The British Are Coming!

Two years ago I conducted a little experiment. To test George Bernard Shaws theory that England and America are two countries separated by the same language I had a few of my transatlantic friends watch the then cult British sit-com The Office. It went down very well, and George Bernard was exposed as the liar we all knew him to be. Two years later The Office is a double Golden Globe winning success, the show on the lips of every sit-com savvy American.

Unfortunately, The Office is a miserly twelve-episodes-plus-one-Christmas special long. So in the name of transatlantic charity I decided to repeat my experiment with some other cult British favourites in an attempt to find the next The Office, this time using the highly scientific show of hands method. I rounded up five American passport holders, plugged in the DVD player, and did me some science...

Show: I'm Alan Partridge (BBC)
The sit: Steve Coogan plays inept former chat show host Alan Partridge, whose show was cancelled after he accidentally shot a guest live on-air. After this bombshell, his wife divorced him, forcing Alan to become the only permanent resident of the Linton Travel Tavern. From here he plots his return to television in this brilliant spoof of the tragedy that is minor celebrity.

A Bit Like: Imagine a Larry Sanders spin-off revolving around sidekick Hank Kingsley and youre halfway there.

Panel Reaction: Some of Alans awkward social interaction pleased the panel, his delusions of grandeur reminding them of The Offices David Brent. However, they were left underwhelmed by the look of the show and the constant references to D-list British celebrities left our panel confused.

Quote From The Panel: If I was channel surfing and saw this I'd go right past it. Maybe they should brighten up the set.

The Next The Office? Not likely. Despite being arguably the most similar in tone, it requires a first-hand knowledge of mediocre British celebrities. If this show was aired, the networks would also have to run The Terry Wogan Show, Tonight With Des OConnor, and so many other horrors that the bad would far outweigh the good. Two votes out of five.
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Show: Men Behaving Badly (BBC)
The sit: Martin Clunes and Neil Morrissey play Gary and Tony, two thirty-something men whove never quite grown up. Despite his immaturity, Gary is in a long-term relationship while Tony lusts after the girl upstairs. The result is many a late night drunken conversation, mostly about boobs. Bizarrely, this is the most mainstream of all the contenders.

A Bit Like: Seinfeld without the intelligence or Married With Children with added intelligence, depending on which way you look at it.

Panel Reaction: Provided constant chuckles without ever progressing into gasping-for-breath laughter or rewind that bit hilarity. The panel eventually warmed to the cast of characters, despite initial hostility to their lack of good looks.

Quote From The Panel: Both of these guys need a haircut, and they need to straighten up their apartment.

The Next The Office? Not original or different in the way The Office was, and American audiences could be forgiven for switching over when confronted with Martin Clunes big ears. Incredibly, the show was remade by NBC with Rob Schneider taking one of the lead roles. Not so incredibly, it bombed. One vote out of five.

Show: Red Dwarf (BBC)
The sit: Stranded aboard a spaceship three million light years from earth, Craig Charles plays the last remaining human Dave Lister. His only company is his holographic ex-roommate, a fashion obsessed life-form evolved from a cat, the ships senile computer and a soap opera loving service robot. Wackiness ensues in the worlds first ever and only sci-fi sitcom. Barmy but brilliant, the early years featured comically low budget sets but priceless writing.

A Bit Like: The film Galaxy Quest with Tim Allen, but on a fraction of the budget and with a much sharper edge.

Panel Reaction: Listers Beatles-esque Liverpudlian accent made a good impression, but the panel found the concept of a sci-fi sitcom difficult to take to. As with Alan Partridge there were a few jokes at the expense of British celebrities that were met with a confused silence, and the sets provided a source of unintended amusement.

Quote From The Panel: It looks like a childrens show that someone made in their garage.

The Next The Office? Probably not. As with all things sci-fi Red Dwarf has attracted a small cult fan-base in America, but its unlikely to earn a wider audience. Was mentioned on Buffy: The Vampire Slayer.' A US pilot was made (penned by Malcolm In The Middle creator Linwood Boomer) but was reported to be so bad it was never screened. A lowly one vote out of five.
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Show: Spaced (Channel 4)
The sit: Bizarre flatshare comedy starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson as underachievers in their late twenties. Tim is a comic book store (assistant) manager with ambitions to be a graphic designer and a morbid fear of dogs. Daisy is a would-be journalist who is yet to have an article printed. Their friends and neighbours are a scary mix of middle-aged alcoholics, army rejects and conceptual artists.

A Bit Like: Originally pitched to British networks as a cross between The Simpsons, The X-Files and Northern Exposure, Pegg admits it doesnt resemble any of these. Now labelled a show about everything it does resemble the famous show about nothing, but in a studenty kind of way.

