I have become a big fan of the show Ghosts – twice. And yes, that requires an explanation. Ghosts is a fairly new CBS sitcom based on a current British series. And I’m actually watching both at the same time – the British version is on HBO Max. They’ve done 19 episodes in England so far over three seasons, and 10 episodes here. I’m caught up with the U.S. version, and have finished the first year of six for the British. I find the series a smart, low-key pleasure, and what impresses me about the CBS version is how profoundly respectful they are to the British one, while giving it their own...er, life. They’ve even used the same storylines for several episodes, tweaking them a bit for U.S. audiences. Occasionally, a few scenes and specific jokes are used in both. It’s fascinating to watch the two at the same time and see how well the U.S. team is handling it. I like both very much, they each do some things better than the other. Overall, I think I like the British version just a bit more more. The premise is that a young couple inherits a very old estate, and decide to renovate it to turn it into a B&B. Something happens, and the wife ends up being able to see and hear the ghosts there, but the husband can’t. It is not “Topper,” though of course it’s that genre and a cousin to it. The fun of the premise is that the ghosts aren’t totally supportive of the renovation but LOVE having a live human they can actually finally communicate with in the "real world." And as a result of that, they discover new things, like watching DVDs and searching the Internet (often about themselves). And the husband is annoyed because it’s like his wife has a team of spies who can tell on him (and often do). Her issue is that she too often has no privacy -- his is that he never knows when he does have privacy. The main difference is that the U.S. version – while still very low-key – plays it a touch more as A Comedy. (And does that well.) The British version does things a little more straight forward (though is still totally a comedy, just that the comedy comes slightly more naturally). I think I like the more subtle sensibility a bit more. The female leads in both are really wonderful and carry the shows. The U.S. actress, Rose McIver is talented and extremely pretty. She’s actually from New Zealand, but has had a good career over here, probably most notable in the series Once Upon a Time as ‘Tinker Bell” – and also four Netflix movies that began with A Christmas Prince (hey, this is a Christmas TV movie, what do you expect...?) and its three sequels. The British actress is Charlotte Ritchie, who might be best-known to U.S. audiences as a regular in the British series, Call the Midwife, as ‘Nurse Gilbert’. As I said, both are terrific – McIver brings a bit more pert personality, Ritchie plays it slightly more dry and droll. The husbands are both good, but I think the U.S. actor, Utkarsh Ambudkar, is a bit better. (It turns out he was in “Free Guy,” which I just saw – and enjoyed.) The British husband is Kiell Smith-Bynoe, and he’s good. I just thin Ambudkar throws himself into the roll more. The two casts of the ghosts themselves are a wash – excellent in both and almost identical in who the characters are. I like them equally. A few of the U.S. ghosts are a little “bigger” in the comedy, but not much. (And in fairness, a couple of the British ghosts play it “big.”) Another reason I think the British version works a bit better is that there is a much stronger history of ghosts in England than in the U.S., so it feels more culturally natural having a house full of ghosts who’ve been there for hundreds of years. (To be clear, some of the ghosts are more-recent arrivals.) And that’s the other reason – having ghosts who’ve been there for hundreds of years (in one case, for both shows, at least a thousand years) fits British history better than American history, which is such a younger country. But – for my taste, both are very enjoyable, very similar, respectful to the audience – and impressive how close they are to one another in style and writing. I happen to find it fun to watch both series at the same time, since they’re different enough that it’s enjoyable to see what they changed and why. And enjoyable to see more of a show that I like. It's not big and flashy, so it might take two or three episodes to fall into the world. If you do decide to watch and choose the British series only – know that I think they take the set-up ever-so-slightly slower, so it really does take a couple episodes to best-get in full what the U.S. version get to a bit more quickly (though still take two episodes). By the way, the British series is from the people who made a show there called, “Horrible Histories,” in case you know that show. I don’t know that series, but you might. (It is not what the U.S. show, “Drunken History” is based on.) If you're interested, I do suggest the British version first -- it's available on HBO Max, and I believe also if you have a subscription to Britbox. (It might be on other services, as well, for all I know.) As for the U.S. adaptation, if you don't subscribe to either of those or think you'd just rather try it fist or don't care either way, you can probably catch up on all that have run so far by your cable services On Demand feature. If not, though -- I mention this now because, with TV shows generally doing reruns during the holidays, CBS is airing both parts of its pilot this Thursday, at 9 PM, Los Angeles and East Coast time. (UPDATE: CBS changed their schedule. They are NOT airing the two-part pilot on Thursday. Instead, they are airing five different episodes starting at 8:30 PM. They’re showing the first-part of the two-part pilot next Thursday, January 30. Perhaps they’ll show the second part the week after. Still, that strikes me as a weird scheduling change. But ultimately, the two-part pilot -- and all the episodes -- are available On Demand.) Here are the trailers for each – This is the British version (for Season 2). And this is the U.S. version. You'll see how impressively they've adapted it.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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