Let’s be clear here guys- making remakes of popular sitcoms is a very difficult task. For starters, there is the tough act of culturally translating the jokes for a very different audience. Then there’s trying to prove that said show can go on an equal footing with the original, usually by trying to differentiate it from the original to a degree. With this in mind, with very few exceptions, most remakes crash and burn. That said, Sturgeon’s Law states that 90% of stuff will be absolutely rubbish, so I’ve decided to go see if there are any possible hidden gems in this world. The show that I’ll be talking about in this edition is the American remake of Birds of a Feather a.k.a. Stand By Your Man.
History
The history of this show isn’t very well known. However, it is known that FOX had wanted to add some star power to its line-up and had ordered the show under the hope that its raunchy and broad nature would make it a success with the audience. In particular, they were hoping that it would become the next Married with Children, a similar raunchy show which was proving popular with the audience. There were some difficulties in locating the actress who would play Rochelle – previous choices that crashed and bombed in previous pilot attempts included Christine Ebersole and Leila Kenzel – but an actor was eventually found and the other two were located with ease.
Despite FOX’s hopes, however, critics trashed it. The Los Angeles Times described the script as being flat and giving little opportunity to allow the cast to highlight their talent, whilst the St. Louis Dispatch dismissed it as being a “slobcom” that was empty in nature despite its cast. FOX ultimately canceled it after its very first series and only one complete episode (and fragments of two others) exists online.
Basic Plotline
The show is about two sisters called Rochelle Dunphy (played by Melissa Gilbert and Tracey’s counterpart in the series) and Lorraine Popowski (played by Rosie O’Donnell and the Sharon counterpart), who are forced to live together after their husbands Roger Dunphy (Darryl’s counterpart and played by Sam McMurray) and Artie Popowski (Chris’ counterpart and played by Rick Hall) are sent to prison due to their habit of robbing banks. Lorraine has lived a shitty life with a shitty husband, and she both never wants to see him again and is living up the lifestyle at Rochelle’s house, whilst Rochelle has had a wonderful house with a big house, but isn’t coping as well and misses her husband.
Completing the trio is Adrienne Stone (played by Miriam Flynn and Dorien’s counterpart in the series) who regularly cheats on her husband and doesn’t have a high opinion of the sisters, thinking them as trash.
Differences
- In the original, Sharon lived in a crappy council flat before her husband is sent to jail. Here, her counterpart lives in a trashy trailer. Lorraine also loses possession of the trailer after Artie is sent to jail whereas Sharon initially subletted her flat to a shady dealer called Fat Stan instead.
- The action is relocated to New Jersey when the original series was set in Essex.
- Garth, Tracey and Darryl’s son in the original, doesn’t appear to have any form of counterpart in this series – the closest reference to him is a brief mention from Rochelle of children called Josh and Chelsea and even then, they seem to be just part of Rochelle’s plans for the future rather than being actual people.
- Dorien’s initial long-term affair (until their break-up in the second Christmas special) was with an initially unseen toyboy named Luke. Here, her counterpart’s main affair is Scab, a seen from the start biker friend of Lorraine who she encourages to clean himself up.
- In comparison to Sharon, whose job at the supermarket was cut short very quickly, Lorraine’s job at the “Bargain Circus” is given more focus. With this comes the introduction of two co-workers in Sophie and Gloria.
- Whilst some of the plots are adaptations of the British original – “Spare Me” for instance takes some inspiration from the repossessed car plot of “Sweet Smell of Success” – others are completely original plots. “The Prowler” for instance is an original plot involving Artie getting someone to stalk the sisters and get photos of them.
Opinion
Whilst the show does its best, it doesn’t capture the charm of the original. Take its execution of the show’s themes. Although Birds of a Feather was never a critical darling and was derided for being too safe, I always thought otherwise. On the contrary, I thought that, especially early on, it had a nice gritty edge to it that made it stand out. Its depiction of the prison and justice system for instance was that of cruelty, with police officers being depicted as immoral people looking down on prisoners’ wives and being quite willing to stuff their faces in front of the convicts just to spite them. It’s a good way of showing a bit of realism in the show and makes it so that the audience has sympathy for Chris and Darryl in spite of their behavior and actions. In comparison, the one depiction we get of the police in Stand By Your Man (or at least the one which currently still exists) is an oafish rent-a-cop who accidentally shoots himself in the foot, which whilst achieving the same point, does so in a less inspired and more broad way.
The other major issue with the show is that whilst the cast is good, there is a definite lack of chemistry between everyone. One of the good things about Birds of a Feather is that two of the actors, Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson, have been friends and a double-act for years and it shows in their on-screen appearances, which certainly give off the impression that they’re sisters. Here, the actors haven’t interacted for long and one gets the feeling that they’re just two strangers made to talk with each other. Add that with the most phoniest New Jersey accents ever put to paper, and one is in for a cringy experience. The same goes for Miriam Flynn’s performance as Adrienne, who, whilst probably the best user of one-liners of the bunch, doesn’t quite match up the catty viciousness that Lesley Joseph uses in her portrayal of Dorien.
Conclusion
If it had more of an opportunity to develop and gain a distinct identity, maybe it would have worked. Heck, considering the lack of footage out there for the show, maybe I’ve just seen the worst the show has to offer. As things stand though, it’s not worth your time. Still, if you want to check it out, a link to part of Episode 1 is provided below (credit to cfscfs for the video).