“The Men of Madison Avenue”
originally: Mad Men
What is the problem: This is a reference to a movie that came out 12 years before the series (“The Bridges of Madison County”) and an overly sophisticated pun, probably in relation to the original pun (Madison Avenue became Mad, then just add Men). In defense of the broadcasters in the country, let’s say that in not too long they realized that the name was embarrassing (and worse, did not catch on), got off the tree and began to refer to the series in its original and recorded name.
At least the translation was not: “People’s Madness”.
“Family packaging”
originally: Family Matters
What is the problem: A spin on the family, but what packaging? Is it because they are packaged together? Obviously there was an attempt to produce a word game parallel to the original, but come on, there are countless phrases that would have come to mind in a family context before we would get to “family packaging”. In fact, it’s such a forced wordplay experience that we’re convinced the translator was Steve Arkle himself.
At least the translation was not: “I care-family.”
“Murder from red to black”
originally: Homicide: Life on the Street
What is the problem: This is a forced attempt (did you notice the theme?) To add a wink to one of the series’ characteristic actions on behalf of the show (homicide detectives would show unresolved murder cases on a red list, and solved murder cases would be blacklisted), but the result is mostly confusing. Red is probably blood, but where does black come from? Maybe it’s tonight? Maybe the ambulance colors? Because some of the cops are black?
At least the translation was not: “Murder”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EdImgcwP54
“Surfers in time”
originally: Sliders
What is the problem: Well this is by all accounts a pretty good and catchy name that even caught on in the country, but there is one small problem: they are! No!! Surfers !! While!!! The bunch of unfortunates who were stuck forever in surfing mode were generally surfers between universes. What is now called the Multiverse. True, “surfing between universes” is a little more cumbersome on the tongue, but we’re sure the translators could have found a slightly smarter solution than “come on, time. Let’s say they surf in time. Who cares?”.
At least the translation was not: “Lift surfboards!”.
“Making headlines”
originally: The Bold Type
What is the problem: Where to begin? First of all, it sounds like this is a Disney teen series about a high school newspaper. Actually, not Disney – Nickelodeon. And here’s exactly the problem: relative to a series that made a great effort to be as up-to-date, progressive and young as possible, exactly according to the requirements list of Netflix’s algorithm – “Making Headlines” sounds like a romantic comedy from the eighties. The truth is that it was a better time to work at the newspaper, so maybe it’s better that way.
At least the translation was not: “Bold”.
“Growing Grief for Girls”
originally: Full House
What is the problem: Do you know a lot of sitcoms for the whole family whose first word in their title is “grief”? It’s not a name for a light comedy whose half of its darkness is built around a very smiling baby (okay, twins. You know which one), it sounds like a Romanian drama at the Cinematheque. Their ability to say “full house.” You could even, because in this hypothetical scenario you are translating series in the 90s and it is very important for you to have some personal touch, to say “the house is full”. But no, you decided to resolve with the word “grief”. It’s not even “sadness”. It’s a step and a half from being “melancholy.”
At least the translation was not: “The Pool House”.
“On taste and smell”
originally: Diff’rent Strokes
What is the problem: On the face of it, not a bad translation, correct: takes the equivalent proverb in Hebrew to the one that gave the name to the series and takes down the other half. And even the name itself, as a title, is quite catchy. The problem is that while the metaphorical meaning of the two proverbs is the same, it completely misses the broader context: the series dealt with two black children (Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges) who are adopted by a white widow from New York. The other half of the proverb in English is “for different folks”, which here are actually the heroes of the series. In short, it is a name that originally what matters is precisely what is not said. And it’s totally missed here.
At least the translation was not: “On smell”
“Detective-sense”
originally: Inspector Gadget
What is the problem: What’s not the problem here? First of all, it demeans the poor inspector from being a total simple detective. This completely raises the reason why he is, well, a gadget (all his cool robotic features). This is the tragic story of a man who sacrificed his whole body for a disruptive police experiment, and we just ignore it in favor of a cute bead. And demotion.
At least the translation was not: “Inspector Chafetz”