A British version of Married with Children? Why did I never know about this?
Only lasted for seven episodes but apparently they use the same scripts as Married with Children. Names are changed and they localise stuff, though.
The intro is the same. House layout is reversed, which is kind of odd.
The Bud character is awful. They got the most posh kid they could find. It's a problem for all of the characters, I suppose there aren't many working class actors, but Bud is far and away the worst.
That episode is a remake from a Married with Children first season episode from 1987. So nearly 10 years earlier. I don't know. That might have made it seem dated.
Also, Married with Children takes place in Chicago. I can't figure out where Married for Life takes place. I think that they mentioned the town in this episode but I couldn't make it out.
This is some slow viewing. I had to stop at the intermission. I guess in 1996, people had fewer options. This was on ITV, apparently.
You can watch the Married with Children episode here:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x62qnxm
The British one seems to follow pretty closely. Interesting to note the differences, though. Not just cultural stuff but they change jokes, and never for the better. Also, the pacing seems much better in the US version. I guess that they had to pad things out in the UK version because there are fewer commercials.
Apparently, there are also Russian, Belarusian, Spanish, and Argentinian versions of the show. But I'd be shocked if those could be found online and certainly not translated.
Still, it makes me wonder about other shows that had British counterparts. I know about Man About the House and Steptoe and Son. But what others?
Here's a list:
https://www.imdb.com/tv/uk-to-us-tv/ls064966224/
There were two Fawlty Towers remakes. Never heard of either of those and I don't like the British one anyway.
There was a Porridge. I never saw the original.
These are all American remakes of British shows. I want to see the reverse.
I guess that doesn't fit the narrative of Americans ripping off "great" British television shows.
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