Megabucks Presents: Coupling: the US version (2004)

In piggyback mode again, as I am following Scott’s re-post of his Coupling review with my own 20+ year old looks at the show…except it’s the maligned NBC adaption (known to me as AmeriCoupling…) If you want more information on how that worked out, may I direct you to It Was A Thing On TV and their episode on the show. Also the home to the Squared Circle Time Machine, a budding but excellent wrestling podcast spinoff…

Megabucks Sez bits as needed, of course…

Well, the premiere of the USA Coupling has come and gone, so to follow up on my article, here are my random thoughts that I mentally jotted down while watching.

(Megabucks Sez….this refers to the PILOT, of course. And being earlier me, get ready for Listmania and tons of bullet points…)

(Note: I will try to refrain from making “X is not Y!” comments. Yes, Rena Sofer can only dream of coming as close as Sarah Alexander is to my young fancy, and I can’t say more about the whole Richard Coyle thing that hasn’t been said before. Still I think those arguments have been mentioned enough about now)

– The “animation” in the opening reeks of the Calico style (seen on many promos and openings for ’70s TV shows…basically it’s stop-motion versions of stills of the real people) (Megabucks Sez: Your TV geek moment…)

– For some reason, I found the “stamping hands” replacement for “the zone” pleasantly acceptable. Basically, in the UK Jeff says Steve still has the right to Jane’s panties because he’s in the “zone” of being her boyfriend. In the US, Jeff compares it to getting your hand stamped to leave and then return somewhere (either an amusement park or a nightclub). It even has a little double entendre: “You can go back in any time you want!”

– The Titanic analogy (with Jane saying how romantic it was despite the sinking, while Steve mentions the sinking itself) was good for what it was.

– Why was Sally’s line from “The Girl With Two Breasts” (also quoted in my article!) (Megabucks Sez: I have no idea which line I meant) cut and pasted here???? And Susan joining in on it? It would have made sense if she was doing it mockingly, which I didn’t get at all if it was the intention. And I missed Sally’s dilemma of risking her facial elasticity by smiling, of course. That ruined the whole Sally/Patrick interaction. (Sally was SERIOUSLY downplayed! Was she around for more than 3 minutes????)

– Patrick and Jane seemed the closest to being true to their UK counterparts. Though Pat is more “cocky businessman” than the cocky, buffed presence of Ben Miles. It might take a bit of suspension of belief to see this guy having a “Junior Patrick.” (Megabucks Sez: aka a really big penis…) However, I must say that I love the US Jane somehow! In fact she’s my favorite character so far, it seemed at times she was trying to channel Gina! So we got one half of my two favorite characters. (Megabucks Sez: That would be Lindsay Price.)

– …and that brings us to Jeff. The US interpretation of a truly memorable character is way out of my upper tier of favorites. Why? He’s too normal!!! And stripped of most of his wacky theories (in this episode, he loses his “unflushables” and aforementioned “zone” lines, only the “porn buddies” was saved)! And it took a while to completely separate him and Steve visually, as the actors look terribly alike at first glance. That’s one minor setback I was thinking of…the US actors/actresses don’t have the individuality that the UK ones do. (i.e. when you look at the girls, you know the blond with the blue eyes to die for is Susan, the short-haired one is Sally, and the spacy brunette is Jane) Anyway, the US Jeff needs a LOT of work. Almost left me wondering why Richard Coyle couldn’t be in both versions. Anne Robinson did double duty for the US and UK Weakest Links. And when Are You Being Served? was adapted for Australia, I believe they got John Inman as Mr. Humphries there too. But I may be asking too much, as there’s doubts that Richard’s even signed for the apparent fourth series in the UK. (Megabucks Sez in Narrator Voice: “He wasn’t signed for series four.”) And again I did promise “no comparisons.”

– Steve, however, showed signs of brilliance. He was ever so slightly Jack-like in parts of the restaurant scene (forget the exact line(s)).

