OFTEN IMITATED, NEVER DUPLICATED

When, oh, when are we going to learn that we Americans haven't successfully copped a British TV show since Sanford and Son? Late last night, I caught a few minutes of NBC version of the BBC comedy Coupling. Can we say, "horrible"? They tried so hard, too. But it just isn't the same. Picture the horror of British phrasing being used by Americans. It'd be better if they at least tried to fake the accents. NBC put Queer Eye right from Bravo -- why not do the same with Coupling rather than do such a crappy remake? The sets even look mostly the same, for pete's sake. Big corporation like NBC could roll over PBS in a second, couldn't they? Not that I'd ever advocate that. But, I just hate seeing a great show f**ked up like that.