Ghosts: Comparing the Characters, History & Humour in the UK and US Comedies

[shapeshifter]

Since my son-in-law restarted our Paramount+ subscription for a month, I decided to finally watch the Ghosts UK version. 
But I didn't notice until I got to the end of season 2 that Paramount+ only has 2 seasons of Ghosts UK.🫤

It seems I can buy access to the other seasons through Prime, however:
The Prime account is another daughter's to which I officially have access, and I'm wondering about

• using my credit card — which might trigger a switch to me paying for it in the future, which is okay, so long as the shared thing doesn't go away — like if we were grandmothered in or something?
• if I wait a few months, will CBS/Paramount likely air all the Ghosts UK seasons prior to the start of the new season of Ghosts USA? Didn't they do that previously? Or no?
• Is there a commercial free/higher priced Paramount+ monthly subscription that includes all seasons of the UK version?
• With Prime, it's about $11/season for High Def Ghosts UK, and $7/season for fuzzy, which is what all TV was like in the 50s and 60s, and I still like watching Barney Miller in really low definition because that's all there is.
  So, I'm leaning towards the cheaper, unless someone tried it and hated it for some reason?
• Is there another streamer for Ghosts UK seasons 3-5 that I should consider?

Edited June 8 by shapeshifter

[shapeshifter]

The daughter with Paramount+ watched all seasons of Ghosts UK that were initially available there, and I can't get her to watch the US version because she said she tried a few episodes of season 1, and thought it was the same but not as good, so she thought it was a waste of time.
Having just watched the first 2 seasons of Ghosts UK, I feel somewhat confident in telling her that Ghosts USA diverges from the UK at season 2, with different plots and character development, etc. 
Do all y'all agree?

This isn't a big deal like the access to the UK epis in my post above.
Mostly she and I bond over Bluey these days anyway. 👶🏼👶🏻🐶

[Annber03]

Yeah, from what I've seen of the UK version, I agree that both versions have developed into their own thing. Even the early episodes, where the U.S. version did take some storylines and plot points from the UK one, there were still enough differences to make each version's take on the story work for their respective shows. 

But yeah, I think the U.S. version has done a great job of finding its own tone and voice over these last few seasons. 

[Bastet]

7 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

if I wait a few months, will CBS/Paramount likely air all the Ghosts UK seasons prior to the start of the new season of Ghosts USA? Didn't they do that previously? Or no?

They only aired what they did of the UK series because of the strikes, so I doubt it.

[PaulE]

On 6/8/2024 at 11:32 AM, Annber03 said:

Yeah, from what I've seen of the UK version, I agree that both versions have developed into their own thing. Even the early episodes, where the U.S. version did take some storylines and plot points from the UK one, there were still enough differences to make each version's take on the story work for their respective shows. 

But yeah, I think the U.S. version has done a great job of finding its own tone and voice over these last few seasons. 

I agree.  After all, there still are cultural differences between the U.K. and the U.S., despite our shared history and the fact that we speak the same language (well, sort of).   Some things that might be funny over here wouldn't work across the pond and vice versa.  Americans often feel that the Brits are too dark and pessimistic, while the Brits think Americans can be obnoxiously sunny and optimistic, and those differences are reflected, I think, in the respective plots and comedic devices.  So it's natural that each show would go its own way.

[Kir Rich]

Character of Kitty is the most irritating of UK and US versions. I have stopped watching the UK version because of that character!!!

[shapeshifter]

On 6/8/2024 at 8:22 AM, shapeshifter said:

Since my son-in-law restarted our Paramount+ subscription for a month, I decided to finally watch the Ghosts UK version. 
But I didn't notice until I got to the end of season 2 that Paramount+ only has 2 seasons of Ghosts UK.🫤

I signed up for Paramount+ when there was a $60/yr deal a couple of months ago.
I've been checking about once a week, and Seasons 3-4 of the UK version are available again, not just 1-2. 👻🙌👻

[Bastet]

On 10/28/2024 at 10:38 AM, shapeshifter said:

I've been checking about once a week, and Seasons 3-4 of the UK version are available again, not just 1-2.

But not season 5, unfortunately.  Maybe they'll put that up one of these days.