– No talk on Patrick “individually” judging Susan’s breasts? That totally made that scene a non-joke.

– The negative reviewers totally overexaggerated the show being “dirty.” I didn’t hear all the blatant, unsubtle, unfunny sexual R-rated talk they whined about. The US tried to at least be on par with the original here.

– Grrrrrrr…I hate generic network spilt screen credits! Coupling doesn’t even get a “stinger” joke at the end. At least the mysterious singer got to sing the first two verses of Perhaps x 3 I guess. And to rub it in, we get an American Dreams promo, and I already mentioned what I think of it and Vanessa Carlton’s shoddy treatment of great female musical icons. (Megabucks Sez: Carlton was NOT a convincing Dusty Springfield. And back to the “mysterious” theme song performer, I THINK that was Lindsay Price?)

JUDGMENT: For this instance, I must say in all honesty that the winner by unanimous vote would be…Iron Coupling England! (Megabucks Sez: Gratuitous Iron Chef reference. See, Valerie? I ALWAYS liked the “game show” programs on the Food Network!) All in all, I did spot a few things I liked or could like. But they have a WAYS to go, as this first episode was average at its best. The jarring actor/actress changes and the fact that it felt like they just pulled out random pages of the original script didn’t help. Still, I’m not quite ready to toss this away with the likes of US Men Behaving Badly, the Bay City Rollers’ I Only Want To Be With You, and Uma Thurman as Emma Peel. Somehow I think that the best US episodes will actually be the originals. If the premiere is any judge, there’s too much clipping of UK stories to be as satisfied with the US adaptions. I dunno, just call me an optimist, or maybe just hopeful. I did hear that some of the future episodes are actually good, apparently. And as I mentioned before, I have a real battle of dualities where this is concerned, which make it pain me to say anything bad about any Coupling. To wit (taken from a BBC America boards post):

– Will US Coupling be liked/a success? Good cause it means that the format I’ve come to love works here, bad if people like it more than the superior UK version (a belief I hold, win, lose, or draw for the US)

– Or will it be hated, implying that the original’s concept is a failure and making even the UK one “poison” to TV viewers? But also meaning it will be likely to fade away, leaving us with the three UK series, and a fourth on the way (albeit one that may or may not be Coyle-less).

– Of course it can be bad and a success, which says that the idea is marketable but again would be a joke if that’s what people think is the best the Coupling format has to offer.

– And if I end up liking it and still have the naysayers we’ve faced against us, I’ll just end up still feeling misunderstood as a Coupling fan. And believe me, I have many interests where that is the case!

Does any of that make any sense?

AmeriCoupling: Week Two (Size Matters)

Well as promised, I haven’t given up the ship yet, and am here for the second in the US series of Coupling, this one being an adaption of the second UK episode, “Size Matters.” To summarize the plot, from The Giggle Loop (httWEBSITE NO LONGER ACTIVE om):

“Steve is having problems with his conversational flow and later wonders whether he’s man enough for Susan. Sally finds out something interesting about Patrick that compromises her political beliefs. Jane takes on another impossible challenge and Jeff shares his own opinions about foreplay before everyone starts to freak him out.”

So how does NBC’s take on this storyline measure up? My very random thoughts…

– Given the choice, now I actually think I’d prefer Cake’s Perhaps x 3 to that of Save Ferris. One one hand, Cake’s Px3 is kind of “stonerish” sounding, but it is at least the normal pace of the Mari Wilson version.

(Note: Save Ferris? I have since learned that this was Lindsay Price, the US Jane, singing the theme song. Interesting note…I have joined the Yahoo! Group “Coupling,” and they have an opening and closing theme for AmeriCoupling. Did some countries have credits with an end theme? Or was there a full version that someone edited?) (Megabucks Sez: Thanks, 2004 me, from saving me some Megabucks Sez work here! And Save Ferris did cover the song, maybe someone found it and thought that would be the show’s theme??)

