Ghosts UK vs US vs Germany vs Australia: historian explains the different versions

[@classicaljg]

I have JUST (20 Dec) managed to track down some information about the upcoming French version of Ghosts! Full video on that to follow in January :)

[@moreau1755]

Are you aware of the 1970s series The Ghosts of Motley Hall? It's often cited as one of the inspirations for Ghosts, as it had a very similar premise: A group of ghosts from different historical eras all stuck together in an abandoned stately home. There are even some similar characters - a British Army officer ghost and an 18th century romantic fop. There are obviously a lot of differences too, as it was an inspiration rather than an outright template, but it's a decent and fun little series.

[@spikeoramathon]

@@moreau1755 Sounds cool - is it available on streaming anywhere? (I'm in America so no BBC player, sadly).

[@Capohanf1]

I can already see one character for the French version, a female/Marie Antoinette like version of UK's Humphrey Ignatius Bone or Headless Humphrey a Catholic Tudor nobleman who died after being accidentally beheaded. His body spends most of the time searching for his head rather unsuccessfully.

[@moreau1755]

@@spikeoramathon After a quick check, it seems that the series has been uploaded to KZbin.

[@classicaljg]

@@moreau1755 Now that you mention it, it rings a bell, but I haven't seen it - thank you, I'll try to track it down and check it out! :)

[@nickstefanisko]

I suspect that the reason there is no scout master in the DE version is that they don't want any references or implications to the Hitler Youth.

[@quinbensoncryptid]

@@nickstefanisko I dunno, Pat/Pete is 1980s?

[@cdev2117]

There are Scouts in Germany, but it's kinda a niche thing and not as commonplace and more church affiliated. Yeah, but for sure a ghost in a uniform that "worked" with youth in the past...no one would go "Oh, of course he was the scout master of the local council and died during summer camp in 1984." Having a teacher who was killed during a (one week) class trip, I guess, would feel much more organic to a German audience and a mix of Flowers and Petes characters would fit perfectly.

[@janetmckenna_lowry]

​@@quinbensoncryptidthey could do a Young Pioneers leader from Easter Germany.

[@obugger]

Germany has a long history, the Hitler Youth only existed for about 15 years of it, it would be quite possible to have a German scout master from a different era.

[@LuckyAthedia]

Yeah but it is kinda what first comes to mind esp with scout uniforms

[@DavidShepheard]

16:59 The other reason for not representing the American Revolution in the UK series is that any British troops that died in the American Revolution would have died in the USA and become ghosts there. So you would need to have someone survive the war, return to the UK and then die later on.

[@manchesterunitedno7]

And those redcoat ghosts do appear in the US version.

[@MichaelJohnson-kq7qg]

The most important reason for the American revolution not featuring in the UK version is that the American revolution doesn't matter. It's not the biggest loss or the most recent loss - it matters to Americans, obviously, but it's a boring and trivial detail for the rest of the world.

[@ethelmini]

@@MichaelJohnson-kq7qg Yes, the absence of an English Civil War character should be more remarkable than any other as a result of a violent death.

[@IslaSmail-b8w]

The UK “revolutionary” equivalent might be a ghost from the English civil war

[@RegBarlow]

Also need to realise that most of the Redcoats in America were Hanavarian mercenaries rather than someone from the shires.

[@A.Mayflower127]

I really want to see a Mexican version where the characters include like 1. Pre Columbian Indigenous man 2. Spanish Colonizer 3. Mexican Independence leader 4. Person from Benito era 5. Mexican Revolutionary 6. 1940s/50s inspired 7. Children’s show actor from 80s 8. Someone who died recently

[@philambrez]

I would love it if they had a Mexican sitcom staple in it of an old woman who makes soup in a huge pot for the whole lot of ghosts, who happily eat it because they adore her, but secretly eat grass, just so they don't have to eat her soup anymore.

[@manchesterunitedno7]

Maybe a deceased actress from the telenovela, a disgraced politician also could work, but pretty certain they will avoid ghost of cartel member. Then expand the lore by including the ghost of weeping woman (La Llorona).

[@mossandfrogs]

a cantinflas parallel would CRUSH in a mexican version

[@vapoet]

You need a luchadore!

[@LleythonLopez]

So no french man from war bwetten mexioc amd frna f

[@laggytim]

My fav British episode is when the basement is being excavated and they're all betting which skeleton is who's.

[@theonlyenekoeneko]

That was so funny 😂

[@Iwasabolished]

16:22 the captain's name is James, revealed in the very last episode, and it's like a running gag that no one knows his name or it cuts every time they try to tell us.

[@goodknightpangestu470]

The plot revolving why theres no nazi ghost is because they all went to hell 😂😂😂

[@sergioandrade8735]

There's was an early British episode where the human couple tries to live somewhere else but the woman sees ghosts everywhere including see two German pilots stranded in mid-air when she looks into living in a high rise.

[@quinbensoncryptid]

​@@sergioandrade8735I was stepping up to say this very thing. Perhaps they weren't ideologically actual Nazis. Perhaps they were just an incredibly good sight gag with a real nasty follow through for anybody with empathy.

[@DavidShepheard]

Don't forget that most Germans in the military in World War II were not actually Nazis. They could have done something like have the house be a war hospital during the war and have a German doctor who died from an accident. But there are laws against glorifying the Nazis in Germany, so doing a WWII character that didn't break the law would be tricky and they would probably have to have a lot of conversations with lawyers to avoid having some episodes get banned. "Don't mention the war" was probably a much easier decision. WWI would have been a lot easier than WWII (as there were no Nazis back then) but seeing as World War I happened in Germany (but not the UK) it would be a lot darker than the UK military ghost.

[@thumper8684]

The nazis had victims.

[@sarahc643]

​@DavidShepheard you are quite right, my Grandparents came from Germany after the war (to England) her older brothers fought in the war and her younger brother was in the Hitler youth. None of them actually followed Hitler as a leader but preferring not to die them followed his rules. Hitler even came to my Nanna's village throwing sweets to child. After Germany lost she moved to the UK.

[@casualtr4sh]

I'm fairly certain that Crash died by from a common urban legend where someone gets tired of teens on motorcycles so they stretch wire acros the road at head level causing them to be decapitated

[@classicaljg]

@@casualtr4sh I hadn’t come across that urban legend before, that makes sense!

[@timsmith5339]

Yes, that could be it, couldn't it. I'm hoping that crashes character gets expanded/explained in series four. He did of course have a story line but didn't even appear too much in that one. The one where Isaac and Alberta become sleuths to work out who dumped his head in a tree in the woods.

[@wilkoufert8758]

@@timsmith5339 Isn't he just a modern headless horseman?

[@timsmith5339]

@@wilkoufert8758 exactly that yes, one of them 'iron horses'

[@Discworld-Edge-Witch]

14:45 to be fair they do lampshade Thor's sporadic broken English in later seasons. "You say [modern thing] not still call cars 'land ships'?" Is not an uncommon lament. I think Alberta even accuses Thor of messing with them.

