Could Doctor Who be "retooled" into an American show ?

[Mikey]

Seems like many British shows have been retooled into American shows and some with some success.

Recently as an example, Life on Mars was a pretty decent example -- despite what ABC thinks.

This leads me to wonder if Dr Who could be retooled into an American TV show and have success.

I'm not talking about the Paul McGann TV movie as an example either.
That "movie" was not retooled.

Would an American Dr Who be just a Bill and Ted rip-off ?

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

Wasn't it called "Stargate?"

I don't think it could. American stuff is WAY too self-conscious to get away with stuff Doctor Who does on a regular basis. All the "unrealistic" and "illogical" would get sucked out, leaving the same old same old. Case in point; look at what the Daleks were gonna be in the FOX series. They've been killer salt shakers for decades; but apparently that design doesn't fly; they need humanoid features.

An American version would probably feature a team of Time Lord commandos travelling time and space fighting Cybermen who looked human but were robot skeletons underneath, mecha-Daleks, and some kind of emo space vampire.

Don C.

[Mikey]

For Stargate -- To be 100% honest, I never seen the movie or the TV series

[ctc]

>I never seen the movie or the TV series

The movie blew; the tv show is okay. The show is written a lot like an OLD sci-fi series, with characters and stuff.... which is nice, but considering how many old shows I've seen it kinda feels typical to me. Not BAD; just not real good. I think the fans went nuts for it (AND Firefly) 'cos they were the first sci-fi shows in a long time that actually had characters. (Rather than one-note cyphers. Oh, the 90's.... you will NOT be missed.)

Funny thing: Stargate always seemed a LOT like Richard Tucholka's "Fringeworthy" RPG. So much so I'm surprised he didn't sue.

Don C.

[UnderdogDJLSW]

I think if they made an American "who" it would probably come out as Indiana Jones but with time travel. The call box would probably be an outhouse or tool shed.

[Mikey]

Actually, a construction outhouse would be more in keeping with the ORIGINAL intent of the series when it began.
The TARDIS was suppose to blend in with its surroundings.
In 1964, a Police Box was fine.

Today, a Police Box sticks out like a sore thumb

[UnderdogDJLSW]

keeping with the ORIGINAL intent of the series when it began.

Yeah, I was trying to think of things now-a-days that would be in the shape of a call box and that is all that I could think of.

If an American version went with a functioning chameleon in the Tardis, I bet it would be very "Transformers" like.

[johnnystorm]

Doctor Who is a totally Brit series. I couldn't imagine how an American version would fly...probably be something like X-Files in Space. Or Fringe.

I couldn't see them choosing a quirky actor for the part either, nor an old man. Hollywood would insist on a heroic leading man figure and an attractive companion. Of course, that was exactly what Ian & Barbara were in the original series.

Life on Mars was a different animal, the date & setting was as much the star of the series as much as Sam Tyler was.

[rche]

Could Doctor Who be "retooled" into an American show ?

I thought they already had.

One episode plots. A few cliffhangers, but mostly single ep. stories with a common backstory tied in.

Younger, adventure oriented leads - Eccleston; Tennant; Piper; Agyeman; Simm...

Love triangle/interest with the companions as a plot device.

It seems to have gone over pretty well with the American scifi public as well.

[ctc]

>it would probably come out as Indiana Jones but with time travel.

Wasn't that called "Voyagers?"

>I thought they already had.

Kinda. They appropriated a lot of technique but had the good sense not to monkey with too much. (Even though some people think they DID.) Daleks are Daleks, Cybermen are different but there's an in-story reason, LOTS of silliness (like the "Face of Bo") and the TARDIS is still busted.

>Love triangle/interest with the companions as a plot device.

Yeah; THAT'S new.... but I don't think it's a strictly American convention. Every story EVERYWHERE throws in the love story at some point. I was okay with it, given the Doctor's frame of mind at the beginning of the new series. I kinda hope they don't keep doing it though; 'cos that'd cheapen it. (I thought the runngi gag of everyone THINKING he and Donna were an item was a nice twist.)

There WERE little sniglets of this sort of thing in the old show.... not of a romantic entanglement, but of moire complicated relations with his companions. There was a lot of that with Ace; although you can see how it was chopped (often awkwardly) from the finished story. Kinda like they WANTED to do the show more like the current one but for some reason wrren't allowed to. (If you read the novelization of "Curse of Fenric" AFTER seeing the episode it becomes really apparent.)

Don C.

[jds1911a1]

>I never seen the movie or the TV series

The movie blew; the tv show is okay. The show is written a lot like an OLD sci-fi series, with characters and stuff.... which is nice, but considering how many old shows I've seen it kinda feels typical to me. Not BAD; just not real good. I think the fans went nuts for it (AND Firefly) 'cos they were the first sci-fi shows in a long time that actually had characters. (Rather than one-note cyphers. Oh, the 90's.... you will NOT be missed.)

Funny thing: Stargate always seemed a LOT like Richard Tucholka's "Fringeworthy" RPG. So much so I'm surprised he didn't sue.

Don C.

I always thought the film was good but the first couple season of SG1 are really good (of course if you were watching on showtime before DScifi picked it op the boobs helped) but it was on WAY too long

[jds1911a1]

Hmmmm....

Wasn't it called "Stargate?"

I don't think it could. American stuff is WAY too self-conscious to get away with stuff Doctor Who does on a regular basis. All the "unrealistic" and "illogical" would get sucked out, leaving the same old same old.
Don C.

have you never seen star trek or star wars unrealistic and illogical rule the universe in those shows betweeen contradictory stories and histories, units of distance for time, so I don't think that part would be lost. It has never ceased to amaze me how even whne TNG was on they couldn't keep the history in line with the films produced in the same time frame (case in point Relics scotty asks if Jim Kirk mounted the rescue 2 years later in ST generations Scotty sees kirk's "death".) i can forgive a continuty slip from a decades older reference in TOS or classic who with newer version but that was unforgivable

once of the reasons the new show is accepted/embraced by us fans is it follows the same "action" based sci fi format of all the shows made in canada for syndication and fox in the 80's & 90's (andromeda, sg1, war of the worlds, eath final conflict). plus there are plenty of us who grew up with the original show watching the new one. in the 70's and 80's who was as nearly as big in the states as it was in England and having been to star trek and who conventions the who conventions had bigger "stars of the show" and more people in them. I never saw shat or nimoy (but Koening was there). at who shows over 3 years in the 80's but I saw Jon Pertwee, tom baker, Nick courtney, Colin Baker and peter Davison and countless lesser companions.

the new show served a great purpose for me it reminded me how much I loved who as a boy and got me back to watching the original series.

[toys2cool]

I doubt that would make it here in USA

[Mikey]

First thing for the American version the Doctor's people would not be called Time Lords.

The average American would mistake that reference as them being gods.

I also think the American version would change the Doctor's title.

Today, "Doctor" is too commonly known as a medical reference.

Perhaps he might be called (Ace you devil) "The Professor"

Actually, if the American's based their show on the Peter Cushing movies the series might fly better ...
Do that to start, and then start slowly introducing the Doctors REAL past as the series progresses -- like many people speculate about the Cushing Doctor actually being the Hartnell Doctor incognito.

[GaryPlaysWithDolls]

Sorry, I'm still taking in the idea of the Tardis as an outhouse. "But, Doctor, its bigger on the inside than it is on the outside and the smell..."