– Compared to the redo of “Flushed” (the pilot), I found the editing to be tighter for this episode, with less glaring differences. The one that was immediately jarring was Sally not telling us that Republicans (Tories in the UK) are one of her pet peeves. Here, Susan breaks the news, making it look like she was the one who thought it would be a turnoff.

– Speaking of which, Sally continues to be pushed into the background.

– Also, upon later research, I was reminded of Jeff again losing lines, as his spiel about why gays have it easy was deleted. (This includes observations such as ‘When we finally get our hands on the gear, let me tell you, it’s not a drill. We’re supposed to fly those babies the first time we get in them’) He keeps the Sock Gap, though, which is a big improvement.

– It occurs to me now that Patrick looks like the Professor on Gilligan’s Island on steroids. (Hopefully Colin Ferguson won’t age as bad)

– The Jack Davenport moments keep popping up for Jay Harrington. When there’s a call for Steve to be nervous, which plays a big part in many of the original’s storylines, he shows potential in expressing that part of the character well (i.e. the facial expressions and stutters he interjected this week, when pausing on the phone and during the date respectively)

– Why did Jeff seem improved this week? Still not Coylesque, but not as boring as on the pilot.

– Still like Jane, Sally needs a chance, and Susan is starting to come around a little in my eyes. Should have imitated Sarah’s “KIDDING!” instead of saying “I’m just kidding”…the former adds to the coolness of the character. Wonder how she’ll interpret “Apparent-LY!” (Megabucks Sez: Those were UK Susan’s two verbal tics/catchphrases. Latter is what she does when she gets mad.)

– They need to put something at the end with those credits, the episodes seem to end too abruptly. But speaking of endings, the electric toothbrush (which Steve mistakens for a vibrator, a running gag as that’s what Susan uses her batteries for) was a cute alternative to the UK ending (another running gag, where Steve and Susan’s favorite celebrities, Mariella Frostrup and Angus Deayton, get together because they did)

Overall, yeah, I’d say we’re getting there. CompuGeek2001 at the BBC America Coupling board said this would be a significant improvement over the more lackluster pilot, and I’m inclined to agree, as they got it right much more this week. Still a lot that needs to grow on me though. (Megabucks Sez: And remember when BBC America showed BRITISH shows?!)

AmeriCoupling: Week Three (Sex, Death, and Nudity), Part Two

Third week, and what will be the last in our first string of UK adaptions. Continuing with UK continuity, this week it’s “Sex, Death, and Nudity.” For the original plot, we go again to the Giggle Loop :

Jeff tells Steve and Patrick about his fear of saying the wrong thing at his interview, and then fills them in on the details of the “giggle loop.”
Jane visits Steve to tell him that her aunt has died and that she wants Steve to go with her. However, Steve’s worried what Susan might think if she knew that Jane had been around, nevermind if he went to the funeral. Sadly the giggle loop gets the better of him. Later it turns out that Susan thinks Steve should have gone with Jane. He calls Jane to tell her and finds himself agreeing to pretend to still be together.

Susan then asks Patrick to go as her backup, to pretend to be her boyfriend since Steve is going to pretend to still be with Jane. Meanwhile Steve asks Jeff to go as Susan’s date, so everyone has a partner. Patrick then proceeds to ask Sally, so they’re all going. Once at the funeral Sally finds herself confronting an older version of herself, which she finds less than comforting. Jeff finds that his confidence boosting technique of imagining people naked has harmful side-effects at funerals and then gets in a spot of bother with Steve and Patrick as they all experience the giggle loop first hand.

Jeff finally arrives at his interview, feeling good thanks to his new found confidence boosting technique. Only to find it backfires on him in the worst possible way.

Now, as you can see from the above overview, Sally plays a significant role in the happenings of this episode, as her personality is a natural counterpart to the funeral setting. If you’ve been following my commentaries, you know that I feel that AmeriCoupling has thus far seriously downplayed Sally’s character in the Coupling Pecking Order. As such, part of my excusing Sonya Wagner for not living up to Kate Isitt’s work yet is because they just haven’t done anything with her! Will having more chance to be more Sally-like help her this week, or prove to be her undoing?

