AN ORAL HISTORY OF ‘СЧАСТЛИВЫ ВМЕСТЕ,’ THE RUSSIAN REMAKE OF ‘MARRIED… WITH CHILDREN’

melmagazine ^

[mylife]

‘Married… with Children’ was way bigger in the Motherland than it ever was in America

Until 2004, there was really no such thing as a Russian sitcom, or at least, not a successful one. While the country has a proud tradition of comedy on stage and on film, Russian comedy on TV is quite a different story. “During the Soviet Union, the only comedy on television was sketch comedy and improv competitions,” explains sociology professor Jeffrey Brassard. Then, after the Soviet Union fell in 1991, Russia couldn’t afford to make much of anything, so all they had was dubbed versions of American shows and a few failed attempts to make their own situation comedies.

All of that changed in 2004 with Moya Prekrasnaya Nyanya — or My Fair Nanny — a Russian remake of The Nanny. Licensed by Sony, Moya Prekrasnaya Nyanya used the scripts from the original series, translated them, adjusted some jokes for Russian sensibilities and then taped them using their own actors. It was a smash hit, but its mantle as Russia’s number one comedy would soon be overtaken by something even bigger.

Premiering on March 8, 2006, Schastlivy Vmeste — or Happy Together — was the Russian adaptation of Married… with Children. Utilizing the same formula as Moya Prekrasnaya Nyanya, the show used the original scripts of the FOX sitcom, translated them, adjusted the jokes and performed them with their own cast of Russian actors. While it stumbled at first, the show would soon become Russia’s hottest comedy.

[NFHale]

Now that is funny…

[larrytown]

Six goals in one game, for good ol’ Chertanovo Secondary Academy #4...

[Steely Tom]

Shouldn’t Al have one hand down his pants?

[Drew68]

My wife is Russian and she watches a lot of Russian TV on Youtube.

Same here. She mostly watches Дом-2 (aka Dom Dva or "House 2") a horrible Russian reality show about a bunch of young, tatted-up Russians living together in a big house who get drunk, have sex, and engage in domestic violence. Yes, an idea imported straight from MTV America.

[billakay]

I think that is mostly a stereotype strategically constructed for Cold War propaganda purposes. Russians (and other former-Soviet nations) tend to have sophisticated senses of humor, and stand-up comedy and sketch comedy have been extremely popular for ages. Some of it is really, really funny, but impossible to grasp without understanding the language and culture at a colloquial level.

[Gena Bukin]

Gena, for your interest.

Maybe now people will stop thinking I'm a female.

[higgmeister]

A few years ago I saw a show, the making of "Married... With Children" adapted for Russia.   It was very interesting and even told how and why the jokes had to be changed for the audience.

[higgmeister]

Several words sound the same such as Market, Clinic and Bank.

[Drew68]

It was very interesting and even told how and why the jokes had to be changed for the audience.

I remember the Halloween episode. Halloween was never a traditional Russian holiday but is increasingly growing in popularity among younger Russians, much to the dismay of older Russians who loath the idea. The Russian MWC Halloween episode changed a lot of jokes to along the line of "this stupid American holiday" for their Russian audience.