The American Version………

At the time of writing, there have now been eight episodes of the American version, and while I am still enjoying it, there are already noticeable differences to the UK original. The American Sam Tyler’s relationship with the American Gene Hunt is too cozy. It took a long time in the BBC series before there was eventually a grudging respect between the two men, yet already Sam seems to have become part of the team.

The American version’s pilot was set in Los Angeles, and apparently only one actor from the pilot remained in the cast for the real show, where the action has now been transferred to New York, that actor being the Irishman Jason O’Mara, Sam Tyler himself. Colm Meaney (Star Trek, The Commitments) was the original Gene Hunt. I would love to see that pilot one day.

Character names have remained pretty loyal to the BBC show. One difference I have noticed is that Annie Cartwright (superbly played in the UK by Liz White) has become Annie Norris over here, yet in the U.S. pilot, the character retained the Cartwright name. If anyone has any ideas about why that happened, I’d love to know!

In episode one of the U.S. version, the bartender in a bar that the cops go to drink is called Nelson. He had a tiny part and has not, to the best of my knowledge, been seen again since then, whereas in the BBC show, Sam interacts with Nelson a lot in the mistaken belief that he, Nelson, is somehow connected to what has happened to him.

For American viewers, some references in the show may need some explanation. "Hyde" where Sam has transferred from in both UK and U.S. versions, is a real town a few miles from Manchester, where the UK action takes place. In an early scene of one of the episodes, Ray asks to put a bet on a horse called "Red Rum".  This would have meant a lot to UK viewers but probably nothing to Americans. "Red Rum" was the most famous horse of its day, or possibly all time, in the UK.  A virtually unknown horse in 1973, it won the Grand National, the U.K.'s premier horse race that year, then went on to win it an unprecedented further two times in 1974 and 1977, a feat never matched before or since, so Ray would have gotten good odds on the horse in '73.

to be continued…..