On to the commentary…

– It seemed to me this week that Chris Moynihan played Jeff in a different way from the Coyle style. Instead of delivering the explanation of the “giggle loop” as you’d expect from Jeff thinking that he’s enlightening his friends, he made it part of the nervousness of the looming job interview. What we got was a, shall I say, crazier version of the speech? Topped, either way you look at it, with a generic resolution (“Then everyone stares at you?”).

– I probably have to go back to the DVD sometime soon, but did Jane try to seduce Steve when she came over originally? Somehow I am remembering Jane stressing the whole “I’m not using my dead aunt to get you back in bed!” thing. If so, while I somehow am finding Lindsay Price cute, her take on the scene kind of defeated that original purpose. Actually, I am beginning to see her Jane as more of a “bully” than the sweet, spacy one Gina Bellman allowed us all to know and love.

– Loved the big Jane picture that is displayed in her home. As Jane (as played by Gina) would say, “That is so ME!” (Megabucks Sez: And this was a bit that the UK version borrowed during its maligned last series, if I remember right.)

– Still not quite believing Rena Sofer as Susan. The role at least requires a more perky, cute yet still hot woman. (Megabucks Sez: Don’t be sad, Rena, I liked you as Snow White/Mary Margaret’s mom on Once Upon A Time…)

– Want proof that the US cast isn’t made of immediately identifiable individuals? When Jane comes to chastise Steve about Susan at the funeral, I initially wondered, “Why is she saying this to Jeff?”

– Why is Patrick such a jerk to Jeff here? I think Patrick, while self-centered, is NOT this ruthless.

– Well, the moment of truth has arrived…and I am still underwhelmed. Sally’s lines are still clipped, unfortunately excluding the part where she acts skittish at the idea of even being near an elderly woman. That took a lot of bite out, as did, yes, Sonya’s delivery of the rest of the material, which was still very full of Sallyness. At least with Kate, she makes you believe that she is seriously panicky about having things in common with…OLD PEOPLE. Sorry to say, but this is strike one.

– For the lack of subtle detail by not having Steve sweating bullets while facing “the pause” last week, they made up for it by showing the reactions of the guys fighting off the Giggle Loop.

– They took a little too much liberty with Jeff’s interview subplot, especially the idea of imagining everyone naked. OK, Patrick tells him later in the episode. They still make the most of it. But then they got rid of the gag where it backfires at the funeral, as Jeff can’t stop seeing naked old people? And on a related topic, I kind of preferred the more ironic UK ending to the funeral plot, as the girls fall victim to the Giggle Loop. Instead, we have Jeff blurting out female body parts…which he was supposed to have gotten over when he discovered the naked strategy!

– And to continue my weekly crusade to get a final joke during the closing credits, let me just say that the ending with Jeff at the interview would have been perfect for this.

Overall, Size Matters remains the best UK-to-US adaption. The jarring changes were back in force this week, plus the first signs of US Sally’s exposure as another weak interpretation.

BREAKING NEWS! The Man answers my questions!

Now this is the epitome of cool! In the course of yesterday, I was able to land an Exclusive Interview with the creator of Coupling (Megabucks Sez: and polarizing Doctor Who writer…), Steven Moffat! ([Captain Subtext mode on] He reads the boards on BBC America, and so I posted some questions for him [/Captain Subtext mode off]) What follows is our “dialogue,” in which Steven shares his thoughts on the US Coupling and answers some of the pressing questions I’ve had on the subject:

> A lot of these will be based on past posts I made
> here, wondered if Steven could offer some insight:
>
> – Just what was the Romeo and Juliet from 1994 that
> appears on Sarah’s filmography on the series one DVD?
> Was it television or a movie?

No idea. Sorry.
>
> – What are your feelings on how the actors/actresses
> of AmeriCoupling are doing as far as being faithful
> to Coupling’s characters as we originally knew them
> in the UK?