[@GetToTheFarm]

yes i love when Thor yells " update IOS"

[@SPQRKlio]

Yes. From how I see it, it’s very clear that Thorfinn is doing it deliberately. And he’s also made the effort to learn more than one language, as with Robin on Ghosts UK. I should rewatch and see if he speaks differently when he’s alone with Flower 🤔

[@thewalrusvideodump7996]

Thorfinn’s English is hardly “broken”. It’s fully comprehensible so it’s not wrong. He merely speaks a different dialect. His language patterns are actually quite common in Nordic or Slavic speakers that learn English as a second (or in this case likely third) language. Though the ‘landship’ thing is totally on purpose.

[@thtyeyo]

Thorfinn is absolutely fucking with everyone.

[@vespista1971]

While Thor is likeable, I see him as significantly less intelligent than Robin… I think with some words, like “land ship,” he’s doing it on purpose, but Robin definitely seems more wise and intelligent than Thor, despite his less-evolved brain. Plus, some people just have more of a knack for learning extra languages to fluency than others. I’m in a German culture club here in America, and we still have “Omas and Opas” living that came over after WWII, in the 40s-50s. Some of them speak perfect English with little to no accent, some do alright but have thick accents, and a few still struggle with vocabulary or using English sentence structure rather than German after living here 50 -60 years.

[@Fitzroyfallz]

Some ideas I had for Australian ghosts: - an indigenous person from 12,000 years ago or more when megafauna still roamed the continent - a convict (1788-1860s period), perhaps died of scurvy? - gold miner from the gold rush (1850s-1880s period) - a bushranger is definitely a given, they’d be a really fun character! - you could absolutely have a poet, inspired by Banjo Patterson or Dorothea Mackellar from the late 1800s. - perhaps an Edwardian actress or singer? The Australian film industry was pretty big in the very early days (also federation and white women’s right to vote around this time) - scouting has been in Australia for a very long time and it’s pretty big here, I think that would be a fun character to have! - Australians love to poke fun at our politicians, so I could see the Julian character staying as a politician and I think most people would really enjoy that, a politician dying with his pants down is EXACTLY the sort of joke that goes down well here You could easily make it pretty diverse with the cast - there were bushrangers from all different backgrounds and genders (and you could incorporate the captain’s death with Captain Moonlite’s relationship and death, there are lots of parallels), and a lot of people came from China for the gold rush and had large communities, and almost all of the other characters could easily be diverse too.

[@solfeggietto8306]

I think the U.S. one realised the thing about Thorfinn, as a running joke starts in s2 that he may just be playing up his lack of language skills. In the most recent ep, it is also revealed that he, like Robin, learned another foreign language

[@AzraelThanatos]

I'd kind of figured that a lot of it was also more of just terms that he thinks of things in with them along with a more scandanavian vocal pattern with associations there for him.

[@Ma5jay5dontxdoxthat]

​@AzraelThanatos He learned Sass's language before English, and spoke that the entire time it was just them two. When he did first learn English it was definitely different from modern English. I always thought it that he just kinda gave up with the sentence structure in a way that he is more comfortable. So he can still retain the other languages he knows and learn new ones

[@tomekjankowski5576]

Thanks for this comparison! One thing I think the British version gets better is the home. The British Button House looks a lot more run down, more decrepit, a lot scarier than the American Woodstone Mansion. the British pilot episode really conveyed well the sense that this was a crumbling, old building, and as the (living) characters walked through it, it looked both more spooky as well as quite frankly structurally dangerous. And the basement in particular looked terrifying, the stuff of nightmares. In the American show, however, while the living characters keep saying things like this place looks scary, in truth, it actually looks like a quaint older building rather than a neglected haunted mansion. It actually looks like a nice place for a B&B, in fact. The basement in the American version looks like a typical turn-of-the-20th century residential basement, not somewhere you'd expect to find a pre-modern mass grave of some sort. I would be terrified to dig in the British version basement, however. (at least IMHO).

[@moodycowcrafts4862]

I wouldn’t be surprised if the cast of uk ghosts had contact with English heritage/national trust or one of the various restoration and maintainence groups that work with historical heritage sites/buildings who would know the kinds of things you could expect to see in those kinds of inherited aging buildings

[@grahamsmith9541]

The house dating back to the 1400s is West Horsley Place. It was inherited in a run down state. By Bamber Gascoigne. The original presenter of University Challenge in 2014. He and his wife Christina set up a charity in 2015 to restore the building that work is still ongoing. Ownership of the building was given to the charity. It has also been used in Enola Holmes, Vanity Fair and Howards End.

[@moodycowcrafts4862]

@@grahamsmith9541 very cool - thanks for the info

[@spicedch4i]

I agree. The UK show is filmed in a 400 year old building while the US is filmed on a soundstage and it impacts the tone for me. Of course the US house would be much younger but I don't get the authentically dusty old mansion feeling from it the same way I do with Buttom House. It FEELS like a soundstage.

[@murmursmeglos]

Part of me wonders if the UK version avoided doing a Roman because Monty Python: Life of Brian is still one of the biggest comedies of all time. When you put the words 'comedy' and 'Roman' together it's hard not to think of Biggus Dickus. I remember they did some Roman stuff on Horrible Histories but perhaps they think it's a bit over-done and identified more with other characters.

[@SEGASister]

From what I understand, a Spanish adaptation is being rumored. But frankly, I would _love_ to see a Japanese version! I can honestly see this version having a JPop Idol from the late 2000s/early 2010s being the youngest ghost (both chronologically and biologically) instead of the Julian/Trevor who died during Japan's Lost Decade. Also, I think that Thomas and Sasaspis are closer parallels than one may think: both storytellers (Thomas being a poet, specifically), and they're both hopeless romantics.

[@SEGASister]

Also I’m pretty sure there’s going to be an Aboriginal ghost who will serve as a parallel to Sasappis in the Australian adaptation ^^ EDIT: More ideas for Japanese adaptation! Basement ghosts are from Japan's smallpox epidemic from the eighth century The Captain equivalent was a general fending Japan from the Mongols Thomas Thorne's equivalent was a poet and lover of Oda Nobunaga Robin equivalent died during the Ice Age, when Japan's earliest settlers migrated to the archipelago

[@kaylahensley1581]

Ghost culture in Asia would be a cool twist to the premise.

[@carlbirtles4518]

Wouldn’t mind seeing a Samurai.

[@paul11-f9e]

i would love to see a filipino version

[@paul11-f9e]

@@kaylahensley1581we do need more asian ghosts in these shows

[@vanne3159]

10:47 I do remember Fanny and Humphrey getting it on 😂 There was an entire episode filled with it, but when he was 'complete', her crush was over rather swiftly.

[@eloisewatson9489]

I'm Australian and I love all your theories for the aussie series! Australians love taking the piss out of politicians so I wouldn't be surprised if we do get a Julian character like a Bob Hawke parody, and Scouts is quite big here so there probably will be a scout leader character too. I would love to see a Picnic at Hanging Rock type Edwardian lady and a Ned Kelly bushranger. I also wouldn't be surprised if there's more than one First Nations character, one from pre-colonisation and one from more recently to represent more perspectives (although the latter might be associated with too much trauma for a sitcom). Maybe they could do something similar to Alberta with an Aboriginal blues singer as an homage to The Sapphires.

[@shadowmaster1313]

Would love to see a gold rush era Asian Australian too

[@eloisewatson9489]

@@shadowmaster1313 yes absolutely!

