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BBC Shows - An American's Perspective
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James C. Send message Joined: 19 Jul 06 Posts: 640 Credit: 18,352,758 RAC: 11 |
I've been watching some shows from the BBC and it put how big the Earth is into perspective. Seeing fictional events and drama transpire in London feels foreign to me. But while watching American TV these things would be happening in LA or New York and feel more natural for me as a viewer. Interesting take on my perspective. We have a large multi-country group here, does anyone else suffer from this while watching shows produced in other countries? -"Young" James "To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational. The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like." -Steven Hawking |
TimeLord04 Send message Joined: 9 Mar 06 Posts: 21140 Credit: 33,933,039 RAC: 23 |
I've been watching some shows from the BBC and it put how big the Earth is into perspective. Seeing fictional events and drama transpire in London feels foreign to me. But while watching American TV these things would be happening in LA or New York and feel more natural for me as a viewer. Interesting take on my perspective. I've been watching Doctor WHO for decades, now, so London feels natural to me... (Visited there in 1999.) Check out Red Dwarf, and Are You Being Served, OH and Eastenders... OH and Absolutely Fabulous!!! (Red Dwarf is Sci-Fi Comedy, AYBS and AbFab are Comedies.) BBC used to air these shows on PBS through Lionheart Television back in the 80's. TL TimeLord04 Have TARDIS, will travel... Come along K-9! Join Calm Chaos |
Bill Walker Send message Joined: 4 Sep 99 Posts: 3868 Credit: 2,697,267 RAC: 0 |
I grew up on a mix of TV shows, from here in Canada, from the US, from Europe, etc., so it seems quite natural to me to watch a show from far away. It sort of adds to the drama, to see cops chasing bad guys in New Delhi or in New York. Having said that, certain made-in-Canada shows have a particular appeal to me. I guess this comes from watching a genre that usually comes from the US or the UK take place in towns I know. Does anybody outside of Canada get an old comedy series called Corner Gas? That, to me, is a totally Canadian production, and I would be interested in hearing what others think of it. |
Gordon Lowe Send message Joined: 5 Nov 00 Posts: 12094 Credit: 6,317,865 RAC: 0 |
I've always loved public tv, and quite a bit of that is from the BBC. The mind is a weird and mysterious place |
janneseti Send message Joined: 14 Oct 09 Posts: 14106 Credit: 655,366 RAC: 0 |
Waldorf Salad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6pN-fDh4DU |
Carlos Send message Joined: 9 Jun 99 Posts: 29852 Credit: 57,275,487 RAC: 157 |
Like Time Lord, I also grew up with weekly does of Doctor Who. Plus I have an intense fascination with history. Starting in second grade when I focused on Greek mythology I became familiar with the Greek islands. World War II movies painted the European landscape in my mind. The study of the History of English, meeting and becoming friends with one of the Czar's grand daughters, spending time in an adobe hut with my great grandfather and leading his mules as we plowed a field, working at a Renaissance Faire speaking forsoothly and building my own plate armor, all these things have made me a global citizen. BBC programming is as common to me as most American programming. However, I still have problems with Baliwood. |
David S Send message Joined: 4 Oct 99 Posts: 18352 Credit: 27,761,924 RAC: 12 |
Not exactly responding to your question, I have to say I find it odd that the only channel on my cable that carries the American-produced Star Trek TNG is BBC America... and that is one of the few shows I watch on that channel. Dr. Who, of course, and the occasional movie. No interest at all in Top Gear or Graham Norton or Kitchen Nightmares. Let's see what's on soon: Troy Silence of the lambs [repeat] Top gear Cash in the attic x2 Kitchen nightmares x2 Dr. Who x2 ST:TNG x8 The Fifth Element Which brings us to this time tomorrow night. The later few of ST are ones I like, but they're on at the same time as some NCISes I also like. David Sitting on my butt while others boldly go, Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri. |
janneseti Send message Joined: 14 Oct 09 Posts: 14106 Credit: 655,366 RAC: 0 |
Thats weird. BBC shows are shown regulary here. Britcom:) BBC Horizon. David Attenborough. Emmerdal Farm for 40 years;) Many more.... |
zoom3+1=4 Send message Joined: 30 Nov 03 Posts: 65759 Credit: 55,293,173 RAC: 49 |
Hey as long as it's interesting, I might watch it, heck I watch Anime(subbed in English), whose audio is in Japanese and sometime the credits are in English, TWC just won't put up Anime in English(dubbed), yes I complained about that. I have a DVD collection that I can't access right now, with more Anime, with English audio... The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's |
Admiral Gloval Send message Joined: 31 Mar 13 Posts: 20319 Credit: 5,308,449 RAC: 0 |
Hey as long as it's interesting, I might watch it, heck I watch Anime(subbed in English), whose audio is in Japanese and sometime the credits are in English, TWC just won't put up Anime in English(dubbed), yes I complained about that. I have a DVD collection that I can't access right now, with more Anime, with English audio... I have the same from Directv. And when something was English dubbed. It was not what I wanted to watch. But I do have access to my Anime collection. |
rob smith Send message Joined: 7 Mar 03 Posts: 22218 Credit: 416,307,556 RAC: 380 |
I recall a few years back staying in a hotel in Milan, watching BBC Gold on a Wednesday evening, back to back StarTrek, starting with the first series, then working through the various follow-on series (with a break scheduled in so one could get dinner!). All in English, but with Italian sub-titles :-) Bob Smith Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society) Somewhere in the (un)known Universe? |
Zalster Send message Joined: 27 May 99 Posts: 5517 Credit: 528,817,460 RAC: 242 |