Panel Reaction: The panel weren't sure what to make of this. Many of the jokes hit the mark and the numerous movie references (from Star Wars to Dont Look Now) are clever but the characters that belong in institutions made our panel a little uneasy.

Quote From The Panel: They look like people you would avoid in Rite Aid.

The Next The Office? A real original, the surreal humour could earn Spaced a dedicated fan base but the genuine creepiness means it is unlikely to hit the mainstream. Bravo actually aired 4 episodes in April 2002 but cancelled it, and for some reason John Woo owns a copy of Season 2 Episode 5. A cautiously optimistic three votes out of five.

Show: The Royle Family (BBC)
The sit: The Royles (get it?) are a working class family from a housing estate in Manchester. The entire show takes place in their living room where they sit, watch TV and (occasionally) talk. Ricky Tomlinson plays pater familias Jim Royle (pictured in his favourite chair) whose catchphrase My arse! took Britain by storm around the turn of the millennium. Cultural commentators who noted the post-modernity of audiences watching the Royles watching TV were not as insightful as they imagined themselves to be.

A Bit Like: If Samuel Beckett wrote an episode of Roseanne while drinking tequila.

Panel Reaction: Our panel had their illusions of tea with the Queen Britain shattered by Englands favourite unemployed family and were not too taken with this previously undisclosed side of British life. The jokes were appreciated but didnt come thick and fast enough for the panel.

Quote From The Panel: They just sit there.

The Next The Office? Doesnt look like it. However, in 2001 plans were announced to adapt The Royle Family into an American show called The Kennedys (about a blue collar family living in Boston). The idea was so lazy they didnt even think up a pun for the title and unsurprisingly The Kennedys never made it to air. An unhappy one on the Brentometer.
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Show: Black Books (Channel 4)
The sit: Dylan Moran (pictured) plays Bernard Black, the alcoholic misanthropic proprietor of Black Books. This is a man so grumpy he forbids the use of the word 'party' as a verb. Undaunted, relentlessly optimistic assistant Manny (Bill Bailey) and needy shop-next-door owner Fran (Tamsin Greig) attempt to persuade Black to socialise, which more often than not ends badly.

A Bit Like: If Ted Dansons Becker started going to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

Panel Reaction: Very popular with the panel. The surreal humour presented in a simple way was appreciated by all. Worryingly, they found Bernards alcoholism and gloomy disposition hilarious.

Quote From The Panel: Genius! was one panel members very enthusiastic response.

The Next The Office? Possibly. The shows popularity came as a real surprise given its odd tone, but it really packs a lot of jokes in there because of the rapport between Dylan Moran and Bill Bailey. A Friends-threatening four out of five votes.
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Show: Phoenix Nights (Channel 4)
The sit: Peter Kay plays Brian Potter, wheelchair-bound owner of the worst nightclub in Northern England. At the fire-prone Phoenix nightclub he books acts that Broadway Danny Rose would steer clear of, while engaging himself in a battle of wits with Den Perry, owner of a rival nightclub.

A Bit Like: Ironside meets The Office in a nightclub, plus a Cheers like battle with a rival establishment.

Panel Reaction: Quite positive, although they found the broad Northern accents tough to understand and the less-than-photogenic cast a bit of a turn-off.

Quote From The Panel: What did he say? Is this in English?

The Next The Office? The humour is there and Peter Kay is a Ricky Gervais type genius but the accent could be a big problem. Remember when Oasis had to be subtitled on The Letterman Show? A promising three votes (would have been more if not for the accents).

So, what have we learned from this little experiment?

First, the look of most British shows is not that to which American audiences have grown accustomed; some of the sets look like theyre made from cardboard (and some of them are). The Office had a cheap set but it was just an office, not a spaceship as with Red Dwarf. Similarly, the panel were taken aback by the hideous appearance of British comedians. Good looks may be crucial in grabbing the attention of channel-surfers, or the results may be indicative of our panel members shallow souls. Either way, you cant hold up the cast of Men Behaving Badly (see picture) next to the cast of Friends without feeling theres something wrong. If Matthew Perry joined the Men Behaving Badly cast hed be the good looking one.

The Royle Family proved American audiences prefer a high ratio of jokes per minute, not people sitting around eating Kit-Kats in-between saying My arse! Although The Office didnt pack in joke after joke, the laughs were big and always worth waiting for. Im Alan Partridge suggests that a show based on the trivial aspects of a foreign culture can never be too popular abroad. The beauty of The Office is that almost everyone can relate it to their own experience.

Finally, the unexpected popularity of Black Books suggests that you never can tell. Maybe George Bernard Shaw was right, after all there was an awfully long gap between Benny Hill and The Office. Realistically, its more likely that the American networks will continue their policy of re-casting and re-making popular British shows rather than letting Americans see the real thing. The latest news is that the next The Office is actually going to be The Office USA, with Steve Carell behind the desk as David Brent.

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