Sherlock Creators Not Pleased About CBS's New Show
- Thread starter vansau
- Start date
I think the legal discussion here is getting out of hand. The real thing for me is the total lack of respect that CBS obviously has for its rivals and viewers. "Hey, this did pretty well, lets order the same thing, mere weeks after the original [I mean this purely in this context, I know this by far not the original Sherlock TV series] one has been aired, for our corporation"
Might be good, might be bad. Don't think they'll be able to get the balance on Sherlock's character if it's based in the US. They had to get Hugh Laurie for House...
Speaking of which...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_House#Parallels_to_Sherlock_Holmes
Might be good, might be bad. Don't think they'll be able to get the balance on Sherlock's character if it's based in the US. They had to get Hugh Laurie for House...
Speaking of which...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_House#Parallels_to_Sherlock_Holmes
Please... don't mention the American remake of Red Dwarf ever again; I only have so many blood vessels left in my head.The_root_of_all_evil said:
It's times like these when I come across a fun TV series made in America and I get the sick feeling that it was already done in the UK. Not to mention probably done better.
That's the US networks for you.
CBS would do itself a favor by just coughing up the license fees and give Sherlock a US broadcast avenue that's not cable. Both the BBC and CBS would win from that arrangement. Why, you might ask?
Martin Freeman.
He is going to be a household name this year with The Hobbit, and that is one main reason why people will be watching Sherlock and not Elementary.
That's the US networks for you.
CBS would do itself a favor by just coughing up the license fees and give Sherlock a US broadcast avenue that's not cable. Both the BBC and CBS would win from that arrangement. Why, you might ask?
Martin Freeman.
He is going to be a household name this year with The Hobbit, and that is one main reason why people will be watching Sherlock and not Elementary.
Because, as evidenced by CBS's request for an American version of the BBC show, CBS is doing this to cash in on the American market, NOT because a creator came to them with an original idea... And when a show is trying to become big and or make a name for itself, the US market is VERY important, and if you don't know why Moffat and Vertue were uninterested in working with CBS to make an American version see Coupling: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emk8VASgs8c thats the US one, here is the British one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRuZFszOUW4&feature=endscreen&NR=1GiantRaven said:
As you can see CBS doesn't know how to translate Moffat's work.
So yeah, CBS saw Sherlock got dollar signs in their eyes tried to license a US version, failed and are now trying to steal away the US audience from the original in order to make a buck.
THAT is where the problem lies.
( and no I am not hating on CBS just because, I watch a number of shows on that channel, I just have a weirdly in depth knowledge of the past relationship between the studio and the creators of the BBC Sherlock show. Basically it was a fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me situation, and the creators took Pete Townsend's words to heart.)
I honestly don't think they need to worry. If CBS does their own updated Sherlock, it won't make it very far, with or without legal battle. People really like Sherlock, I don't think it's the kind of popularity you can expect to get a piece of with such an obvious rip-off. Imagine if another TV-network tried to make their own adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, how well would that fare?
I mean, this is the show that made most Internet critics retroactively change their mind about the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes movie in between its release and the release of the sequel. That's how much people like Sherlock, you don't mess with that kind of popularity, not if you expect to get away with it.
I mean, this is the show that made most Internet critics retroactively change their mind about the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes movie in between its release and the release of the sequel. That's how much people like Sherlock, you don't mess with that kind of popularity, not if you expect to get away with it.
I honestly don't have an issue with BBC shows being remade in the US for American audiences. The reason being primarily that there are in fact cultural differences between the US and the UK. So it is feasible that sometimes, what works for audiences in the UK doesn't work at all in the US. A BBC show may have a great premise, but many of the elements don't work in the US. This is where a re-make comes in. This idea of remaking Sherlock sounds kind of rediculous, though. How can they Americanize him? If he doesn't have an English accent, and isn't operating out of London, he's not really Sherlock Holmes now is he?
EDIT: I know I do go on for a page at a time sometimes, but I at least try to break it up and put a few opinions forth, it's not all just a single aimless rant! 
I do wonder if it's the 'QI problem' where, and I know it was only suggested but not confirmed, but QI wouldn't get bought for the US market, because they thought Americans wouldn't have any interest in some TV show that told you facts n stuff. Which, I should state my opinion, is bloody ridiculous, and a sure sign of the pitifully low opinions TV execs have of the viewing public.
Why else do they need to remake so many great shows, US shows do just fine in the UK and vice versa, people WILL watch a show with actors using different accents. I understand that maybe 'Roy' has a strong Irish accent for the US market, but apart from that, there shouldn't be any difficulty in enjoying the original, instead of hurling millions at remaking it.
