Pajiba

Aww that's one of my fave songs, thanks to Veronica Mars.

I think the BBC looks cooler from further away. I hardly watch it these days.

So many great actors...I'm very much looking forward to the new season.

Much as I'd like to perpetuate the myth that British viewing habits are more refined than American's the fact is 'reality' TV shows are just as likely to be on the top of the chart in the UK as the US. Bare in mind just how many of your 'reality' TV shows are imports of UK 'reality' TV shows; they wouldn't have existed in the US if nobody watched them here originally.

I can't watch the video but I did see that the highly regarded BBC Sherlock Holmes series with Martin Freeman is coming to Netflix in November. Which reminds me I need to watch "Jekyl" and "Red Riding Trilogy".

Daayum. Did I also see Rufus Sewell, Emma Thompson, Chiwitel Ejiofor and Helena Bonham Carter in there? Go BBC!

Just because these dramas as being advertised as the BBC's autumn/winter highlights doesn't mean a lot of people will watch them.

From now until Christmas, the X-Factor and Strictly Come Dancing will always come top of the Sunday ratings charts, usually followed by a bunch of other reality programmes.

I know that it's probably just the British accents that make everything sound so smart and cultured, and I realize that America has it's own kind of culture which is just as rich and varied as any other country's, but why is it that every time I see something like that video and then turn on American television, I feel like we are the world's hillbilly, NASCAR watching, giant belt buckle wearing, white trash neighbors?

Not that there's anything wrong with being a hillbilly, giant belt buckle wearing, NASCAR watching, white trash neighbor or anything like that. I'm from Alabama, so I kind of feel that way every day. However, I shouldn't have to feel that way about our television programming!

I'm going to live in BBC America.

The first thing I'll do is kill the breathy singers though.

cockroach is speaking the truth. Consider that the British TV we get is one channel. That's all the goodness of the BBC condensed into one channel. I assure you, having been there, that there is at least as much shitty and inane reality/sports/sitcom programming there as there is here. You just never hear about it because it doesn't make the cut. It's sort of like British music. We only get to hear the best of the best because that's all they would bother promoting over here. Rest assured that Britain has more than its share of beer-swilling, racist, red-necked hooligans.

That being said, one thing that the BBC does do conspicuously well (in particular much better than our media) is (ironically enough) hard-hitting and intelligent interviews with government figures.

TylerDFC:

Red Riding Trilogy = Awesome

Watched them last week and loved them all.

Sean Bean in tight, kinda see-thru, white, mock turtleneck 70s style... priceless!

Yeah, I'd love to give the Brits credit for supporting better TV, but isn't BBC government-supported? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but...

I understand the British public watch just as much crap as we do. Between the football (I assume) and the shitty "reality" shows, their viewing habits aren't much better than ours.

That's right Slash.
Every house with a TV has to buy a license. It's about £120 for the year. That pays for BBC1 and BBC2 (our two main terrestrial channels); half a dozen freeview cable channels (for arts, pre-school toddlers etc); about a dozen different types of radio station (pop, classical, spoken word etc); and the BBC web site.
All of which is advert free.

Once again, It's Always Sunny... has been omitted. Points off.

My British boyfriend's favorite channel is Five USA which shows almost nothing but the three CSIs, NCIS and Law and Order with some good shows like SoA and Breaking Bad sprinkled in. It is a highly rated channel.

@OptimusRhyme, "The Song of Lunch" will contain a lot of Alan Rickman because it's a drama with just him and Emma Thompson in. You're welcome.

Heads-up UK Pajibans.
"The Song of Lunch" is on next Friday on BBC2 and BBC HD.

Like Big Moo, I agree that the BBC is excellent value for money - I'd cough up my fee for BBC4 and Radio 4 alone, let alone the rest of it. And Sir David Attenborough is in a class of his own with those nature documentaries of his.

OK, I just watched that four times.
1. Because it looked interesting
2. Because it was AWESOME
3. To make a list of all the things I want to watch out for
4. To spot the People I'd Bloody Well Like To Shag (even with atrocious hair). Hint: There are a LOT of them.

I agree with the comments about the BBC highlights above vs. the shows that most people actually watch - if you look at the top ten for the average week it'll contain at least 6 soap operas (because there are three that are shown four nights a week), The X-Factor, some sport, and whatever other reality TV show is on.

However, having read the articles about Lone Star being cancelled after two episodes, that just doesn't happen here. There are a lot of complaints about the licence fee, but considering the mess ITV (the main commercial channel) is in financially, and the dreck it's producing because of it, plus the squeeze that the expansion of digital channels is also putting on them, the licence fee gives the BBC the space to make the sort of lavish period dramas that you see in the trailer above. I don't watch BBC1 much but I do watch a bit of BBC2 and BBC4 (arts and stuff) and I'd be lost without Radio 4, so I'll cough up for that.

I think the main point about TV these days is that you need to be choosy, and the majority of the viewing audience isn't. (At least judging by the ratings for both the UK and the US.) There's good stuff from both (when will a channel over here pick up Treme and Boardwalk Empire, does anyone know?!) but if you just watch mindlessly - whether it's NBC or ITV - most of it will be pants - lowest common denominator and all that.

Aww that's one of my fave songs, thanks to Veronica Mars.

Posted by: Carrie at September 30, 2010 10:10 AM

That was my first though too! Love that song and hearing it with that video made me *forbidden word* a little. That was a great video.

There are four doctors in that clip. Remember, David Morrissey is "The Next Doctor".

That's a very good point e, the British public may not have more highbrow tastes, British Tv may still produce reams of shit on a level with American Tv, but when a British show is commissioned, with few exceptions, the entire series is shown.

If Firefly had been on BBC2 we'd have had the entire series.

:(

@OptimusRhyme - I second you. My love for Alan Rickman surpasses anything I have ever known. Actually, my love for him burns with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns. *embarassed silence* Is that the time?! Must dash, I left something on the bunsen.

and before anyone asks, yes that was a jem reference, no I am not ashamed to be a gayer born in the 1980's. thank you for your time. Once you're a jem girl, you're never the same.