I've been watching some shows from the BBC and it put how big the Earth is into perspective. Seeing fictional events and drama transpire in London feels foreign to me. But while watching American TV these things would be happening in LA or New York and feel more natural for me as a viewer. Interesting take on my perspective. No, actually I like watching shows from other countries. While in Mexico I watch their news to see how they think about us. They even show Europen Channels for visitors from Netherlands and Russia In Eastern Europe I watch RT ( called Real TV in the USA but know as Russia Today in the rest of the world) They don't hold back their contempt for America or what they really think about our president. Its a good source to see what the rest of the world reports about us compared to what the major networks here want us to know. If you want to see what their young think, they have a social media that is actually a stolen code for facebook called Contact or VKontact. I use Google translate to view it. Opens your eyes In UK, it's fun to watch American Shows and how people ask if we really are like that. No, it's not. We all don't live in Hollywood or Miami or New York. So in short. no |
Bernie Vine Send message Joined: 26 May 99 Posts: 9954 Credit: 103,452,613 RAC: 328 |
The truth is that UK Humour is nothing like American humour, it loses a certain something in travelling over the pond. We can laugh ourselves silly at Morecambe & Wise, while they would think it rubbish! Well now you might think that, however I have first hand experience that says otherwise. A couple of years back whilst visiting a certain other SETI participant in the wilds of New Hampshire, we were at the top of Mount Cannon waiting for the "aerial tramway" ride down when a woman with her family hearing my English accent engaged me in conversation regarding our comedy shows and in particular "Are you being served", whilst I believe they may have been laughing at us. It appears they do in fact enjoy several, can't actually remember the other shows she mentioned. Also from what I remember Benny Hill was very popular in the US. Also thinking about the thread title in reverse, American Shows on UK TV, you have to remember that in the UK we have been watching US shows since the 50's. I can remember Rawhide, Wagon Train, Highway Patrol and my favourite as a 7/8 year old was Cannonball (OK it was Canadian). About two truck drivers. So here in the UK we also grew up with a lot of your shows and have to admit that before I stopped watching TV last year my recent favorites were the CSI/NCIS shows (except Miami never liked him). |
James C. Send message Joined: 19 Jul 06 Posts: 640 Credit: 18,352,758 RAC: 11 |
The truth is that UK Humour is nothing like American humour, it loses a certain something in travelling over the pond. -Chris S I agree with this, a lot of UK Humour compared to the US humor is quite different. I have had times where I was watching BBC shows or other UK shows and felt that a lot was lost due to slight cultural differences. And had often given them up or moved on. However while watching shows like The IT Crowd and Dr Who 2005 I had A LOT of laughs. And in the time since I had originally posted this thread, I have already started adjusting quite a bit to the different perspective. I have also been watching Dr Who for about 7 seasons now and it has quickly became one of my favorite shows ever. On a side note I was also very disappointed that The IT Crowd didn't ever wrap up and just ended. So in a way I believe that finally sticking it through with a few shows has changed my perspective. Any suggestions to continue my voyage with UK shows after catching up on Dr Who? Maybe I just need to jump all in! -"Young" James "To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational. The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like." -Steven Hawking |
James C. Send message Joined: 19 Jul 06 Posts: 640 Credit: 18,352,758 RAC: 11 |
But there was crap, Car54 where are you, the Cosby stuff, and Prince of Bel Air etc. The Fresh Prince was a little too fresh perhaps? Haha! -"Young" James "To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational. The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like." -Steven Hawking |
Gordon Lowe Send message Joined: 5 Nov 00 Posts: 12094 Credit: 6,317,865 RAC: 0 |
"Morse" Big thumbs up on Inspector Morse. :~) The mind is a weird and mysterious place |
David S Send message Joined: 4 Oct 99 Posts: 18352 Credit: 27,761,924 RAC: 12 |
The truth is that UK Humour is nothing like American humour, it loses a certain something in travelling over the pond. We can laugh ourselves silly at Morecambe & Wise, while they would think it rubbish! You do realize that most of what happens in US shows is also inflated, and for the same reasons. I think a lot of the failure of British humor to translate is just in the cultural references that aren't familiar to us (major example: Ford Prefect). My mother read all the Inspector Morse books, so it was natural for us to watch the shows. Since she passed, I have continued to watch Inspector Lewis, when I'm aware that it's on. She also read the Brother Cadfael books and we caught the few productions of that which appeared on PBS. Ditto Dalziel and Whatsisname. We also watched the detective show with Richard Griffiths as a chef who keeps getting dragged back to being a cop, but I liked that better than she did. There was another detective series too; I think we saw the show first and then I got her the books from the library. We also tried the Linley series, but didn't like it. She liked the Vicar of Dibley better than I did. And she really liked As Time Goes By, while I only tolerated it, but being familiar with it let me in on the joke of M squabbling with the admiral in some of the Bond films. Blake's 7 appeared on PBS (at least in Chicago) after Dr. Who and we watched it for a while, but it wasn't as much fun as Who. David Sitting on my butt while others boldly go, Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri. |
Gordon Lowe Send message Joined: 5 Nov 00 Posts: 12094 Credit: 6,317,865 RAC: 0 |
As Time Goes By My mother really likes that show. Inspector Lewis never caught on with me. I just really liked John Thaw. The mind is a weird and mysterious place |
rob smith Send message Joined: 7 Mar 03 Posts: 22218 Credit: 416,307,556 RAC: 380 |
I recall when I was working in the US, at the tail end of the 1970s, a group of young Americas were trying to analyse the source of the humour in Monty Python. They c/wouldn't accept that the source was that it was all totally beyond such futile attempts, they c/wouldn't just sit back and enjoy the ride... 'twas great fun for us Brits (and Frogs) who just sat back laughing at the futility of their attempts.... Bob Smith Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society) Somewhere in the (un)known Universe? |
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