I've just listened to an NPR Fresh Air interview with Mark Olsen and Will Scheffer, who were constantly referred to throughout as the "creators" of Getting On. They happily accepted this accolade and proceeded, with truly nauseating sincerity, to explain how the stories in the series were based on their experiences caring for their respective elderly mothers, which, we're given to understand, is why it's all so real, so poignant, so personal. Curious then that 95% of the US adaptation of Getting On is identical - and I'm talking line for line, if not quite word for word - to the UK original, created by the wonderful Jo Brand. The 5% that's different is where the US version blunts the humour, misses the point, or merely adds lame phoney-sounding sitcom punchlines to otherwise achingly funny-sad scenes. Maybe Olsen and Scheffer had identical experiences to Brand, and maybe they just forgot to write it down first. Or maybe they actually believe they've added something of value to Brand's work. Or maybe they're just ****s.
Review of Getting On
