Why Does America Have to Ruin Every British TV Show?

On the heels of Fox's announcement yesterday that they are in the process of developing an American remake of the hit British TV series 'Torchwood,' sci-fi fans around the world are reacting with one universal response: why?!

'Torchwood,' for those not familiar with the original BBC cult favorite, follows the adventures of a group of secret government agents who handle and cover up alien encounters here on Earth, 'Men In Black' style. It's also very British in its origins (the show is a spin-off from the beloved 'Doctor Who' franchise), environment (the cast rarely ventures outside of their Welsh headquarters) and sensibilities (every character is bi-sexual, for starters).On the heels of Fox's announcement yesterday that they are in the process of developing an American remake of the hit British TV series 'Torchwood,' sci-fi fans around the world are reacting with one universal response: why?!

'Torchwood,' for those not familiar with the original BBC cult favorite, follows the adventures of a group of secret government agents who handle and cover up alien encounters here on Earth, 'Men In Black' style. It's also very British in its origins (the show is a spin-off from the beloved 'Doctor Who' franchise), environment (the cast rarely ventures outside of their Welsh headquarters) and sensibilities (every character is bisexual, for starters).

Given that the series is so thoroughly grounded in British culture, then, and that it is already widely available to American viewers thanks to a successful run on BBC America, DVD sets and online downloading, fans are wondering just why anyone would feel the need to reinvent an already rolling wheel.

Of course, this project isn't being handled by just anyone, as series creator and 'Doctor Who' mastermind Russell T. Davies is helming the American adaptation. Still, given Hollywood's recent history of taking popular British shows and turning them into critical and commercial failures here in America, fan trepidation is understandable. For example:

• 'Life on Mars' managed the rare feat of matching the original in terms of critical acclaim. That didn't translate into actual viewers, however; the offbeat time travel cop show was canned by ABC after just one season. And the changed ending, different from the original, outraged some fans.

• 'Eleventh Hour' began life on ITV as a buzzworthy mini-series featuring 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' star Patrick Stewart as a scientist exploring the farthest reaches of the unexplained. It ended as a watered down CBS copy that was canceled after 18 episodes despite benefiting from a strong 'CSI' lead-in.

• 'Worst Week' was yet another one and done remake, this time of the hit BBC comedy 'Worst Week of My Life.' American audiences perhaps felt the premise was a bit too similar to the hit film 'Meet the Parents,' but that didn't dissuade Hollywood from remaking it not once, but twice: the original pilot was picked up by Fox before a second version finally aired on CBS.

• 'Coupling' wasn't exactly a huge hit when it ran for three seasons on BBC Two, but its premise -- three men and three women get into dating scrapes and then talk about each other -- seemed tailor made in 2003 to fill the void left by the approaching departure of 'Friends.' The NBC version, which was a nearly word-for-word recreation of the original, lasted four episodes.

• 'The I.T. Crowd' might hold the dubious distinction of being the least successful British adaptation yet: the series, which was a remake of the popular BBC sitcom of the same name, was canceled by NBC before any episodes aired at all.

No doubt proponents of adapting British properties for the American marketplace will point to 'The Office' as proof that these things can work. But 'The Office' seems to us to be the exception that proves the rule: early episodes were weak at best, with ratings to match and it's only due to the dedication -- or desperation -- of last place NBC (which didn't have any better options available) that the series lasted long enough to find new viewers when its second season began. And that, in turn, was in large part due to the show's producers tweaking the series to make it less like the original by giving it a more unique -- and uniquely American -- voice.

That's not to imply that British shows cannot find American audiences, as any number of shows from 'Doctor Who' to 'Absolutely Fabulous' to 'Monty Python' have crossed the pond to become hits stateside. But those shows were successful in part because their British elements were unaffected by American corporate tampering. And as experiments like 'Coupling' and those early episodes of 'The Office' have shown, the only thing worse than watering down an adaptation is trying to adhere to closely too the original, leading to the conclusion that perhaps British television is best left to the people who are experts at it: the British.

Just as Hollywood loves to remake television shows into film franchise, though, so too will these British adaptations continue and for one simple reason: they are all proven concepts. For studios spending millions of dollars to develop new shows, any factor that can cut down on the risk of failure and increase the potential for success will be exploited and the fact that these British shows have a proven track record is in many cases enough to greenlight production. If it succeeded with British audiences, after all, why wouldn't it succeed in America?

As the last decade of failed adaptations have shown, though, a better question for the networks to ask might be this: why would it?