Posted by TheBetpet on
URL: https://www.shado-forum.com/what-about-ufo-tp3939792p3941556.html


I'm a long time reader, first time contributer and felt I should make an observation.  I feel Darth Garlic has taken a general statement very personally.  I agree that there is a very strong possibility that a 're-imagining' of UFO could be dumbed down and re-directioned for what studios believe are the American audience's desires.  Yes, there are many that prove this could be wrong ("The Walking Dead" being an excellent example).  This doesn't mean that it doesn't happen, just that there are exceptions to the rule. I also believe that the original point wasn't meant to be a direct insult to Darth Garlic or American people in general but an observation made by many people across the world about the standards of US (as well as many other country's) ideas of 'good TV'.  Sadly, there is a trend of 'lowest common denominator' shows that are designed to appeal to the largest audience which leads to greater international sales and advertising revenue.  Sadly, since US shows are quite widespread around the world, they get the butt of the criticism. The fear being expressed is that since the US produce most of the world's well-known English language shows, and are very commercialised TV-wise (the UK viewer pays a 'TV licence' which means BBC is ad-free), that a gritty show like UFO would have all the much loved elements removed to appeal to the wider audience.  It is a fear I share.  The term used to describe this is 'Dumbing Down'. Now if I heard that the Battlestar Galactica or Walking Dead team were going to produce a new UFO show, I'd be doing cartwheels!!  Anyone else and I'd be very anxious!
 To: [hidden email]
From: [hidden email]
Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:32:34 -0300
Subject: Re: [SHADO] Re: what about ufo
















 



 


   
     
     
      I don't want to wade into this discussion by being rude to our American friends. As a Canadian, I can appreciate that the entertainment industry on both sides of the Atlantic have differing POVs. Most Brits and Yanks don't get Canadian humour, and some Canucks and Americans don't get Monty Python. So let's call it square.



I will say this: British made historical drama is often THE best made in terms of accuracy. This applies to case in point: movie "A Night To Remember" vs "Titanic". While James Cameron (who is a Canadian BTW) got the forensic aspects of the sinking itself down pat, he ruined the screen play with his stoooopid Jack-Rose love story - there were plenty of REAL love stories on board the ill fated liner without creating a bogus one.



Then there is JJ Abrams' version of Star Trek 2-3 yrs ago. To say I was aghast when I saw it would be understatement. Here is a historic and much beloved SF franchise ruined by someone whose filmmaking depends solely on CGI and derivative riffs off other better movies of the past. So to say that an American film company would "ruin" UFO is beside the point, because it has been proven the wrong people at the helm - no matter what their nationality - can take a concept and go to hell with it.



To me, things like this (plus all the other remakes that have failed so heavily at the box office and/or with the critics: Thunderbirds, The Avengers, Lost in Space, Abrams' Trek, et al) scare me in terms of what could happen to UFO. I don't want the characters re-written. I don't want the dark side of the show washed up and made PC (ok take out the cigarettes! as I'm a non smoker!). I'm scared some fool will turn Straker into the wrong kind of guy as Abrams did with Kirk & Company. All the reasons we LOVED those original Trek characters were destroyed in one fell swoop. Kirk became an arrogant, brawling SOB whom you'd like to punch into next week, plus what gives with making Spock boff Uhura? None of this is even remotely appealing or canon. Straker is an OCD hard ass with skeltons in his closet and suffering in his past. Don't take that away from him. Foster is (at first) an arrogant young whippersnapper who comes around and joins SHADO because he sees the life or death struggle. Freeman is Straker's heart on his sleeve side kick, who thinks people should not be judged by computers.



Thanks for letting me air my POVs - Pam the Canuck



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