Uni research project

I'm doing a research project comparing British and American sitcoms and I need as many opinions as I can get. If you could complete this (very) basic survey it would be very much appreciated.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FGWHNJ7

Thanks

Done it

Done

Done! A nice easy one too, ace.

Done, Darren...dude...danke!

Thanks a lot for the responses.

Thanks a lot for your replies to this. This project has developed quite a lot since then. Without wanting to be a nuisance, I've created a new survey. It's short and basic, filling it out would be a great help and would be very much appreciated.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NDGL596

Thank you.

Did the most recent one.

Done.

You should clarify your questions though, by defining your terms. EG:

4. In your opinion are American remakes of British sitcoms:
Always Necessary etc.

Necessary for what? The sitcom market to thrive? For American audiences to get quality shows on air? For Brits to be annoyed by mangled translations?

On question 10... the really big difference between US and UK sitcoms (which you fail to list as an option in your survey) is that UK sitcoms are typically 6 episodes long, and three series is considered a hit (ie. 18 epiodes total) whereas a US sitcom has to get into syndication with >80 episodes minimum in order to be a financial hit.

THAT is a big difference to bear in mind when adapting a UK show for the US. In terms of THE OFFICE, which you reference, you see a lot more screentime devoted to an expanded office cast in order to create the depth and variety of stories needed to get to >22 half-hours per season.

Hope this helps!

I think the idea that British shows need to be remade for an American audience is generally way off base.

Many British shows become quite popular over here on their own, where many remakes are horrible flops. Coupling is a good example; the original gained popularity when it aired on TV, the DVDs were popular, and the remake was terrible. Are You Being Served? has aired on practically a daily basis since the 1980s on my local PBS station and is still very popular with viewers. Keeping Up Appearances, Father Ted, Monty Python, Blackadder, Mr. Bean, and As Time Goes By have all been really successful on it as well, among others.

British dramas do quite well here as well. Downton Abbey is a huge success here even though the broadcast is delayed until long after it airs in the UK. Many people have already watched it through other sources before it airs on PBS, yet it scores really well in the ratings.

Done again!

Quote: FracturedMirror @ March 11 2013, 6:43 PM GMT

I think the idea that British shows need to be remade for an American audience is generally way off base.

Many British shows become quite popular over here on their own, where many remakes are horrible flops. Coupling is a good example; the original gained popularity when it aired on TV, the DVDs were popular, and the remake was terrible. Are You Being Served? has aired on practically a daily basis since the 1980s on my local PBS station and is still very popular with viewers. Keeping Up Appearances, Father Ted, Monty Python, Blackadder, Mr. Bean, and As Time Goes By have all been really successful on it as well, among others.

View original

There's a big distinction to be made though. There's a healthy but limited market for those shows on the slightly more obscure and local stations, but for mass appeal, popularity, and network broadcast, they really do need to be remade.

Quote: Aaron @ March 11 2013, 9:41 PM GMT

There's a big distinction to be made though. There's a healthy but limited market for those shows on the slightly more obscure and local stations, but for mass appeal, popularity, and network broadcast, they really do need to be remade.

View original

See, I believe that if more British shows were given a chance on more mainstream networks they could be major hits. Not very long ago TV Guide had a vote for a fan-choice cover feature, and Doctor Who won. Downton is a huge success, drawing tons of viewers and being nominated for many awards over here. Game Of Thrones a tremendously popular, and while not technically a British show it features mainly British actors. Merlin has been quite successful on SyFy.

I really think it is a great time for a network to give a real shot to comedies due to the popularity of the dramas. People are quite receptive to "Britishness" in their shows right now.

Sorry, I haven't been online for a while. Thanks a lot for the replies, this has been a great help.

Quote: LeChinf @ March 11 2013, 1:31 PM GMT

Done.

You should clarify your questions though, by defining your terms. EG:

4. In your opinion are American remakes of British sitcoms:
Always Necessary etc.

Necessary for what? The sitcom market to thrive? For American audiences to get quality shows on air? For Brits to be annoyed by mangled translations?

On question 10... the really big difference between US and UK sitcoms (which you fail to list as an option in your survey) is that UK sitcoms are typically 6 episodes long, and three series is considered a hit (ie. 18 epiodes total) whereas a US sitcom has to get into syndication with >80 episodes minimum in order to be a financial hit.

THAT is a big difference to bear in mind when adapting a UK show for the US. In terms of THE OFFICE, which you reference, you see a lot more screentime devoted to an expanded office cast in order to create the depth and variety of stories needed to get to >22 half-hours per season.

Hope this helps!

View original

Thanks for the feedback, I will consider these points in my project. That is a good point about the number of episodes. The options that I had put were all related to different parts of my research but this hadn't come up. I may put in a section about this now. Thanks a lot.