All singing, all dancing, all shameful

Today's column reviews CBS' self-loathing musical "Viva Laughlin":

I try to be good. I try to not be one of those unbearable media snobs who declare that a remake fundamentally can't be as good as the original or that British works of art are inherently superior to American. But a 15-car pile-up of a TV show like CBS' calamitous new musical/mystery hybrid "Viva Laughlin" makes it awfully hard.

If NBC's "The Office" represents the best-case scenario for adapting a great British series, than "Viva Laughlin" represents the worst. A remake of the marvelous BBC miniseries "Viva Blackpool," it gets every possible thing wrong in translation. Where the original was cheeky and light on its feet, the remake is earnest and clumsy. Where the original reveled in its blend of song and dance with murder and relationship drama, the remake is apologetic and self-loathing about its musical side.

To read the full thing, click here.