[@donei132]

I can totally seeing there being a Depression-era swagman

[@jessicascoullar3737]

Will be interesting to see where they set it. Old homestead in the outback would have a very different cast of characters than a mansion in the city.

[@donei132]

@ The synopsis from the Paramount/Network Ten Upfronts makes it seem like the manor will be in the country. “New lovebirds Kate and Sean are about to jump into the hellscape that is the inner-city rental market, until Kate inherits a huge mansion in the country. Moving in together for the first time the young couple are attempting domestic bliss, but unbeknown to them, the house is haunted by a collection of needy spirits who died in Ramshead Manor over the last 200 years….” Ramshead Manor will probably be a pastoral manor, something like what was shown in A Place to Call Home.

[@JuLie-yc4jm]

I don't know if it has been mentioned before but Max Giermann, who is going to play the roman is also part of the main cast of a german show called Sketch History which is similar to Horrible Histories. So it's nice to know, that also people with apperantly a genuine interest in history work on the adaptations.

[@irvenman]

I think Sas could be the Thomas of the US version. Both have troubles with love and are artists. Sas is a storyteller and Thomas is a poet.

[@classicaljg]

@@irvenman that’s a good point - Sas is so much more with it than Thomas I hadn’t really thought of them that way, but that’s true!

[@sergioandrade8735]

Also Trevor flirts a lot with Samantha.

[@classicaljg]

@@sergioandrade8735 I think that’s why I didn’t see the parallels between Sass and Thomas at first, because that storyline was given to Trevor and it’s such a huge part of Thomas’ character and arc. And Sass being a storyteller and unlucky in love was revealed a bit more slowly

[@MinimalistTheatre333]

To me Sass is a lot like Humphrey. He is the second-oldest of the current ghosts, very sarcastic and observant (though in Humphrey's case this is because he can't move).

[@JustMe-dc6ks]

I liked how they used Sas’s linguistic and cultural fluency for the joke where he fakes Sam out with the lie that he’s a modern guy who died at a costume party.

[@spongebakesquarepansgaming]

there is a puritan in the U.S version called patience that's similar to marry but she's gone mad from being underground for too long

[@classicaljg]

Yes, she is similar - I filmed this before Season 4 started, I'll need to update it!

[@manchesterunitedno7]

@@classicaljg Indeed. The Puritan ghost called Patience's lore only started to surface toward the end of S03. So it definitely a recurring act in S04. Oh, you also forget mentioning the ghost of Carol, Pete's widow, and Thorfinn's son, Bjorn.

[@classicaljg]

@ I was trying to keep spoilers for later (S3) episodes to a minimum and S4 hadn’t come out yet when I filmed this

[@emmacobb591]

There was a Puritan ghost in the UK version Annie she was only in a couple of scenes. She crossed over sometime before the series

[@spongebakesquarepansgaming]

@@emmacobb591 i don't remember that ghost what season was she in?

[@Wererabbitle]

This is so great! What better way is there for sooo many people to include to their everyday mind the fact that history always happened everywhere, in a really fun way, than having this show for as many places and cultures as possible! Thank you for looking over it from your historian perpective as an addition to your enthusiasm

[@adriennefoster8613]

FWIW, Rose McIver, the actress playing Samantha in the “American” version, is from New Zealand.

[@sjTHEfirst]

Love both the UK & US versions. Thanks for the comparison. Also, love the “Lower Decks” Tom Paris plate on the shelf behind you.

[@cathywithac]

Australia will have a convict.

[@geofftottenperthcoys9944]

Of course, with a aussie accent as well.

[@Ego_Sum_Nemo]

@@geofftottenperthcoys9944 no

[@geofftottenperthcoys9944]

@@Ego_Sum_Nemo Well I hope not since there was not one at the time! That's what I was getting at!

[@Ego_Sum_Nemo]

@ and it wouldn’t make sense

[@Ego_Sum_Nemo]

@ bring back the uk original I think it’s much better than all the copies

[@Fr.O.G.]

The jury system saved a lot of lives during the witch trials in England. Just going north of the border to Scotland where only a majority was needed to convict, the deaths from executions shoot through the roof.

[@lloydcollins6337]

To be fair James VI of Scotland (later I of England also) tried to control this - he both had a fascination with witchcraft and wanted to find out what was happening in his Kingdom and how to prevent it, but he also recognised that not everyone accused was a witch or had done anything wrong so he overturned at least some of the verdicts after questioning the women personally. I'd recommend the podcast series "A history of witchcraft" by Samuel Hulme as a great resource for finding out how the period went (primarily in the UK though he did have some stuff on the continent). If you're still interested in his podcasts his ongoing ones now are "Pax Britannica" (currently doing a great job of the English Civil Wars) and "Winds of Change" (talking about the end of British Empire, starting off with the Indians).

[@Iwasabolished]

15:40 imo it's because of the difference in character, since Sassapis would have wanted to learn English whereas Thorfinn is much more stubborn and hesitant, plus it adds to comedy aspect.

[@SunFlower-xr2ov]

I believe that when he was alive, he was a story teller. This would also explain his ability to adapt to and use another language.

[@JGlaister]

I have taken to calling my SUV "LANDSHIP."

[@jadenova]

I feel like that Flower would be the American counterpart to Kitty since they are both spacey and out of it at times.

[@HuntingViolets]

They even both chase butterflies. I feel there’s a lot of mix and remix with these characters rather than one-to-one (except with Pat/Pete, at least at first).

[@17thCentury_Lady]

More countries should do Ghosts, its a fun way of learning about history and its effect on culture

[@bewilderbeastie8899]

What I find amusing is that everyone in the US version is like... hotter? The UK version just look like normal people. Anyway, Italian Ghosts would definitely have a Roman. And either a Renaissance artist OR a Thomas-style Medieval poet who is insanely jealous of Dante's popularity and forever sore Florentine became standard use Italian rather than whatever dialect HE speaks (which should be something obscure and rarely spoken, and he speaks with subtitles the entire first series until it's revealed that GASP he CAN speak Italian!). Then maybe one of Garibaldi's Thousand? A partisan? An early 20th century Anarchist, A Sicilian Arab, maybe? Idk, so many to choose from.

[@m0ssle]

i thought this aswell, none of them feel real & normal 😭

[@bewilderbeastie8899]

@@m0ssle Americans get scared when they have to see a real-looking person on TV

[@late_prince8945]

I need a version of this show for every country

[@paul11-f9e]

I would love an East and Southeast Asian version. Like the Hetty/Fanny figure could be a filipino Dona

[@FinallyBeingMyself]

I would gladly watch this show in every language!

[@AhhBooksnTea]

As an Australian I could see our version of Jemima being a waltzing Matilda style person as in that song they are singing and then drown themselves to escape the police. And it’s mentioned in the song that if you go past the lake you can still hear them singing waltzing Matilda

[@lloydcollins6337]

Can't you hear "Waltzing Matilda" constantly in Australia? I was told it was played by every drop bear by an Aussie I met in London. And the kookaburras apparently all play "Down under" constantly too.

