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    The 11 Worst American Remakes Of British Shows

    Unfortunately lost in the translation, or blindingly awful production decisions? You decide! Hint: The second one is the answer.

    11. Cold Feet

    10. Skins

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    The Guardian: "MTV's US remake lobotomised Skins."

    Gawker: "Skins: Americans ruin everything."

    MTV: "Skins is a global television phenomenon that, unfortunately, didn't connect with a US audience as much as we had hoped."

    Anyway, decide for yourself. This is what it looked like.

    9. Absolutely Fabulous

    8. The IT Crowd

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    The U.S. version of The IT Crowd saw Richard Ayoade reprising his role as Moss, and brought in Joel McHale (who would go on to star in the much-better-received Community) to play Roy. A full series was ordered for NBC in 2007, but no one at the network liked it enough to let it see the light of day.

    If you're feeling in the mood for an odd and not entirely rewarding time-sink, you can watch the full pilot episode here, and below is a scene-by-scene comparison of the opening sequences of the British and American versions.

    7. The Inbetweeners

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    This MTV remake failed to resonate with anyone and was humanely put out of its misery after a season. Have a look at "Bus Wankers" vs. "Bus Turds" to get a sense of why.

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    6. The Young Ones

    5. Men Behaving Badly

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    The U.S. version of Men Behaving Badly featured Saturday Night Live alum Rob Schneider and it lasted for one and a half seasons and 35 episodes. Here's a taste of what it was like (Spoiler: It was garbage).

    4. Coupling

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    Coupling U.S. was canceled after four episodes on NBC in 2003 after it failed to perform in the ratings. Adding insult to injury, BBC America ran ads saying that they would air episodes of the British version directly after the new adaptation, so viewers could compare and contrast.

    Newsweek panned the show, saying that it gave "sex, comedy, and television a bad name," but the most damning review of all came from NBC President Jeff Zucker himself: "It just sucked."

    Note that the script is essentially verbatim.

    3. Dad's Army

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    A 1976 attempt at Dad's Army featuring an American Civil Defense unit. Excruciating.

    2. Spaced

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    Executive produced by McG, of Charlie's Angels (the movie) fame, the American Spaced was met with such rage by anyone who loved the original that it arrived dead in the water. Also, judging from the pilot, it was unrelentingly painful to watch.

    Simon Pegg described the project thusly: "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." Pegg's full statement makes for some good reading.

    1. Fawlty Towers

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