In the process of looking for examples of television character cliches, I became entirely engrossed in one of my favorite shows ever, "Sanford and Son". The comedy ran from 1972 to 1977, starring the late comedian Redd Foxx, as "Fred Sanford". Fred was an old curmudgeon who lived amongst junk with his uptight son Lamont, played by Desmond Wilson. Ted Turner was obviously a fan as well because it ran in syndication heaven on his TBS network for years.
All this time I thought this hit show was completely original. But recently, I found out that, lo and behold, "Sanford and Son" was remake of a British sitcom, "Steptoe and Son". And what was it about? An old lovable curmudgeon who lived amongst junk with his uptight son.
"Sanford and Son"circa '77, and "Steptoe and Son" circa '62
American television history owes a lot to those damn Yankees. American versions of British shows have been so much of a staple in programming that it's become practically a television cliche in itself- The American Version of a British Series Cliche. Even now, we have made hit copycat versions out of British imports like "The Office" and most recently, Showtime's "Shameless"-the original British version being nominated for the very distinctive BAFTA(British Academy of Film and Television Awards).
The '70s seemed to have had a British invasion of sorts with three hit shows being British copies, eventually becoming classics in retro television. Admittedly, it kinda hurt when I learned that an American classic "All in the Family", was the copy version of a British hit. The pain subsided, however, when I experienced the British show has the same successful elements that makes the American version a classic.
"All in the Family" circa 1972, and British classic "Til Death Do Us Part" circa 1965
Bigotry knows no boundaries...
"Man About the House", is another British classic from the 70s, repackaged for American audiences with the wildly successful "Three's Company" that ran from 1977 to 1984.
"Man About the House" pilot, 1977...
It's pretty telling that we tend to look towards the Brits to inspire our creativity. And that our versions are pretty watered down to accommodate our American sensibilities. But at least we have good taste.
There are other worthy Brit shows with American versions. Maybe next post, we'll take a trip across the waters to explore.
Cheerio!