[@itskdog]

You mentioning Kylie at the end, reminds me that for a charity special (can't remember if it was CiN or Comic Relief) they had a storyline where Kylie was at the house and it was revealed that she, too, could see ghosts. I wonder if the Australian version finds some way to tie in that weird extra bit of trivia from an obscure mini-episode somehow.

[@danielmalinen6337]

Imagine how crazy the Finnish version of Ghosts could be if there ever will be one. Just a little mix of Finnish folklore with the concept of the Ghosts series, we can get very interesting possible plot directions, such as that living people can become "pseudo-ghosts" and separate from their bodies while they are asleep.

[@classicaljg]

I’ve come across the concept of living ghosts before but I didn’t know it was particularly popular in Finland, that’s really interesting :) I would love to see a Finnish version - I don’t know if I’ve ever seen any Finnish films or TV shows but if Finnish comedy is as deadpan and goofy at the same time as their F1 drivers it must be great 😂

[@martynnotman3467]

9 drunk depressed ghosts in a sauna

[@ursyoola]

Love how much of your shelf space is taken up by Terry Prachett! My cat, Greebo, and I approve!

[@rc31802]

Absolutely love TP!

[@lkj974]

The reason Sassapis speaks better English than Thorfinn is because Sassapis is much smarter than Thorfinn. That is the point that is being made. In fact, Sassapis is clearly the most intelligent character in the American series. In America, in treatments of Salem witches in tv and movies they are usually shown being burned. Did not know they were hanged. The American headless ghost Crash probably died riding a motorcycle not a car. Imagine hitting a taut wire at neck level while riding a motorcycle at full speed. If you ride a motorcycle in America (or a mountain bike) you have probably heard about this kind of decapitation. And there is an episode in the American TV series "The Night Stalker" where a motorcycle rider from the 1950's is decapitated while riding. It's definitely a headless corpse trope in America. IRL, It is more common in an off road context.

[@snowangelnc]

That's interesting. I'm from the US and I don't think I've ever seen a portrayal of the Salem witch trials in which the condemned weren't hanged. I've seen tv and movies that showed people being burned, but all of those were set in Europe.

[@fluorescentpink573]

hey, huge fan of ghosts here - glad i came across this video :) coincidentally i just saw the cast photos/descriptions of the german and french casts and i'm quite excited! the german one in particular seemed a little lacking in deviation from the original british version, which was a little disappointing, but i'm hoping that will change as they develop the characters' personalities a little. the french version seems much more intriguing to me - they chose to tackle the vichy era with the collaborator ghost, which i can appreciate, and i think it'd be really cool if the soldier ghost is from the same time period. of course the 'lady of the manor' ghost might have been killed in the revolution, which would make a really interesting plot point. super excited as well to see which direction the aussie version takes :) having heard some political stories from aussie friends i think they could totally do an analog to julian (lol) and i think your ideas for the outlaw and the soap star would be amazing to watch! i imagine they could also tap into australia's past as a penal colony and have an escaped prisoner, and maybe they could also put a twist on the 'lady of the manor' ghost and instead have a young british aristocrat who left home in search of adventure. in any case, can't wait! :)

[@classicaljg]

@@fluorescentpink573 I’m really surprised that the French one includes a collaborator but it will definitely be interesting!

[@manchesterunitedno7]

I believe you have mentioned it in the video. But I wish the US version also include the creepy little girl ghost, just for a reason of her rare appearances in made the show feeling a little bit spookier. I love the trope that the other ghosts even creeping out whenever that little girl appeared out of nowhere singing nursery rhyme.

[@oliverbrownlow5615]

Interestingly, there was a creepy little girl ghost like this on the American Daytime gothic soap opera DARK SHADOWS In the late 1960s (Sarah Collins, the vampire Barnabas Collins' little sister, whose appearances were often heralded by a solo flute playing, "London Bridge is Falling Down").

[@pb51-d8f]

I think the little girl was replaced by the prom girl who sleeps all the time in the attic

[@manchesterunitedno7]

@@pb51-d8f I see that. But it doesn't have the same ring to it. Although the 80s prom girl has the advantage of recurring appearances anytime.

[@lm3244]

A note on nativism/ indigenousness in Britain. The “waves and waves” of migration into Britain can be characterised by two major factors, those being : the genetic exchange was between already similar groups and large scale replacement (without dramatic genetic exchange). The later migrations during the “migration era”, were again between genetically and culturally similar groups - the Romans left little to no genetic trace amongst the Britons. Looking ahead to the Viking era. The, primarily Danish Vikings, came roughly from the same areas that the Angles and Jutes had originally set off from. The separation in time between the Celtic migration and post Roman migration into Britain was so great, that those who lived here during that time had reached homogeneity enough to be considered a distinct and native people. With the Germanic tribes mixing later, during the early medieval period, creating a new largely homogeneous people. With the difference between the Brythonic and Germanic peoples being so minuscule, it can be compared to the difference between Apache and Comanche Americans - a once homogeneous group that splintered into two separate cultures. The last major migration into Britain, which bought a genetic impact, was the Norman invasion. The Normans being a genetically similar group to the British and the genetic impact is mostly negligible for the majority of the population. So if you can call someone whose ancestry goes back ( at least) to 9th century New Mexico , native - even though, their ancestors mixed with Arizonan Natives. It necessarily follows that you can call the genetically homogeneous British, native. It’s only due to Taboo and a greater understanding of your own history, not necessarily genetic or cultural exchange, that you can’t say we are native to our country. Native American history is a blind spot for many people, often viewing them as one monocultural and homogeneous group devoid of mixing, borders and inter cultural warfare. Instead viewing pre columbian America with as being similar or analogous to European cultural and genetic exchange. I research population exchange within many different cultures and I find it very offensive that we “give” some groups Native status but not others. Otherwise great video. Kudos on debunking the “burning witch” trope, which has unfortunately ruined modern discourse around history and religion.

[@theatrelover9920]

As an Irish person, I really want an Irish version of Ghosts!

[@garywoolton1875]

using the not too traumatic death would mean nothing from the great famine, or possibly from the civil war in early 20s, if set in Kilmainham Gaol sold off to private property dealer who falls down the stairs.

[@jenniferpearce1052]

@@garywoolton1875 Or even if the caretaker for it fell down the stairs. They'd have to build a whole set to mock the place up though.

[@CAP198462]

Anyone who has that many Terry Pratchett books is a good egg. GNU Terry Pratchett.

[@lloydcollins6337]

GNU STP

[@colinneagle4495]

An in depth breakdown of sitcoms + discussion of world history + a lower decks Tom Paris collectors plate in the background? This is the type of niche content I come to the internet for! I watch the US version of Ghost and have seen some of the UK version, and I thought of the shows as building upon pop culture knowledge and tropes relating to memorable period in each countries history, but I like how you bring up ghost folklore from each country too! Both the 50's Greaser ghost and 80's prom ghost do come from American urban legend archetypes, which is such a valid source of inspiration for the shows!

[@stescot1969]

I thoroughly enjoyed your video, especially as I am such a fan of both the UK and US versions (and guilty of watching both versions several times). I also really appreciated the amount of thought and information you put into the video regarding the characters as I had given little thought to the parallel ghosts. Looking forward to a follow up video, especially now the UK version has ended.

