the American version comes out.

It's good common sense to never make an American version of Doctor Who. but since Hollywood has no common sense, you know it isn't for lack of trying. The UK and USA have been stealing TV shows from each other for years, usually making inferior ripoffs on both sides. I think the US has a worse record though.

I do think that the big problem that the US producers have never been able to get past is the look of the Tardis. There really is no suitable American equivalent to the Police box. That certain size, the uniquely American item that you can walk into yet can't see into. Phone booth? Nope, all glass. Porta-potty? won't sell unless it's a full blown comedy and that's no good for their purposes of catching the same audience---and I don't believe it's uniquely American anyway.

I wager that that's the stumbling block they just can't get past. 'Cuz you know they've been trying.

Despite the fact that they were literally retooling scripts from the US version, I liked Law & Order: UK.

Chris, I was joking about Barry Leninson producing a U.S. version of Doctor Who. He is producing "Copper" for BBC America. I think the Paul McCann 1996 TV movie for Fox would have become the pilot for an American-based TV series if it had got better ratings.

Rick Landeen, since when is All In The Family an inferior rip-off?

Since he said "usually".

There is talk about a theatrical Doctor Who movie but I'll believe it when I see it. Here is more interesting news---there is going to be a TV movie this year not about Doctor Who but "Doctor Who"---the creation of the original TV programme itself.

http://www.nerdist.com/2012/08/doctor-w ... r-in-2013/

Interesting. I would watch that.

Yes, the McCann version was definitely geared for the American market. Personally, I rather despise American companions. It seems forced, and I don't like UK actors using phony US accents. Altho sometimes it is unintentionally hilarious. Like US versions of UK accents.

Yeah there have been some successes---law of averages if nothing else. One bizarre grouping that comes to mind though---"Coupling" was a Moffat show that was clearly based on "Friends" and I thought was very good. But then the US did their own version of "Coupling" (?) and it sucked beans. They just don't know when to stop....


As far as the Doctor Who movie---very bizarre animal in its own right. The Moff and the BBC insist that if there ever was a movie, it would feature the current Doctor---yet it's a catch 22 as they're usually busy filming the series and wouldn't really have time for a movie unless they took a year off, which would deprive us of the show. 'Course, the argument could also be made that they've spread one series across two years right now and thus might have said time.

but then you've got the popularity timing. A new doctor comes in, you've got to let him get accepted or more popular, get a running start before you put him in a big movie, yet after a couple years, the incumbent's always looking to move on to another role. If it ever does happen, it'll be tricky.

Or just do the movies unconnected with the TV show and reimagine the whole thing for feature films. With alternate dimensions and all, if they ever wanted to mash the two franchises together, they could.

I missed the joke. What the hell is wrong with me?

Well, they DO say right there on the sign at the 7-11 that they are for TOBACCO USE ONLY!

Colin Ferguson (Eureka's Sheriff Carter) thinks the lack of success had to do with it trying to stick too closely to the British show instead of playing to the strengths of the cast.

And he's probably right. If you set out to make a copy, then it's never going to be as good as the original. When they brought Being Human over, most of the cast and crew made a point of not watching very much of the UK version. The show-runner stopped after the first season and I think most of the cast only watched the first couple of episodes. Even though the US show apes the first year of the UK show, they're two very different beasts... if only because the US show takes those first seven episodes (counting the un-aired pilot) and stretches them out to 13 episodes. The second year forges its own path.

Sanford & Son, All In The Family, and Three's Company are all highly successful UK-to-US adaptations which pretty much threw everything out but the core premise.

And US Coupling had a great cast, with one notable exception.

US Steve - Jay Harrington, great in Better Off Ted
US Susan - Rena Sofer. RENA SOFER, forchrissakes!
US Patrick - Colin Ferguson - The sheriff on Eureka
US Sally - Sonya Walger, great on Lost and Flash-Forward (With UK Steve, Jack Davenport)
US Jane - Lindsey Price, Annoying sex kitten since her days working for Aaron Spelling

Which leaves us
US Jeff. I can't remember his name or anything else he's done. He was awful. They should have just cast another Mad Welshman. He was supposed to be zany. Let him be Welsh and zany.

Keith makes a good point and if the BBC did do a movie franchise set in a different reality I kinda think it would be excellent. I mean, each film could be vastly different and the Doctor could regenerate at the end of each film. Part of the surprise---and I do think they could pull it off---would be who he regenerates into at the end. AND there wouldn't have to be any limit of incarnations. Warner bros or some other studio wants another Harry Potter? Bingo. Keep the casts British though and stick with the Police box, keep those recognizable elements and have fun.

The Office I would argue also fits along these lines. The pilot was an almost word for word remake of the British one, but from the second episode onward they forged a new path and let the characters develop in their own way.

I know there was some criticism of The Office for sticking too close to the UK version in its first season. Once it found its own voice, even the Brits enjoyed it.

Being Human and Life on Mars both suffered a bit from Redux Syndrome in their first season. Being Human lasted long enough to escape its influences, while Life On Mars got cancelled before it could produce any original episodes.

I think the US Office was much better than the UK version in the end. I don't think the UK version could possibly have chugged along on the path it took for very long. It was a nice, short run in the end. Kudos to the US version for staying the course and being so original with so many great characters that basically wrote themselves and producing a quality show up until Michael left anyway.