Foreign Adaptions of L&O: CI: Because There Are International Criminals, Too!

[ApathyMonger]

Hulu have added the first four episodes of Rene Balcer's Paris-set cop show Jo, starring Jean Reno, Sean Pertwee, and Jill Hennessy: http://hulu.com/jo

 

It's very CI-inspired, and is a quasi-spin-off in a way that would reveal a spoiler for a later episode.

 

Weirdly, they seem to be using the alternate TF1 cuts/order of the series, which has been disowned by Balcer. The original versions were rarely great to begin with, so I don't really want to see worse cuts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_%28TV_series%29#Episode_order_and_alternate_versions

 

According to Balcer, the Fox International Channels version and air order was the intended "official version", while the other version represented TF1's unilateral decision to re-edit the show as they felt it was too dark – changing the music, color and pacing. For example, according to Balcer, in addition to changing the theme music and the score, TF1 also changed source music – in the official version, the opening of Notre Dame featured an organist playing Mozart's Requiem on a digital organ, setting up the tone and the theme of the series as it relates to Jo Saint-Clair, but TFI changed this music to a lighter maudlin piano piece.

 

In addition, the orders also feature vastly different edits. In addition to the opening credits and music being changed, the Franco-Belgian-Swiss versions have several scenes cut or replaced, music tracks changed and different color grading. According to Balcer, scenes which had been cut from the official version because of poor performances or directing (for example, in Pigalle, the interview with a witness on the Eiffel tower and a search of the victim's apartment) were put back in by TF1. Again, according to Balcer, the TF1 changes created an imbalance between the procedural and personal scenes and wreaked havoc on the actors' performance. Balcer has disowned the TF1 version, which has not surprisingly been met with largely negative reviews.

 

It's not a very good series (Reno is no D'Onofrio), but it's an interesting CI-related curio. If they add the sixth episode, that one has a good Sam Waterston guest appearance, and the finale is worth watching too.

 

Otherwise, you can watch and try to come up with wild theories as to why Jean Reno is the only French person in Paris. Even almost all the guest stars and random witnesses are immigrants.

Edited February 15, 2015 by ApathyMonger

[WendyCR72]

I admit, I imported the series about a month ago because I was that damned curious! And it threw me off a bit because Jill Hennessy and Sam Waterston did guest roles (maybe as a favor to Balcer?) but were not their L&O characters, yet by the end, it had to take place in that universe because of the surprise CI connection.

 

Very odd series. And, yeah, funny how the cops - minus Reno - weren't French. Hee.

[WendyCR72]

And reading the above, if things were that...bad, I guess, just...don't show it. I can't imagine changing colors, music, or whatever would make a difference. No wonder Rene Balcer disavowed the changes.

[WendyCR72]

One thing I'll say for Jo: The French scenery was pretty. I wonder what possessed Balcer to make an "international CI" show. And now that I think of it, I recall Jean Reno from a movie out in the early '90s called "The Professional". If I remember right, he played an assassin and his co-star was then-child actress Natalie Portman.

[ApathyMonger]

One thing I'll say for Jo: The French scenery was pretty. I wonder what possessed Balcer to make an "international CI" show. And now that I think of it, I recall Jean Reno from a movie out in the early '90s called "The Professional". If I remember right, he played an assassin and his co-star was then-child actress Natalie Portman.

 

Yeah, that was his first big US movie. He was in the first Mission Impossible too, and the 90s Godzilla.

[WendyCR72]

Yeah, that was his first big US movie. He was in the first Mission Impossible too, and the 90s Godzilla.

 

He was? Cool! I never recalled his name associated with any of those.

[ApathyMonger]

Hulu have put up the back four episodes now: http://www.hulu.com/jo

 

As I said, if you're going to watch it, eps 6 and 8 are the ones I'd go for.

[WendyCR72]

Like I said, I have the DVDs (multi-region player). But, I totally agree about episode 8. I guess Rene Balcer didn't approve of some stories once he left L&O: CI after S5.

 

That seemed to be the best part, though. As a whole, the series was...strange, at best. But good for Rene Balcer for trying, in any case.

[WendyCR72]

Upon re-watching some of these on Hulu (too lazy to dig out the DVDs), I really do wonder why French actors weren't used (well, Jean Reno is, but he also spoke English here) and just used subtitles for them or whatever, especially since this was an international program.

 

It just seemed so unreal, given the Paris setting.

[WendyCR72]

So, besides Jo overseas, the one done by Rene Balcer, apparently Dick Wolf was involved in a CI adaption. This one was called Paris Enquetes Criminelles. Not only is this an adaption, but it follows the L&O: UK model and redoes episodes.

 

Here is the list of episodes which were remade.

 

What's even funnier is the male lead's first name is Vincent, and check out the similar-looking DVD set to the US version for its Season 1, color scheme and all!

 

But it is all in French, so... But still kind of cool.

 

I did find some episodes on YT, but naturally, it is in French with no subtitles. But I still may just watch to see what the remakes look like.

 

A bit of the French version of "One", which was the pilot episode for the US CI.

[WendyCR72]

So, curiosity got the better of me: I managed to see the French versions of "Phantom" (which, oddly enough, was the pilot episode for Paris Enquetes Criminelles) and "Homo Homini Lupus". The locations were changed for some scenes, but even if you can't understand French, the remakes are 9 times out of 10 re-enactments of the same scenes, so one can still follow.

 

That being said, the "Homo Homini Lupus" remake was fine until the aftermath. French "Maggie" (or whatever her name was here) wasn't at all angry as US Maggie was. She was just crying a lot and withdrawn. And the interview with the criminal in the Simon Madich (sp) role didn't even really happen, just Revel (Goren equivalent) finding the tiger tattoo. So no "She. Got. You." scene. But the scene with the cell phones and the gun to the perp's head earlier was done. Naturally, the cell phone ringtone was not from Bonanza, but that shouldn't be a surprise.

 

As for the "Phantom" remake, the episode even tried to recreate the scene at the station (which looks like the inside of a warehouse - minus the interrogation rooms which look exactly like the US version) where Revel (Goren) and Savigny (Eames) toy with "Cookie", but I don't think it translated as well!

 

By the way, after Season 1, the character of Claire Savigny was gone, and the new female partner character of Melanie Rousseau took over what was the Eames role.

 

Finally, there was a remake of "See Me" which, naturally, was one of the first glimpses we heard of Bobby's mom's schizophrenia, complete with Bobby walking out at the end after a phone call. The scenes were almost scene for scene except, while Revel did leave at the end, he seemed...basically okay, so (not understanding much) I'm not sure if his character has the same family history or not.

 

But I swear Vincent Perez watched tapes of Vincent D'Onofrio's Bobby, because he had the wild gestures, head tilts, and pauses with the speech patterns down cold.