[@susanlawens3776]

What would be a funny thing for an episode for Ghosts (US version), would be that Thorfinn messes up one day and speaks perfect English. As in, he always could, but just chose not to, doesn't bother speaking English perfectly because he doesn't feel like it. Maybe the first English speakers he met were Danish Americans?

[@Yandarval]

Better still if he comes out with perfect RP English.

[@SEGASister]

Makes sense. Plus, he's able to speak Lenape just fine. The Lenape are in no way related to the Danish lol

[@williammckinney4090]

It's pretty obvious that Thorfinn speaks broken English on purpose just to mess with the others.

[@GlennGTO]

Yeah but his son that lives in the other house speaks just like him

[@susanlawens3776]

@@GlennGTO Fair point. I guess that solves that. So, we're all still wondering then why he choses to speak broken English when he's had centuries to get it right.

[@adelem432]

Salem resident here (tour guide, too)! Oh, so many tourists think that accused witched were burned in the US. Nope! Hanging in the states. Burning more of a European thing. Here in Salem, 19 people were hung, and one was crushed to death. The US series takes place in Hudson Valley, north of NYC, although it is filmed in the Province of Quebec (Montreal area). New York State is not part of New England. BTW, my favorite ghost is Isaac, and I love the fact that his boyfriend is the British soldier that he shot during the war.

[@adriennefoster8613]

@@adelem432 Nigel’s accent is no better than Scotty’s in Star Trek.

[@SEGASister]

Piggybacking off of you: while New York did have witch trials, none, to my knowledge, were legally executed for witchcraft. Almost all were acquitted (some even came from Connecticut and moved to New York to live normal lives afterwards), and then there was one who, sadly, was killed by a mob while in her home. But who knows? Any records of witch trials in my home state were lost in a fire in 1911.

[@lloydcollins6337]

Hanging was the main form of execution for witches in England and Scotland too, mainly because it was a crime in law and was tried in a court (where execution was by hanging except for Treason). Burning was more of a thing we did to people of the "opposite" form of Christianity (I.E. Bloody Mary burned lots of protestants, Elizabeth I burned a few Catholics).

[@RWilliamEdminster]

I wonder whether having Flower be a hippy was influenced by Woodstock being in the Hudson Valley.

[@lisab9541]

People are hanged, not hung.

[@amylouise1]

This is really cool, thank you for this video. I am a huge fan of Ghosts and Horrible Histories so it’s exciting to see further adaptations of this beloved show. I’m especially looking forward to the Australian one and hope they are respectful with its history ofc.

[@donaldoconner]

There could be several American versions. A California or Texas or Michigan version could have a wildly different cast of ghosts than the upstate New York location of the CBS ghosts series

[@classicaljg]

@@donaldoconner California or Texas would be really cool, but since my husband is from Michigan I would love to see that one! :)

[@Seal0626]

This is the first video of yours that I've seen, I really enjoyed it! And I particularly appreciate the bookcase to your right.

[@classicaljg]

@@Seal0626 Thank you so much! :)

[@8monday0110]

in terms of the australian one, it would be great if there was more representation! esp. asian characters, if its set somewhere in victoria i could imagine a chinese miner ghost from the 1850s because i know there was a lot of chinese immigrants coming over to the goldfields. but regardless i think asian immigration is such a big thing in australian history, so it would be great to have more characters like that, and not only have white british people! continuing with the gold rush, there could be all types of characters from then- the huge numbers of immigrants to the gold fields from all over the world, someone from the eureka stockade maybe (or a similar fictionalised event), rich buisness types from the latter half of the 19th century, maybe from afterwards when the money was running out, an edward cole type character of an eccentric rich melburnian.... so many possibilities! also i could imagine some ww1/ww2 ghosts, but since there were so little deaths in australia that would be kind of hard- maybe a ww1 nurse in training who died? of course there would have to be some convict ghosts, its pretty much a given, though it depends exactly where its set. there could also be a burke and wills type of character, an explorer of the frontier who died from something out in the bush. i would imagine in regional victoria you would be able to conceivably have the gold rush, convicts, a bushranger, a boarding school, and all those sorts of settings and characters. although it could really be anywhere in australia, i just know most about melbourne! no matter where it goes, i think australian history is so interesting but sadly often ignored so this show would be a great way to explore how interesting it is!

[@Ithunn]

As someone who is not Australian at all, when I think of 'stereotypical' australian things, ghosts would include something like: - Surfer dude ghost - Ghost who died from some sort animal attack like a crocodile or from a deadly spider bite - british or irish ghost from penal colony (only possible if it's at specific locations I guess) - first nation ghost - just some ghost from any era who accidentally ate the wrong bush tucker lol

[@brionl4741]

Plot twist, everybody died from being bitten by the same species of spider. 😁

[@ssllylawrence618]

The equivalent of Fanny/ Hetty would be a squatter.

[@LucasBenderChannel]

I do hope the new versions can emancipate themselves from the UK and US mold! Ghosts is such a vibrant world and interesting concept for a show! So the producers of all adaptations should lean into their regional differences and specialities. I was honestly quite disappointed that the German version would so closely match the British one. But I'm nontheless excited for it, especially the Roman ghost. Thank you for the video!^^

[@TSIRKLAND]

Right? The core concept: "Modern person gains the ability to interact with ghosts in some funny sitcom way" should be WIDE open to interpretation. The writers/cast of the original show came up with their concept. The American folks took that concept almost beat for beat, with some relatively minor changes. Other adaptations could easily do their own thing with it, if they chose to. Though I wonder if there are any legal / copyright ramifications to making extreme changes and still claiming relation to the original? I never know how all of that behind the scenes stuff works...

[@andreanewell628]

I enjoyed all your information, observations, and speculations. As a big fan of the American series who would also like to see more of the British series and find out how the German and Australian versions turn out, I really hope that you do the update you mentioned once more information on the latter two is available. In particular, it might be helpful to include clips (with English captions for the German show naturally) so you don’t need to spend quite so much time describing how the various characters are played. As for Thorfin speaking broken English while Sass sounds like a mainstream modern American accent, I guess they wanted the same humor of a prehistoric character struggling with a language barrier that Robin generated, but didn’t want to overdo the “dumb primitive can’t talk right” trope by inflicting it upon the Native American as well. Whilst Thor doesn’t have the same “different brain” excuse as Robin, I think his odd speech patterns could be thematically explained. Unlike Sass, Thor represents (to the American mind at least) a warlike, prejudiced mentality. His obsession with Danes demonstrates that he has not made much effort to move past the violent and competitive mores of his time and culture (again, as modern Americans would perceive it.) So it might seem reasonable to the show runners that such a boorish, aggressive person would make less effort to fully master English. If he gets his main points across (and he does), the details of grammar are not a major concern for him. Indeed, he may well take some pride in retaining his worldview, as when he continues calling cars “land ships”, simply because he doesn’t much like taking other perspectives. In short, he is the epitome of what modern Americans loathe in ourselves. Or our neighbors, to the extent that we can project those qualities on others. It’s no surprise that the person chosen to represent these characteristics is the one least likely to be considered an actual American. Sass, on the other hand, is from one of the people groups that suffered most from the formation and expansion of colonies and the eventual European-style nations. You are probably right that they purposely avoided making his death a product of colonial or post-colonial oppression of indigenous peoples. But given our collective sense of guilt for how his people were treated, even if it was after his time, an American audience clearly likes his portrayal as arguably the smartest, funniest, most adaptable individual of the Ghost ensemble. I get the strong impression that he is a fan favorite. So naturally, he needs to speak as much like us as possible. 😉

[@classicaljg]

@@andreanewell628 good point! :)

[@ThisIsAHandle-xz5yo]

Also Sass was a story teller, meaning he would be more open to learning a new language so he could tell more stories

[@ridethewave-k1l]

Sass himself explained why he sounds current. He told Thorflin that he pays attention

[@melindamelton5612]

It's implied that Thorfinn is just messing with everyone (Thor still calling cars 'landships' while it's shown that he can understand more modern things, "you can understand [modern thing] but still call cars landships"). Sas is also an observer. Watching everyone around him, it makes sense that he would pick things up after observing the things and people around him for 500 years.

