| Coupling | |
|---|---|
| Format | Comedy / Sitcom |
| Created by | Steven Moffat |
| Developed by | Danny Zuker |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 11 (including 7 unaired) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Original run | September 25 – October 23, 2003 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Coupling (UK series), Joking Apart |
Coupling is a 2003 American remake of the British television sitcom of the same title which aired on NBC.
Contents |
It failed to perform in the ratings and was canceled before the November sweeps, with several episodes remaining unaired despite heavy publicity by the network. It was immediately panned as a poor imitation of the original UK series by viewers and critics. BBC America even ran commercials noting that they would play the original British versions on their station just after the American equivalent episodes on NBC aired, so that viewers could see instantly just how superior the original was. Miscasting and stilted delivery of a nearly identical script were believed to be the reasons for the failure, though creator Steven Moffat claims the level of network interference was the sole reason.
The American adaptation came at a time when NBC was having success with remakes of BBC shows, such as The Weakest Link and Dog Eat Dog. NBC would find success in 2005 with a remake of another BBC series, The Office, which remains on the air in its eighth season as of October 2011.
Because of what was perceived as indecent content, two affiliates of NBC refused to air the program; KSL-TV (Channel 5) in Salt Lake City, and WNDU-TV (Channel 16) in South Bend, Indiana. Both stations were owned by religious organizations, as KSL is owned by the Bonneville International division of the LDS Church, while WNDU was at the time owned by a subsidiary of The University of Notre Dame. In those markets, WB affiliate KUCW (Channel 30) and a UPN digital subchannel of CBS affiliate WSBT-TV (Channel 22), respectively, aired the series after their network's primetime lineups.
Jeff Zucker, former President and CEO of NBCUniversal, later said of Coupling that it "just sucked".[1]
| Ep#[2] | Production Number[2] |
Original Airdate[2] |
Episode Title[2] | Based On UK Episode |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unknown | Unaired | Pilot | Inferno |
| 2 | 101 | Sep 25, 2003 | The Right One | Flushed |
| 3 | 102 | Oct 2, 2003 | Size Matters | Size Matters |
| 4 | 103 | Oct 9, 2003 | Sex, Death & Nudity | Sex, Death & Nudity |
| 5 | 104 | Unaired | Present Tense | |
| 6 | 105 | Unaired | A Foreign Affair | The Girl With Two Breasts |
| 7 | 106 | Oct 23, 2003 | Check/Mate | |
| 8 | 107 | Unaired | Nipple Effect | |
| 9 | 108 | Unaired | Dressed | Dressed |
| 10 | 109 | Unaired | Object Lessons | |
| 11 | 110 | Unaired | Holiday |
The original unaired pilot starred Breckin Meyer as Jeff, Melissa George as Susan, and Emily Rutherfurd as Sally.
It was announced on July 12, 2008, that Carsey Werner Home Entertainment were planning a home DVD release of all 11 episodes of the series. The Home DVD & Game Review website announced on March 29, 2009, that the series will be released on a 3-disc boxset.
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