That the United States has ripped off shows from the United Kingdom (pardon, “adapted” them) isn’t new. It’s been happening for a long time with results both successful (Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, The Office) and some less so (Men Behaving Badly, Coupling). One that falls into the latter is the 2007 attempt to reboot popular UK sitcom The IT Crowd. That original version starred Chris O’Dowd (lately of Bridesmaids and Girls), Richard Ayoade (Submarine and the upcoming The Watch), and Katherine Parkinson. The show was written by Graham Linehan and had some inspired moments and tons of fun, geeky humor, but the U.S. reboot never got past the pilot, which was a shot-for-shot remake of the original series’ pilot. The U.S. version starred Ayode, reprising his role from the UK version, a pre-Community Joel McHale in O’Dowd’s role, and character actress Jessica St. Clair (also of Bridesmaids) in Parkinson's role. While clips have surfaced here and there, the full U.S. pilot was recently put online, giving fans of the original a glimpse of a U.S. remake most are glad never came to fruition. [via Videogum]
EDIT: Aaaaand now it’s gone. Hope everyone enjoyed it before YouTube took it down!