Jason O'Mara stars as Sam Tyler on ABC's "Life on Mars," which was created in Great Britain, not the United States.

Other articles by Gerald M. Gay:

Remote Controlled : Tucson-linked family to hit the road in NBC reality series Found sound Mr. K's draws raves Remote Controlled : Head to Phoenix area in July for more shots at reality fame Want DJs' tweets? Here's a sampleDancers? But of courseInfectious young mambo project With daughters away, Lorber in Tucson for weekend Jazz Party Original 1974 menu prices at Tucson's Bum Steer today Tucson (but greener) featured on Fox series

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Detective Sam Tyler will travel back in time tonight, finding himself stuck as a cop in 1973 on the ABC sci-fi drama series "Life on Mars" (9 p.m.).

In the meantime, on NBC, a mother and daughter living in suburban Florida will kick off a season of dysfunctional family misadventures on the situation comedy "Kath & Kim" (7:30 p.m.),

Neither show was created in America. "Life on Mars" is a British Academy of Film and Television Arts award-winning series, and "Kath & Kim" is an Australian sitcom.

Adapting foreign-market shows for American consumption has been a common practice for years.

Red Foxx's "Sanford & Son" was a takeoff of the BBC comedy "Steptoe & Son," about family junk dealers in Shepherd's Bush, London.

"Three's Company," which aired in the States from 1977 to 1984, took its cues from the British sitcom "Man About the House," which ran from 1973 to 1976.

Some of the other foreign-born shows that air this year include:

"American Idol" — With Simon Cowell as a judge and, until recently, Nigel Lythgoe of "So You Think You Can Dance" fame as a co-producer, it may not be surprising to know that one of the most popular programs in the history of American television comes from England. The show was a spinoff of the 2001 British competition series "Pop Idol." It has since gone on to inspire other "Idols" in Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Greece and Vietnam. A new season of "American Idol" is scheduled to begin on Fox in early 2009.

"Ugly Betty" — Long before America Ferrera donned those hideous braces as Betty Suarez, the show was a popular telenovela in Colombia known as "Yo soy Betty, la fea" (I am Betty, the Ugly). A team of producers, including actress Salma Hayek, brought the show to English-speaking audiences in 2006. You can also catch versions of the series in Venezuela, Serbia and the Philippines. New episodes of "Ugly Betty" air at 7 p.m. Thursdays on ABC.

"The Office" — Before Michael Scott (Steve Carell) called the shots at Dunder Mifflin, David Brent (Ricky Gervais) was the head honcho at the Wernham Hogg paper merchants in Berkshire, England. Carell and Gervais are very different comedians, but both have enjoyed high praise for their managerial antics. New episodes of "The Office" air at 8 p.m. Thursdays on NBC.

"Hole in the Wall" — This brand new oddball game show on Fox, in which contestants must contort their bodies to fit through designs cut out of a moving styrofoam wall or risk being pushed into a pool of water, is an adaptation of the Japanese competition "Brain Wall." This is yet another network television attempt to latch on to the wacky programs that come out of Japan. ABC just finished its own series, "I Survived a Japanese Game Show," in early August. New episodes of "Hole" air Thursdays.