[@marieroberts5664]

When it comes down to it, Sass is a real American, the first American, and thus, he should speak like any New Yorker would!

[@emmataylor1377]

I belive that Robin speaks broken English by choice and that him speaking French perfectly is just showing how he could speak English "normaly" if he wanted to, like I see it more as a dialect that he's purposely chosen to keep

[@CCTippers]

Would love to hear an update, Ghosts is just brilliant both versions, can’t wait to see the other upcoming versions.

[@spicedch4i]

I feel like an interesting aspect of Mary's witch burning is that it wasn't her original death- they planned on having a drowned witch but couldn't figure out how that could possibly work on film, so went with burning instead, reagrdless of historical accuracy.

[@potsy86]

Oh heck yes - so looking forward to the Australian version. Was so ready to hate the usa (re: Red Dwarf) version but love it. Can't wait to see what they do!

[@MicoHunter]

What a fantastic video. So glad to have found your channel. This is right up my street ❤

[@sunrayuk]

I love the idea of a roman in the german version. Wish we had a roman in the british version. But again the german version has to have a roman because they probably dont want to show any form of german militarism.

[@Stoatmaster]

15:47 maybe bc Thorfinn was struck by lightning, that somehow caused head trauma in the afterlife. Idk.

[@Threeducksisperfect]

Also sass is a story teller so him learning language properly would br a hogher priority to him while not as much for thorfinn. Also revealed in season 4 that thorfinn knew how to speak lenape to speak with sass so enlgish is his third language and probably couodnt be bothered at that point.

[@Spicycelt]

This was really interesting to watch! I personally see a lot of similarities with Kitty and Flower in terms of personality to be fair - I feel as though Flower is a bit of a mix between Mary and Kitty!

[@veronicaezzy73]

Thank you I found this very interesting. Being a fan of both the British and American versions of this wonderful sitcom. I really want to see every version of Ghosts as the writing is always funny and very heartwarming. It deserves every success.

[@HibernatingBadger]

Great video! Very interesting and informative :)

[@classicaljg]

Thank you!

[@joshkorte9020]

I love both versions, and I'm excited for the new series!

[@rc31802]

One of the strengths of the concept is that it can be used in different countries and even different regions of the same country. As another Pratchett fan, I'd like to think that he would enjoy this show.

[@rc31802]

There was a fantastic Australian series called Spirits that features a single ghost who was a British rocker (70s era I think). I love it (I'm American) so I'm looking forward to the Australian version of ghosts

[@mollytovxx4181]

​@@rc31802 Yes! It was called 'Spirited'. I loved that series. It felt like it took inspiration from 'The Ghost and Mrs Muir'. I was so mad when it got cancelled but it's still worth watching. Fans of 'Ghosts' will definitely like it.

[@onomatopunic1710]

There is Monte Cristo in Junee here in Australia that is supposed to be "the most Haunted" homestead in AU. It's late Victorian and was built/commissioned by one the town's founders Christopher Crawley (So even the name is kinda spooky) A true rags to riches type story. The woman who is reportedly to haunt the place was his wife who apparently locked herself away after his death. There are reportedly 10 other ghosts haunting the place, ranging from a plethora of deaths. So I'm thinking this would be on the short lists of places to film, especially given the current owner's hardships.

[@lisab9541]

Love that they may get financial support from the show production. Always want beautiful architecture and craftsmanship saved.

[@Cptn-Lynx]

I could yap about the captains repressed homosexuality forever, even down to the convenient positioning of a “keep it under your hat” propaganda poster. Even down to his sort of coming out in S5 EP5 was literally so beautiful and demonstrated how the ghosts can break out of beliefs from their time and develop different attitudes to certain topics (Fanny’s change from calling the lesbian wedding “scandalous” and a “spectacle” to being the one to call the captain brave.) I love their dynamics, I love the captain, I love the show

[@RoseNoir90]

Jemima did also appear in S2 briefly to help out with stopping the robbery

[@colinmoore7460]

Nice Pratchett collection behind you.

[@markgrindol859]

The US show is in the Hudson Valley, New York part of the Mid-Atlantic Region not New England. The ghosts Crash and Stephanie were killed by a chainsaw-wielding killer which is why his head was cut off. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" with its headless horseman is set in the Hudson Valley so maybe a future show will explore this.

[@classicaljg]

@@markgrindol859 I did wonder why they hadn’t done more with the Sleepy Hollow legend, but the US show had a lot more episodes so they might explore it a bit this season. They’ve gone an interesting route with the witch trials - looks like we’ll be seeing someone who accused other people of witchcraft rather than a victim

[@MariaMartinez-researcher]

@@classicaljg That identification is incorrect. Stephanie was killed in 1987; her boyfriend's name was Tad, he wore a light suit with a flower in his lapel. Crash, given his clothing, way of speaking, and musical preferences, appears to be from the 1950s. Same as with Sassapis, there is not an explanation yet about how he died.

[@SEGASister]

@@classicaljg I actually live in the area where the show is set (and close to the real Sleepy Hollow)! I'm also surprised they didn't lean into the headless ghost. Then again, that would've been half of the main cast of ghosts dying in the 20th century.

[@rach_laze]

Crash had a car accident which decapitated him, he’s a 50s greaser. Stephanie was the one killed by the chainsaw wielding killer on Prom night

[@lloydcollins6337]

@@rach_laze From memory I think her boyfriend was killed too but didn't become a ghost for whatever reason.

[@charlieball5697]

Re: Thorfin's "broken" English... I believe toward the end of the second season, maybe early in the third, there was a brief moment where Thorfin actually did (very briefly) speak clearly and well, using a more complex medical or psychological term, before reverting to his normal style of speaking. Sass even called him out on it a bit, noting that he *could* speak "normally" and was clearly just messing with everyone.

[@--------04]

I would like the possibilities with other countries, even though there aren't remakes (for now) in that country. Edit: I just realized the reference to "stupid deaths" in the cbs version

[@lisahoshowsky4251]

The UK show is one of my biggest personal Mandela Effects. I have such a distinct memory watching it in the house I lived in my 2nd and 3rd year of university. My roommates had some sort of tv box and there were a bunch of shows on it and I remember watching it in the living room of that house so distinctly. The only problem is, that show started in 2019 and I moved out of that house in 2017!! I remember them announcing the finale and I’m like, wow that show got a pretty good run only to google and realize it had only been on 4 years not 7 or 8 like I thought. I’m still flabbergasted to this day. I don’t even know if I saw an actual episode until 2022 or 2023 but I can so distinctly remember seeing it in that house.