I don’t think being faithful to the British portrayals is relevant. They’ve got to play what’s on the page in a way that suits them and maximises what they can offer the show. Which, in my opinion, is a lot. Strike ‘in my opinion’. It’s a lot. Period.

Of course, on stage it’s common for actors to take over in the same part – no one expects, or should expect, an impersonation.

I really like the American cast, both in terms of their performances and as people. The high-profile slot they’re in, and the endless comparison that are being made (whether to Friends or to UK Coupling) must be making their lives marginally more irritating than they ought to be.

I should send them a box of fudge. Do you have fudge over there? Or just bubblegum and lots of guns, like on television.

> How
> about how the show’s being edited down to fit
> American commercial time? Did they make cuts you
> wish they didn’t in the adaptions of the UK episodes?

American sitcoms are too short. 21 minutes narrative time is a joke – but often not a funny one.

Apparently one of the US Couplings was cut back to 19 minutes. That’s not an episode. That’s not a story. That’s a sketch.

It’s frankly ridiculous for so many American sitcoms to be criticised for rushed plotting and glib set-ups when the networks have given all their gag-time to loud people trying to sell you toothpaste.

Why do you need so much toothpaste anyway? Is it because of the bubblegum?

> – Did you or the US producers ever consider using any
> of the original UK cast members as regulars on
> AmeriCoupling, ala John Inman when they did Are You
> Being Served? in Australia?

No, not as far as I know.
>
> Well thanks in advance for your time! Let me also
> say thank you very much for creating a funny, highly
> entertaining program that I’ve grown to love!

Thankyou.

Steven Moffat

THIS JUST IN! Addition to my favorite scenes!

Aside from reviewing the US Coupling, I have been enjoying the third series of the original (and make no mistake, the best) Coupling on PBS (Megabucks Sez: those were the days, Friday nights and Saturdays too, when our 2-3 PBS stations ran British comedy. I think they snuck in one or two on Sunday evening, and other exceptions like when one PBS station ran The Brittas Empire reruns every weekday night, good times!), and the other night brought about “Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps,” the last UK episode for now. Now, we all love it when our favorite television shows center a scene or episode around the best or our favorite characters. There’s Mr. Humphries and Mrs. Slocombe, there’s Stewie and Brian (Megabucks Sez: Ah yes, when it was still hip-pish to like Family Guy)…well now, let us add to that illustrious list my two biggest Coupling Heroes, for after 22 episodes it finally happened. Yes, imagine, if you will, in one scene…alone…JEFF and JANE! As an interview I read with Steven Moffat (not to be confused with mine) confirmed, the two barely even talked for all of Coupling’s run. But here, with all three girls wondering which could be pregnant after Sally mixed up the test results, Jane recalls a day during her religious, celibate boyfriend’s vacation that she was feeling so “lonely,” she decided to pay a visit to Jeff’s flat. What results is perhaps the greatest meeting of the minds in our generation. Watch as Jane discovers the one “feminist” movie her and Jeff apparently share. Hear Jeff disclose his obsession on fruit! See Jane be thoughtful enough to order lunch ahead of time…for herself! Can anything possibly get in the way? Well maybe if a friend needed help at the fertility clinic, and called on his “porn buddy” to help supply him with material to get him in the mood…

The beginning of the end?

You probably notice that I am A) a bit early, and B) not talking about a Coupling episode. Well, there is a reason for both. While on the BBCA Coupling board, the following news was shared with me:

htt(WEBSITE NO LONGER ACTIVE)ml for the article.

Jason Deans
Wednesday October 15, 2003

The US version of BBC2 comedy Coupling has been unceremoniously yanked from the NBC schedule after only three episodes, prompting fears about the show’s future.

NBC has pulled Coupling from its 9.30pm slot on Thursday night and replaced it with a repeat of another of its new shows, Whoopi Goldberg sitcom Whoopi.

