Why the Remakes When the Originals were Excellent?

I am not sure why SyFy found it was necessary to remake the BBC's fine series Being Human (see my earlier comments) about a ghost, vampire, and werewolf sharing a house.  The British version has fine acting, good story lines, and plenty of twists to keep you coming back for more.  The underlying theme of a vampire take-over of the world is both scary and fascinating (though we saw how this ended in the movie Daybreakers).  But I guess that was not good enough for SyFy, so tomorrow night the network is reintroducing Being Human as an American series set in Boston (really Canada) rather than Bristol, England.  Having seen other failures at Hollywood remakes, I am skeptical that this will work.  And why does SyFy need 13 episodes versus the BBC's first season of 6 episodes?  This will mean stretching the current story over twice as many nights, which I am hoping does not mean (1) poorly written back story or (2) diluted action.  I will get back to you on this.

And don't get me started on tomorrow night's MTV Skins, another remake of a BBC show.  This one follows the antics of a wild group of teenagers.

What is going on?  Do we have problems with the King's English?  And we have so many stories to tell in America about America (not to say we need to navel gaze, but we are crossing the seas to repeat shows rather than mine our own rich history), but first we need some good writers and, more importantly, big thinkers.  I believe HBO is one of the big thinkers with period pieces such as Deadwood and Boardwalk Empire.  And let's not forget Showtime's John Adams, a perfect mini-series covering a much forgotten period of American history.  If only such thinking was a bit more contagious.

Update:  I am surprised that I actually enjoyed the first episode of SyFy's Being Human.  While the acting and writing is fine, I was not a dark and unsettling as the BBC version.  This may simply be due to the non-American setting.  However, the actors portray characters that are just as lively and neurotic as the BBC version.  And the Boston setting works.  I would actually consider watching more if it wasn't for the fact that BBC is starting to broadcasting season three (beginning January 23 in Great Britain, though it will take some time for it to cross the Atlantic) and I would rather follow the original series for now.  I thought this review had some good insights on the show.  I may revisit the show at some point in the future.