entertainment

'SPEC' to be remade into U.S. TV drama

18 Comments

Actress Erika Toda, 23, and actor Ryo Kase, 37, had some interesting news for fans at the opening this week of their film "SPEC~Ten” at Toho Cinemas Roppongi Hills in Tokyo.

Toda announced that producer Masi Oka, 37, will remake the popular TV drama for U.S. television, Sankei Shimbun reported. "How can they make it without us?" Toda asked, but added with a smile that "I’m happy and excited that audiences overseas will get a chance to see it. I’m looking forward to see how Hollywood actors play those roles.”

"SPEC" revolves around two partners in a police unit tasked with solving unusual cases involving criminals with special abilities. Toda plays Saya Toma, a genius with an IQ of 201, while Kase plays her partner Takeru Sebumi.

According to Toho, there has never been a U.S. remake of a Japanese drama before. Oka is a Japanese-American actor who appeared in the TV series “Heroes.” The cast will be announced in early May, Oka said.

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18 Comments
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“How can they make it without us?”

Quite easily I am sure. The idea for SPEC though already originates from the US anyway.

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^ This is JapanToday where half the posters are constantly negative. They don't even know what a joke means.

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Oh the name of the program that they took the idea from in the first place is Breakout Kings.

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Don't know Breakout Kings but...

"SPEC" revolves around two partners in a police unit tasked with solving unusual cases involving criminals with special abilities. Toda plays Saya Toma, a genius with an IQ of 201, while Kase plays her partner Takeru Sebumi.

Two partners in a police unit. Hmmm....the FBI are kind of like the police, aren't they?

Tasked with solving unusual cases. Hmmm.... like "unsolved cases"?

Involving criminals with special abilities. Hmmm.... perhaps paranormal abilities, etc.?

According to Toho, there has never been a U.S. remake of a Japanese drama before.

But, has there ever been a US remake of a Japanese drama that was a remake of a US drama?

At least I give Toho credit for not naming the two main characters きつね and ダナ :D

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Huh? I have seen breakout kings, not really like SPEC at all. Same genre and that's about it.

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Yubaru: “How can they make it without us?”

First and foremost, because TV has become a much more popular medium than the movies of late, with many, many top-rate actors making the shift from the silver screen back to the living room screen, and I have very little doubt the Japanese actors from the original show are anywhere near the proper calibre. More importantly, I don't know too many Japanese stars who speak English fluently, and an American audience wouldn't buy it if they were just memorizing lines and trying to read them without accents.

It would be ideal if they COULD put in some Japanese actors, but if the stories taking place in the US it would be hard unless they are bit-roles or extras. Not the biggest Oka fan, either, but it should be interesting to see how this is remade. When Hollywood remakes Japanese movies they are hit or miss, with some a lot better (usually due to budget and actors) and others downright terrible.

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Whatevs...

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I've never seen the show but it does sound like the X-files (at least from the way it is describe in this article), doesn't it?

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Fringe. Genius check. Cops check. Unusual cases check. Criminals with special abilities check. What are we missing?

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smithinjapan > You know that the “How can they make it without us?” comment was a joke right ?

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It also sounds like a copy of the UK show, later remade in the states, Eleventh Hour. UK version had Patrick Stewart while the US version had Rufus Sewel. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462097/

Its becoming quite the popular formula. Basically they all get their foundations from old stories like Sherlock Holmes, etc.

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It"S MEAPR. 12, 2012 - 04:19PM JST Copying is common. Anyone recall "Robyn's Nest" , etc. Nothing new been going on for decades.

Agree. However, it seems that Toho doesn't.

According to Toho, there has never been a U.S. remake of a Japanese drama before.

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oh my...they remaking this o.o. Well first time for everything, hope it fairs well, though can't say the same for the japanese movie remakes.

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I have watched the show and it's nothing like the X-Files. 'Unusual cases with criminals with special abilities' basically means they're hunting super-powered criminals (think X-Men, not X-Files).

And why are some of you getting hung up on Toda's 'how can they make it without us?' comment? Do you think she was being serious?

I mean, the show itself had a couple of random moments where the main characters dropped into English (mainly to swear). It was pretty clear at those points that neither of the main actors speak English.

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Fringe. Genius check. Cops check. Unusual cases check. Criminals with special abilities check. What are we missing?

Actually watching the show by the sound of it. It's available on the net, give it a look, it's pretty good.

It seems people here are just rushing to call it a copy of (xxx) without even having watched a trailer and certainly without having seen the actual show.

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What about an american AKB48 remake?

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Copying is common.

Anyone recall "Robyn's Nest" , etc. Nothing new been going on for decades.

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