[@classicaljg]

@@lisahoshowsky4251 It’s so weird when that happens! The Mandela effect is so strange…

[@catherinesikora8397]

Loved this! Thanks so much for your work!

[@Out_Beyond_The_Heliopause]

Brilliant video & love the plate from we'll always have Tom Paris on the bookshelf!

[@PoppyCorn144]

In s3 of GhostsUS Pete asks Thorfinn if he’s messing with them, so he probably is a bit. I mean, calling cars “land ships” is a definite choice,😂

[@deany83]

~We know so far from the Paramount/10 press release that the Australian version will have a humans called Kate and Sean and will be set in the country at Ramshead Manor and will feature 6 ghosts.

[@Nakiatakai]

I would like to see in the Australian version the "basement ghosts" be a bunch of prisoners. Cause Australia used to be a place where prisoners were sent to in the 1788 to 1868. That would work perfectly for that group of people. Yes, that was horrible, but it works so well for the show.

[@angelasaunders3558]

Love this . Thanks for posting.

[@ashez2ashes]

It’d be neat if they had a crossover. Like if one of the other couples went on vacation to the US bed and breakfast.

[@traceyrich4885]

There was another very early US episode that very closely paralleled a British episode: 4th US episode Dinner Party, where Sam and Jay invite over the nearby Farnsbys to get Mr. Farnsby (who is on the zoning board) to allow the bed and breakfast has the same A plot as the UK 5th episode Moonah Stone, where Allison and Mike invite over their nearest neighbor (a mile away) for dinner and get into a dispute over land rights to access their property, which again would interfere with the B&B. In both cases they get the permissions they want when they use ghost knowledge of illegal activities by the neighbor to get them to go along with the B&B. I had seen the UK one before the US one and was very concerned that three of the first four US episodes had the same plot as early UK episodes but the US episodes started to move in another direction after that. Love the show (both US and UK), but not happy with the US one starting to turn scoutmaster Pete into kind of a jerk in Season 4.

[@Willyowlduck]

Flower is more of a Kitty than a Mary. I would say Alberta is more of a Mary because they were both plotted against. I think they are setting up Sasappis to be a lovelorn Thomas.

[@LemonPiglets]

thank you for this video! Looking forward to update!!!

[@ericsmith123]

Great video. In UK sn2 ep6 "Bump in the Night" the Jemima the plague girl does appear, as she's enlisted to speak to 999 about the burglars, but only sings her creepy song.

[@stephenclark9917]

Kylie did appear in the UK version. A rare character that could also see ghosts.

[@imdbbookaholic]

Kylie Minogue was in a Red Nose Day webisode, not in the tv series itself

[@lisab9541]

I love the US and UK versions. How wonderful to find this video. Thank you.

[@smitachengappa]

Really enjoyed this!

[@HuntingViolets]

A 30-minute show should not have more than three minutes of commercials. It's ridiculous how shows on commercial television shrink and shrink.

[@obugger]

On the point about the two Captains. The US version could have had a WW2 ghost as the British ghost was killed by a heart attack not military action, so a US WW2 Captain could have suffered the same fate.

[@linkmaxwell]

I'd say Kitty & Flower are counterparts - happy and a bit ditzy, but deeper than they usually come off. Mary's counterpart is the Puritan, Prudence.

[@classicaljg]

yes, I need to update the video, I filmed it before Season 4 started

[@katiehowell2537]

You're right about her being Mary's counterpart but her name is Patience, not Prudence.

[@stefanjakubowski8222]

Wow! A youtube algorithm link that really worked, we love the American version, but had problems working through the british version, can't wait to see what it will look like in other settings From Fellow trekkies across the pond, thanks and you have new subscribers

[@classicaljg]

@@stefanjakubowski8222 Thank you! :)

[@Droidysseus]

I enjoy the "inside joke" that most of the basement ghosts in the original UK version are the same actors as the "main floor' ghosts.

[@AtomicAus]

25:10 she does make another appearance, during the burglary episode! 🎶burglary in progress🎶 I love the UK version, and I actually took years before seeing the CBS version because I was certain it was going to be another example of the yanks taking a concept from another country and ruining it in adaptation. But I really like how they've done it, at this point the CBS version really is its own thing. When it comes to Thorfinn and his English, my theory is that he's just fking with them. They've dropped hints in the past, but its becoming so much of a thing that the others are calling him out on it. It does make sense though, the man has learned at least three languages, with both English and Lenape having been through immersion alone. There's also the structural differences between them all. But I still reckon he's doing it to screw with everyone.

[@KitKat1965]

If they had Sass speak like Thordan, there would have been some serious outcry from the Native American community. Also, Julian and Fanny lampshaded ( in season 5 (about "getting together" (like Hetty and Trevor)" as it were, but then hastily mix that idea. I thought that was a nice nod to US version.

[@Jessica-cj3jo]

FYI US Ghosts is actually not set in New England. It's set in Ulster County New York (roughly an hour or two upstate from New York City depending on where exactly in the county Woodstone is located.) New York is considered to be in the Mid-Atlantic region, though the Mid-Atlantic and New England are sometimes collectively referred to as the "Northeast" region. Salem would be about 4 hours away via car. I'd also say Flower is a closer parallel to Kitty than Mary in that she's very sweet but somewhat ditzy and often forgets things. Isaac also gets a variation on Mary's power and is closer in era, though his other aspects are from the Captain. Flower also takes Kitty's place as the person whose room is behind wall Mike/Jay breaks in Fanny/Hetty's room. And Thomas's crush on Alison is replicated in Trevor's crush on Sam, though the US version (wisely IMO) drops it relatively quickly, unlike the UK version where the bit (again IMO) outstays its welcome.

[@SomeKindOfThing]

Australian here, I think there's potential for someone of 18thC French descent if it's set in Sydney, and maybe a 19thC Chinese ghost, or an American from the gold rush era, or anyone from before the White Australia policy. There's lots of scope for different types of characters. I fully expect a 'Dad & Dave' type character too.

[@johnburnside7828]

I've wondered how much the "arrow through the neck" thing was inspired by the old "arrow through the head" gag.

[@DavidShepheard]

For the Australian version of Ghosts, you have the British who invaded Australia, but you also have the British who were transported to Australia against their will. So if they wanted to replicate the thing from US Ghosts, where there are two ghosts who were rivals, they might consider going down that route. Australian Ghosts might also want to have a ghost that was killed by a kangaroo, a crocodile, a spider or some other dangerous creature. They might even want to go down the Drop Bear route and have a newly arrived Brit see a koala and then get so scared that they run away and fall off of a cliff or something.

[@23skiddsy6]

Australian soldier who somehow died in the Emu War seems like a fun way to cover the animal related death and have a soldier. So he would be a WWI vet, but still a reason to be back in Australia and also a really silly death.