Perhaps more ominously, NBC has also announced it will be resting Coupling for “sweeps” month in November, when TV advertising rates for the next quarter are set and the US networks try to maximise ratings with scheduling stunts and specials.

The fact that Coupling is being sidelined for this key period suggests NBC does not have a lot of faith in the show developing into a long term replacement for Friends, as had been hoped.

However, NBC insiders said no decision had yet been made about whether Coupling would be cancelled.

Coupling launched with 15.3 million viewers in late September, but after three episodes its audience had subsided to 10.7 million by last Thursday.

One point I might add is that apparently the show will run as usual next week, and with an original American episode, “Present Tense.” This again will be the next big test for AmeriCoupling, as another pressing question is whether it will be better when not trying to copy UK scripts.

AmeriCoupling Week 4: Check/Mate

As you recall from the above post, we left last week in a bit of turmoil, as Coupling was pulled from the Thursday night schedule, apparently putting the show on hiatus “until November sweeps.” The latest word, according to an interview with Rena Sofer (Susan), is that it has in fact been picked up for January. Now I’m not sure if there’ll be any episodes in the interim, but next week I will not be with you as I see that an extended episode of Scrubs takes Coupling’s timeslot.

From my commentary on the last episode we saw, “Sex, Death, and Nudity,” I was made aware that I mispelled the name of America’s Sally, which is Sonya Walger (and not “Wagner”). Ironically, the person who called me on it called her “Sony Walger.” So if I make any jokes about Sally producing televisions or anything, that’s the reason why. (Megabucks Sez: Or if I make jokes about her covering up Columbia logos and committing the mortal sin of not letting logo enthusiasts see the TAT Communications logo!)

So, with this being our first original US episode, will AmeriCoupling send us away on a high note? Contrary to last week’s report, tonight’s episode was what was to be last week’s episode, “Check/Mate.” For the synopsis, we turn to NBC.com (Megabucks Sez: Probably still active, but I doubt they got info on this show):

“YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR – When Susan (Rena Sofer) is treated to mind-blowing sex after picking up the tab at dinner and Steve (Jay Harringon) is similarly rewarded after buying the next night, they both begin to fear they’ve been paying each other for sex. To help resolve this, each turns to the other’s friends only to receive very conflicting advice. Meanwhile, Patrick (Colin Ferguson) is on the search for the perfect ‘man-mobile’ after a photograph reveals he looks ridiculous in his current car. Elsewhere, traffic reporter Jane (Lindsay Price) encourages her slacker stalker (guest star Jim Rash) to step up to the plate when she learns a female reporter on a competing network has a stalker with night goggles.”

So does AmeriCoupling fare better without anything British to compare it to? Read on…

– Already, in Act I, I notice that Colin Ferguson’s performance as Patrick is not as caricaturely macho as it was in the past three episodes. Definite improvement there, though his “animated” reaction to his crappy car was rather un-Patrick-like.

– On the other hand, Pat’s calling a Humvee a “small penis car” was more in the vein of what his character should be.

– Was it just me, or did the writers include lines more appropriate for not only Patrick, but most of the other characters as well? I know the acting still needs its tweaking, but they were saying more stuff that you’d expect for each character. Sally in particular actually got a little more screen time, and some Sally-like lines to boot, and it came off a lot better than in S,D,&N.;

– Once again on the other hand, Rena is all right on her own, but I still say she has a ways to go to get Susan down pat the way Sarah does. Can I go on a mini-Sarah Alexander Gushing Fit for a minute? See, the reason why I love her so is because she lends to Susan a sensibility mixed with spunkiness. She’s beautiful, but she’s also cool, funny, and can not only get in Steve’s pants, but she also sometimes wears them for him. You just don’t forget a woman like that! Rena’s Susan is, I don’t know, more lost in the shuffle by comparison?

– Also, why did Lindsay feel a bit less Jane-like on this episode? Think I’m seeing a bit of that bossiness I foretold of coming through. Loved “NIGHT GOGGLES!” and the like though!

