In some ways, this was a surprisingly faithful adaptation of the original British series, right down to the scripts, camera work, music, and one original cast member (playing the same character but with an amazingly good American accent).
These stories worked very well in the UK, where the characters were around 18 years old. In Britain, the show was in a time slot clearly aimed at an adolescent audience.
In the U.S. version, however, the characters looked like they were about 25, and it aired in prime time. Since both the actors and the target audience were older than in the original, the stories seemed trashier in the American remake, even though they were the same plots.
Behavior that's acceptable in a teenager can come off as selfish, immature, and annoying when the characters look old enough to have Ph.D.s.
These stories worked very well in the UK, where the characters were around 18 years old. In Britain, the show was in a time slot clearly aimed at an adolescent audience.
In the U.S. version, however, the characters looked like they were about 25, and it aired in prime time. Since both the actors and the target audience were older than in the original, the stories seemed trashier in the American remake, even though they were the same plots.
Behavior that's acceptable in a teenager can come off as selfish, immature, and annoying when the characters look old enough to have Ph.D.s.