The IT Crowd

This is a scene for scene remake of the British IT Crowd Episode 1, only this one isn't funny.

Joel McHale comes off as a lazy, inept moron; and not the lazy, but capable IT guy Roy is supposed to be.

Jessica St. Clair is too pretty and comes off too dumb for the Jen role. She is supposed to be secretly computer illiterate, not a complete idiot.

Rocky Caroll checks the diversity box and doesn't bring much else.

It's as if these 2nd rate actors are playing the roles of the British 2nd rate actors playing the roles of the show characters in some weird made for TV biopic about the IT crowd.

Except of course for Richard Ayoade, who plays himself brilliantly.

Bad. So bad. A travesty. Do not watch. The original is a work of pure genius. This horrendous attempt to pilfer that genius will only make you question every life choice you ever made, as they all led to you watching this contrived mess

If we look back in television history the US has "Borrow" ideas from the British for decades. The list is too long to list. American television networks like to take successful British material because it's proven to have a market with audiences. They tend to Americanize the shows, using the stories and characters in an American setting in hopes that people will better identify with the stories. It sounds like they are lazy and want $$$$$ quickly instead of just doing it themselves.

What is with this need for Americans to recreate British TV shows? Are they really that incapable of understanding a British accent? The script for the pilot is verbatim, the same pilot script from the original British series, save for a few minor word changes. The only major difference is that the American actors that were cast are utterly horrible at delivering their lines. NBC couldn't even come up with their own unique spin off for this awesome series. I'm glad it was never meant to be, it would have been an embarrassment if this somehow managed to pull through. Watch the original The IT Crowd, and if you have difficulty understanding a British accent then turn on the subtitles!

I decided to watch this after having seen the original. I've never been so scared in my whole life. The horror of American comedy sometimes.