– The “Foreplay Bank”…hey, US Jeff comes up with a wacky Jeff term of his own! Still seems more nuts than strange and horny, though. I found it curious that he wanted Susan to give a spanking just for Steve…would the Jeff we know want to leave that kind of treatment for another person alone? (Though if you think of it, the fact that he saw Steve get the spankings subtly mentions that he didn’t) And in the climatic scene where Jeff, Sally, Jane, and Patrick walk in on Steve and Susan’s date (for fear of having given them bad advice), Jeff was too laid back considering what was in front of him! Also, can Jeff and Patrick be becoming rivals Stateside, as seen last week with Patrick “not caring” about Jeff, and this week Jeff going on the mini-tirade about Patrick getting “everything” after lying about how he looked bad in all the cars.

– The scene with Steve with the girls and Susan with the guys…pretty cool, though was it really right to have their respective exes there? Steve and Sally, and Susan and Jeff (who know each other already) would make more sense as is.

– The cutaways between the characters recalling the dates and what actually happened, as well as Steve and Susan having sex while various money scenes flash in between, were fun and almost Moffat-like.

Bottom Line: Well, AmeriCoupling is now 50/50 with me, as this was another episode I enjoyed watching. Perhaps (perhaps, perhaps) the original scripts are just what the US cast needs, if they can be this much more natural and sometimes truer to their characters without the pressure of trying to live up to something.

(Megabucks Sez: and the same thing pretty much happens to this day. You all know of my Ghosts fandom, and unlike Coupling, I did like the first few episodes which were pretty much lifted from the UK version. Still, we were really off to the races when they began their original content, and since that time, the CBS and BBC Ghosts were really apples and oranges. Same format, different directions. Point is, trying the original scripts helps a lot. But it was all a moot point, because…)

AmeriCoupling: September 25, 2003 – October 23, 2003

This just in from Josef Adalian…

[NBC] has pulled the plug on frosh laffer “Coupling,” shutting down production Friday and informing the show’s producers that additional episodes will not be ordered. Skein, from NBC Studios in association with Reveille and Universal Television, had already been pulled for sweeps and was not exected to return anytime soon.

Skein generated media buzz last spring and over the summer due to its frank discussion of sexual matters and because of the heat surrounding its U.K. predecessor. But while crix gushed over the original, seen stateside on BBC America, they largely slammed the Americanized version.

“Coupling” was created by Steven Moffat and executive produced by Phoef Sutton (“Cheers”), Ben Silverman, Beryl Vertue, Sue Vertue and Moffat.

Really, I don’t know what to say. As much as I (and others) liked to point out how AmeriCoupling differed from the UK original — often for the worst — it’s almost like the show was as much a victim as it supposedly victimized fans of the original. No matter how good it got, there seemed to be few who would even give it a chance to live up to the UK episodes. And that “living up” alone was pretty much an insurmountable task to begin with.

And while there’s nothing wrong with the superior version of Coupling surviving, for some reason I actually feel a bit bad about the American version’s fate. First, there’s what I said all along, about me wishing it well just because it had the Coupling name and because I didn’t want the concept to be frowned upon either way. (i.e. what does it mean for people’s ideas of the UK version since the US one only lasted a month?) Second, from reading accounts from people who saw the tapings and actually met cast members, there were people who did believe in the project and tried to work at it. Heck, so did I to an extent…you do remember that I thought the first episode not to be based on a UK script was decent. Anyway, while I didn’t always like AmeriCoupling and was quick to point out what didn’t work for me, I came to realize that yes, there were human beings at least trying to make something out of it. And I can respect that.

So I can thank the cast, crew, and supporters of AmeriCoupling for what they did try. Yet I also regret that it didn’t work out the way many of us would have liked.

In the words of Stewie Griffin, “…terra pax, requiem, and so forth.”

(Megabucks Sez: Wow, I was really nice about this infamous TV bomb. I do try to see things both ways, often to a fault. Well, see you next time…)