10 US Adaptations Of UK TV Shows That Sucked
7. Fawlty Towers
British comedy has never been finer. Fawlty Towers is the British sitcom by which all other British sitcoms must be judged and John Cleese will go down in history as one of Britain 's most beloved actors.
The show receives extremely high praise, even when held up against modern comedies, and it deserves every single bit. In fact, on Channel 4's top 100 TV characters of all time, the only character to beat Basil is Homer Simpson. Every joke felt finely crafted and the show is still heavily quoted to this day.
Twenty years after the original series wrapped up, CBS decided it was time to try for a third time to get their adaptation going. The first attempt didn't make it past the pilot, despite Betty White taking a starring role.
Amazingly, it was third time lucky and Payne made it to air, even getting the blessing of John Cleese, who had agreed to star in the second season. Unfortunately, that second season didn't come to fruition as CBS unceremoniously dumped the show just as the final episode of season one was due to air.