The pilot for the American version of “The Inbetweeners” combines the first and second episode narrative arcs of the immensely popular British TV show of the same name, wraps it in a thick of layer of ‘whatever’ and half bakes it for an hour at 350. The result is fragmented, under-developed, inexplicably paced, and soggy.

It’s not just that the pilot is structurally unsound– the splicing of the episodes together allows for little of the on-screen relationship development that is the backbone of the show– but also, it feels like MTV just doesn’t get it. The 2008-2010 series (and a movie) charts the last school years of a bunch of extremely unfortunate adolescents– pretentious Will, compulsive liar Jay, hopeless romantic Simon and dopey Neil– who navigate the stormy waters of pre-adulthood with impossibly bad luck and massive erections.

What differentiates the British show from other more-semen-than-sense “American Pie” equivalents, are two distinct factors. Firstly, “the Inbetweeners” commits to a whole new level of vulgarity unbeknownst to Stifler or his mom, and, secondly, the original TV series manages to strike a delicate balance between the extreme despair of these kiddies’ misfortunes and the uplifting knowledge that they have each other and many, many years in which to become more successful at life.

The pilot of “The Inbetweeners” 2.0 is not nearly brave enough to be as offensively irreverent as the original (and MTV isn’t allowed to say some of those bad words.) For instance, in the British “Inbetweeners,” the second episode is the one in which Will embarks on a bravado-proving, booze-fueled tirade towards Neil’s ambiguously sexually-oriented dad, wittily labeling him a “bumder” (a scathing portmanteau of the words“bender” and “bum”) and ending the episode with a regrettable accusation of pedophilia. Apparently, that’s the sort of stuff that American audiences object to.

More upsetting, however, is that the soul-wrenching despair aspect of the British show is almost wholly lacking from the US pilot, while the undercurrent of youthful elation is now cloyingly omnipresent. Even the actors are better looking. And, simply put, the show isn’t funny unless it’s very, very sad.

To fans of the British Will Mackenzie and his merry band of would-be sex-offenders, the US version is a travesty. To an “Inbetweeners” newbie, there is nothing to distinguish this particular televised offering from the cartloads of other -“coming of age” to the dulcet tunes of “Grouplove” - schlock that MTV churns out on a regular basis. Indeed, this is just another “The Hard Times of RJ Berger” without the hilarious titular pun.

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Young actress Tamla Kari appeared in the The Inbetweeners Movie last year as love-struck Lucy, and the film which made her name has opened up new opportunities for the girl from Coventry in 2012. The film was a major success in both the UK & the US and now Tamla is schedule to appear in a number of British TV programmes over the coming months. Tamla spoke to me about her aspirations for the future and her time with the Inbetweeners.

TP (Toonari Post): You’re appearing in Series 4 of Being Human in 2012, for people who don’t know much about the show, could you tell us what to expect from the series as a whole, and from your new character?

TK (Tamla Kari): I can’t tell you about the series as a whole basically because I only had the scripts for the first two episodes…What I can say is that it’s very exciting with some incredible actors cropping up. The new vampire lead is a very good friend of mine, Damien Molony. We were in the same year at drama school and both graduated in July of last year.

We couldn’t believe we ended up on the same job together. As for my character, she is a ghost called Pearl. She died in the 1950′s and is a no-nonsense northerner! She is a bit of a mother hen but has a heart of gold.

TP: Going back to last year, people now know you best as Lucy from the Inbetweeners, how did you go about getting the role as Lucy considering it was your first main acting role?

TK: I was put up for the part by my agent. Originally I read for the role of the PR girl (the one who slaps Jay) but didn’t hear back so to be honest with you, I’d forgotten about it. I was still at drama school and in the middle of rehearsals for my 3rd year acting showcase when my agent called saying they wanted me to read for a different part, Lucy.

It all happened very quickly, within a matter of days. I had two auditions in front of writers, producers and the director where I had to read with Joe Thomas. Being a fan of the show, that was a wee bit intimidating. I got the phone call on the evening of the last audition telling me I’d been cast and I started rehearsing a few days later.

My drama school were very supportive and allowed me to take the rest of the term off to film and I went back in the 3rd term to complete my degree. The film was counted as one of my final projects so essentially I was marked on The Inbetweeners Movie.

TP: You said at the premiere sometimes it felt like going on a holiday whilst you were filming, was it hard to not get carried away spending so much time in Crete whilst you were meant to be filming?

TK: Although it was set in Malia, we didn’t actually film in Crete, we filmed in Magaluf, Mallorca. If you mean did we all get carried away because of all the lovely sunshine then, no. It was bloody freezing most days! Bitterly cold during night shoots. I had to film my skinny dipping scene in May because it was too cold for me to go in the sea in February. I actually think I would have died of hyperthermia. Saying that, I did have a great time and did keep refering to it as a holiday.

I can’t lie. Most evenings we would all meet up and have dinner together either in the nearby gorgeous town of Palma or someone would cook dinner in their appartment in the hotel. Jess’ room (played Lisa) became known as “Bar Knappett” where a fair amount of alcohol was consumed. We were all up on time for our make up calls though!

TP: How was it fitting in with Joe, Simon, Blake and James and did the other new girls you were cast with feel part of the setup straight away?

TK: I was really nervous about coming into an environment where everybody already knew each other but the whole cast and crew were great. It helped that for the majority of us, it was our first film so I wasn’t alone in that respect.

The lads were so easy going and had us in stitches a lot of the time and I was really lucky to have most of my scenes with Joe Thomas who is just lovely. I’ve made some really great friends in the girls and although the film had to be shot in a very short time frame, it was always a wicked atmosphere. I couldn’t have asked for more really.

TP: What else can we expect to see from you in the future, now that your name is well known, or what kind of genre would you be interested in starring in?

TK: Ha, I wouldn’t say I was well known…Well obviously there’s Being Human on BBC3 and I’m a appearing in episode 3 of the second series of the BBC1 drama, Silk. This is a law based drama with Maxine Peake and Rupert Penry-Jones in lead roles. I play a young waitress called Izzy Calvin who is a victim of a sexual assault.

This should be airing at some point in the Spring. I’m really excited about my next project. It’s a theatre piece called Saturday Night and Sunday Morning directed by Matthew Dunster. It’s set in Nottingham in the 1950′s and is an adaptation of the novel written by Alan Sillitoe. This will be my professional theatre debut so it’s a bit scary but I cannot wait to start rehearsing. It’ll be showing at the Manchester Royal Exchange theatre from 1st March to 7th April. After that, who knows….

TP: Finally, have you started filming for Being Human yet, and if so, how are things going for you in terms of storyline?

TK: Yes I finished filming for Being Human in August of last year. And as for my storyline….you’ll just have to watch it won’t you?!

Image Courtesy of  Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

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