Adaptation

Since the U.S. made its version of the popular BBC comedy, “The Office,” a widespread argument on Internet chat boards has gone from friendly disagreements to almost insanely hostile arguments.
There are some shows where the adaptation into other cultures has worked fine. The American “Office” was good for about four seasons. The original only had two.
But it still made for a good sitcom in an era when most comedies on TV rely on goofy premises and over-the-top characters.
A few months ago, I watched the BBC’s “Being Human.” Normally, any show with a premise about a vampire, werewolf and a ghost sharing an apartment would drive me into a rage.
But I gave it a chance, and surprisingly, it was pretty good.
Then I saw the U.S. version.
Wow, they took a show I enjoyed and completely stomped on it. Took a well- written show with good characters and turned it into some sort of weird “Twilight” rip-off.
I know some people will defend the American version, but I simply can’t. It’s bad. SyFy has delved into some mindframe were their programs have to be in the same vein as other popular shows/movies. Remember “Star Gate Universe?” It destroyed the quirky humor and tried to make it like “Lost” meets “90210.” And it got cancelled right away, as it should have.
As should their take of “Being Human.” They tried, but failed. This is one of the few times in pop culture I will not sit in the middle and argue both have their merits, like I did back in 2005 with the American “Office.”