Also, I believe that it's partly the stupid level of model worship going on in US TV. Over in the UK, if someone's good at their job, we tend to let them on TV, tho it is slowly getting worse, with pushing out older female talent in news shows etc. Maybe they think a UK cast is just too hideous and deformed to be on TV, and thus need to recast it with Jersey Shore rejects to make it palatable to the viewers.
Finally, I think there's just a core problem with TV in general, that a show that is mediocre, but innoffensive and appealing to a wide audience, will always get more viewers than a truly brilliant show with a less wide appeal. This means it's in the makers interest to make dull, by the numbers, easily consumable entertainment that doesn't make anyone have to think, over something that'll truly engage the viewer.
for example, QI, a massively successful show, nevertheless started out tucked away on BBC 4, their arts and documentary channel. 'Come Dancing', where D list celebrity jiggle about to badly reworked 'hits' instantly appeared in a prime time slot on BBC 1, their main channel. Don't get me wrong, it's popular, and it's 'good' at what it does, but there's no aiming high involved.
I know I said 'Finally' but another example just came to me. BBC just reincarnated 'Room 101', where special guests would talk about things they hated, and it used to be half an hours banter between the host and guest. The remake is now a 3 guest panel show, 'because panel shows are popular'. This dilutes the input of everyone, and really doesn't give you a chance to get to know the guests, while being more expensive to make and less enjoyable. All because 'Mock the Week is popular, make more panel shows'.
I unfortunately don't see a fix for this.
I do wonder if it's the 'QI problem' where, and I know it was only suggested but not confirmed, but QI wouldn't get bought for the US market, because they thought Americans wouldn't have any interest in some TV show that told you facts n stuff. Which, I should state my opinion, is bloody ridiculous, and a sure sign of the pitifully low opinions TV execs have of the viewing public.
Why else do they need to remake so many great shows, US shows do just fine in the UK and vice versa, people WILL watch a show with actors using different accents. I understand that maybe 'Roy' has a strong Irish accent for the US market, but apart from that, there shouldn't be any difficulty in enjoying the original, instead of hurling millions at remaking it.
Also, I believe that it's partly the stupid level of model worship going on in US TV. Over in the UK, if someone's good at their job, we tend to let them on TV, tho it is slowly getting worse, with pushing out older female talent in news shows etc. Maybe they think a UK cast is just too hideous and deformed to be on TV, and thus need to recast it with Jersey Shore rejects to make it palatable to the viewers.
Finally, I think there's just a core problem with TV in general, that a show that is mediocre, but innoffensive and appealing to a wide audience, will always get more viewers than a truly brilliant show with a less wide appeal. This means it's in the makers interest to make dull, by the numbers, easily consumable entertainment that doesn't make anyone have to think, over something that'll truly engage the viewer.
for example, QI, a massively successful show, nevertheless started out tucked away on BBC 4, their arts and documentary channel. 'Come Dancing', where D list celebrity jiggle about to badly reworked 'hits' instantly appeared in a prime time slot on BBC 1, their main channel. Don't get me wrong, it's popular, and it's 'good' at what it does, but there's no aiming high involved.
I know I said 'Finally' but another example just came to me. BBC just reincarnated 'Room 101', where special guests would talk about things they hated, and it used to be half an hours banter between the host and guest. The remake is now a 3 guest panel show, 'because panel shows are popular'. This dilutes the input of everyone, and really doesn't give you a chance to get to know the guests, while being more expensive to make and less enjoyable. All because 'Mock the Week is popular, make more panel shows'.
I unfortunately don't see a fix for this.
All I heard was "Whine whine whine! Boo Hoo! We stole the idea from someone else, but we damn sure don't want anyone ELSE stealing it!"
I realized earlier tonight that there's been an American, modern day, Sherlock Holmes series for the past several years. It's called Psyche.
Hmmm. I believe that either CBS will quietly forget about this, or the courts will allow them to continue in their plans. I'll be fine with the first, as I quite enjoy Sherlock, but I remain cautiously optimistic about Ameriholmes. After all, it could be good... Maybe... Kidna... A little?
Come on CBS, no one's gonna watch it anyway, because we all know everybody loves Benedict Cumberbatch [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPpYDHQVp9c]
Anyways, even though it isn't impossible to call dibs on an unoriginal idea, if the CBS version is too similar, we can cry about it.
Anyways, even though it isn't impossible to call dibs on an unoriginal idea, if the CBS version is too similar, we can cry about it.
