At first, this seemed like desperation.
Faced with strike-time voids, CBS imported shows from other countries. Not just from Canada (which is really just America with more outer-wear), but from Australia and England.
“NCIS: Sydney” arrives at 8 p.m. Tuesday (Nov. 14), with eight episodes; “Ghosts UK” (shown here) is at 9 and 9:30 p.m. Thursday with 34. Both deals were set before the tentative settlement of the actors’ strike; now the shows fill gaps until the regular ones return.
But the good news is that both of these temporary stand-ins are worth watching. One is adequate; we could dub it “Ghosts OK.” The other is surprisingly good, in its own copycat way. Let’s take a look:
NCIS: SYDNEY
This sometimes feels like an encyclopedia of cop-show cliches.
There’s the tough, no-nonsense woman; that’s a newer stereotype. And there’s the cocky guy; that one has been with us forever.
She’s beautiful, but seems unaware of it. He’s handsome and seems very aware.
They bicker and fume, of course … until an authority figure tries to take control. Then they reluctantly band together. Their sidekicks are action-oriented; their forensics/tech people are quirky opposites – one big and old and confident, the other small and young and apologetic.
All of this has been done before, sometimes quite badly. But “NCIS: Sydney” has an excellent cast (led by Olivia Swann and Todd Lansance), a crisp script and a tad of humor alongside its action; by fill-the-void standards, it’s quite good.
GHOSTS U.K.
This one is the opposite — high grades for originality, lower ones for execution.
It’s the show the U.S. “Ghosts” was based on: After inheriting a mansion, a young woman has a bad fall; she died for a moment … and now can see and hear ghosts.
That’s a clever idea, but in the British version it’s frenetic and semi-abrasive. So it was adapted in the same way “All in the Family” was, a half-century ago: Make the characters more likable.
In the American version, Sam quickly accepts her fate; she likes the ghosts, they like her. In the British one, Alison spends most of the first two episodes quaking.
And in that British version, many of the characters are harsh. That’s especially true of the matronly former homeowner – a stern grouch in England, quite pleasant in the U.S.
The American version changed some of the characters a tad. A hapless and pants-less bureaucrat became a handsome and pants-less Wall Streeter. The scout leader became a naive idealist, the cave man became a Viking, the army officer was nudged back to the Revolutionary Wr..
Other British characters – a Shakespearean-type poet, a witch-trial victim, a headless chap – were brushed aside, replaced by an American Indian and a spaced-out hippie. In general, the American version is bright and cheery … especially for a show filled with dead people.
But we can see that for ourselves. The U.S. “Ghosts” is finally back, at 8:30 Thursdays; “Young Sheldon” is back at 8. They’re reruns for now, but the new episodes are coming. Better times are ahead.