[@LizDaniels-o2i]

I fell in love with the UK version first and now enjoy both the US and UK GHOSTS. I like your historical notes and now subscribe to your channel. I have one note. I grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, which is one of the six NE states. GHOSTS US, is set in upstate New York, which is NE adjacent but not in New England. This only matters to residents of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. The rest of the country doesn't have a clue. So your view is most likely shared by a majority of Americans. As a History teacher, I have my work cut out for me 😂❤ new subscriber here😅🎉

[@classicaljg]

Thank you for subscribing! I'm glad it's not just me who got the geography mixed up :)

[@TSIRKLAND]

My family (American) have watched the British "Ghosts," and the American "Ghosts" - we always look forward to when a new episode airs. I don't have a favorite; I love them both. They each have different characters, as well as similar characters who are different by being in different circumstances, played by different actors, written by different writers, surrounded by different characters, etc. They're both clever, witty, funny, poignant at times, and very entertaining. I was not completely satisfied with the ending of the British show. I get what they did, but it felt.. I dunno, it felt unsatisfying to me. I still like the show, though. I'm curious how the US version will choose to end. We tend to like to milk things for as long as we can- too long, sometimes. I hope this show doesn't "jump the shark," as we say, but goes out on a high note, in some way or another. The last show we saw featured a snail, and for whatever reason, that cracked me the heck up!! If you've seen the snail episode, or if you haven't yet, I hope you are as tickled as I was. Just silly. It is safe to assume the German version will be in German. I took German in high school, but that was 25+ years ago, and I haven't practiced, but if I can watch it with subtitles, I probably will try to check it out! The Aussie version will no doubt be in English (or what passes for English in Australia - kidding!!), so I'll be very eager to see that show, when I can.

[@classicaljg]

@@TSIRKLAND I didn’t like the ending of the British one much either - it would have been better to end on the last regular episode instead of the Christmas special, I found that one more satisfying.

[@simpforfiction1771]

As an Australian who grew up on Ghosts, I've always had a couple ideal Australian ghosts in mind. I'd have it set in a beachside-mansion or manor in NSW. 1. An Indigenous Australian Elder From pre-colonisation era 50-60 yrs old Wise, kind, a bit sarcastic Maybe died of natural causes 2. A Portuguese or Dutch explorer From pre-colonisation 30-40yrs olds Scaredy cat Got lost and died of a snake bite 3. Convict Young adult bitter on the outside but really kind at heart Brought over for stealing a loaf of bread and died of malnutrition once in Australia 4. Chinese Immigrant from the Gold Rush Young adult male with a loving family was looking to start a new life but worked too hard died of Heatstroke 5. Since CBS Ghosts recently confirmed animal ghosts as a thing. I would love to have a Simpson and his donkey inspired character from around 1915. 6. A private school girl early - mid 20th century 18/19yrs old she is essentially the lady of the house type character due to her upbringing Prim, polite and proper Died in maybe a similar way to Hetty (might be too dark) 7. Surf Lifesaver Female late 20th century is the AUS version of Pat/Pete as surf lifesaving is a very Australian equivalent of scouts Feminist, Cheery Drowned whilst performing a rescue with no equipment 8. Real estate agent AUS version of Trevor and Julian Cocky, Smart, bit of a liar etc Died whilst trying cut costs on renovating the house (somehow pantless?) This is the main cast I've thought of but some other fun character that I havn't fully developed include, a crocodile hunter, an eshay, a war nurse, a Steve Irwin type character, Colonial and A shearer. BUT i really love your idea of a Ned Kelly character and an actor/singer. sorry if my history isn't quite correct, I've had some of these ideas for forever

[@simpforfiction1771]

ps love the video btw

[@classicaljg]

This is brilliant and I would watch the heck out of it! :D It's great to hear from someone Australian as my life experience is so completely European/American (my husband is American - my great-great grandparents met and got married in Australia but they were there with the British Army so that would be a complicated and depressing part of history to cover!). I would definitely have someone from a private girls' school whose death was similar to Hetty, though that might be my obsession with Picnic at Hanging Rock talking! And I'm a Brit who grew up on Neighbours (and to a lesser extent Home and Away) so somewhere near the beach would totally be essential.

[@simpforfiction1771]

@@classicaljg When I was researching to create these characters i found it way to hard not go totally depressing, however Australian gothic literature is something heavily taught at our schools, which led to my obsession too. Which leads me to hope the might consider putting something along those lines in the AUs version as it is taught in schools anyway. I too feel like the beach is essential, because Australia is so well known for its terrain and biodiversity, and imagine all the cool characters and storylines a beachside home could entail. Can't wait to see any future videos you put out about it when it airs.

[@classicaljg]

@ Thank you! :)

[@classicaljg]

@ That’s so true about the beach - and now I need to go read some Australian gothic fiction, as I’m not familiar with it outside of Picnic at Hanging Rock! (My knowledge of Australian culture comes mostly from Bluey these days 😆)

[@TheMagicofJava]

Never watching TV nor films I have no idea what you are talking about. But what a wonderful mechanism for studying comparative spiritual beliefs/folklore. I am sure that the US and British Civil Wars are important in understanding our differences. So many of the older ghost stories in the US come from the Civil War, which of course popularised Spiritualism in the US. Given its lack of WASP history, Gothic in America is associated with Victorian and thus is a genre of terror. Whereas the destruction of original Gothic Churches, Cathedrals and Castles by Cromwell's troops created the Gothic edifices' which inspired the likes of Walpole, Radcliffe and Lewis. Indeed, without the reaction to puritanism I doubt if such novels would ever have been written, nor Strawberry Hill built. But I would contend that it is the merging of Romanticism with Gothic which was so important to the Gothic Revival. Thus in Britain it was not so much terror as horror, a horror influenced by Carlyle and Ruskin's reaction to industrialisation. What of Germany? Interesting that you picked up on the importance of Romanticism. I might that poltergeist is a German concept and folklore appears to be more important. Of course, it is positive that they mention the witch trials, I do hope it isn't too influenced by Margaret Morris? Australia? Who knows, but Melbourne is rather like Manchester, a most Gothic of cities.

[@classicaljg]

@@TheMagicofJava it’s interesting that the US version doesn’t have a civil war ghost - they went for the war of independence instead, maybe because of the musical Hamilton’s influence?! I’m hoping they do a phantom hitchhiker at some point, which is common to both the US and the UK and the UK version did feature briefly :) I don’t know much about Australian ghost folklore so I’m really interested to see what they do with it! :)

[@TheMagicofJava]

@@classicaljg Plenty of hitchhiker stories in Australia and for some reason the A41 in Shropshire, although I cannot think of a connection, apart from for Shropshire the area being flat and one can see for miles.

[@classicaljg]

@@TheMagicofJava I wonder if the Australian version will find a way to incorporate a vanishing hitchhiker - it would be quite fun to have a ghost that keeps leaving the house and then coming back again! I grew up near Bluebell Hill so I have a fascination with vanishing hitchhikers :)

[@maecooke48]

@@classicaljgit’s likely they didn’t go the civil war route because the civil war was fought in the southern US, where the revolutionary war was fought in the north

[@cocoidiea8643]

I haven't seen the show but I'm interested in seeing all versions. I feel like Robin being able to speak french but struggling with english is a bit of a dig at the french, as brit comedies like to do.