McSpaced...Just say NO!

I'm sure that the world and their uncle have heard about this travesty. But I still feel that I need to put my thoughts across. The makers of Will and Grace have got the rights to reproduce Spaced for an American audience. The problems are immense - firstly, they have not asked advice or even acknowledged the creators of the original programme. The only time that they have used their names was to try and sell the idea, in which they piggybacked the success of Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright in their PR stuff. Even worse than this, they seem to have forgotten that Jessica Hynes (nee Stevenson) co-wrote it.
I think it is this that has upset everybody the most; if they wanted to create it like The Office US style, that would be bad enough. But this is downright rude and wrong!
Edgar says "Simon, Jessica and Nira are not involved in any way, shape or form.

And neither do we want to be.

That show was very personal to us.

It's about Simon and Jessica, not just some format or high concept.

It pains me to see it reduced to this...

'Single-cam half-hour revolves around a young man and woman who pose as a couple in order to rent a cheap apartment.' "


Simon says "As far as remaking TV shows for different territories is concerned, I don't have a problem. The Office remake being a perfect example. Yes, the original British version is a wonderful and compact piece of comedy writing and performance, but I think it's bit much to expect a large scale American television audience to fully relate to the minutiae of day-to-day business life in an obscure British suburb. I'm sure if you're reading this, you are the type of person who takes pleasure in the variety of entertainment you enjoy, relishing the differences between our various cultural touchstones but there is a massive audience out there, which perhaps isn't as culturally savvy (euphemistic phrase for 'geeky') as we are and need their signifiers to be a little more familiar. So, Slough is replaced by Scranton, and the office archetypes become a little more archetypal to an American audience. The spirit of the show remains intact. The performances are uniformly great and the show scores big ratings and wins EMMYs, whether we as comedy purists prefer the original or not. The success of the remake is born out by it's undoubted success and appeal.

My main problem with the notion of a Spaced remake is the sheer lack of respect that Granada/ Wonderland/Warner Bros have displayed in respectively selling out and appropriating our ideas without even letting us know. A decision I can only presume was made as a way of avoiding having to give us any money, whilst at the same time using mine and Edgar's name in their press release, in order to trade on the success of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, even professing, as Peter Johnson did, to being a big fan of the show and it's creators. A device made all the more heinous by the fact that the press release neglected to mention the show's co-creator and female voice, Jessica Hynes (nee Stevenson). The fact is, when we signed our contracts ten years ago, we had neither the experience or the kudos to demand any clauses securing any control over future reversioning. We signed away our rights to any input in the show's international future, because we just wanted to get the show made and these dark days of legal piracy seemed a far away concern. As a result, we have no rights. The show does not belong to us and, those that do own it have no obligation to include us in any future plans. You would perhaps hope though, out of basic professional respect and courtesy, we might have been consulted. It is this flagrant snub and effective vote of no confidence in the very people that created the show, that has caused such affront at our end. If they don't care about the integrity of the original, why call it Spaced? Why attempt to find some validation by including mine and Edgar's names in the press release as if we were involved? Why not just lift the premise? Two strangers, pretend to be a couple in order to secure residence of a flat/apartment. It's hardly Ibsen. Jess and I specifically jumped off from a very mainstream sitcom premise in order to unravel it so completely. Take it, have it, call it Perfect Strangers and hope Balkie doesn't sue. Just don't call it Spaced.

It's a shame, since the pilot is now a certainty, whether we like it or not, a simple phone call and a few reassurances might have helped to at least curtail the tide of indignation from fans and creators alike. I have, as of yet, heard nothing."

To be honest, they have covered everything - but there are a barrage of fans ready to strike I tell you! How on Earth do they imagine they can create the atmosphere of Spaced on a glossy American set? Replace "oh my god, I've got f*cking jaffa cakes in my coat pocket" to "oh my god, I've got frigging Oreo's in my coat pocket." It's enough to make me shudder with shame!