DTH
Ghostbuster
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
Posts: 582
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Post by DTH on Jan 26, 2009 15:22:49 GMT -5
Wow - for the first time in years, British TV is actually producing stuff I'm interested in! You yanks don't know how good you had with Buffy/Angel, Lost, Supernatural, X-Files, BSG etc. We British geeks had to hang off your coat-tails, waiting some 6 months plus before we got to see the programmes we loved. The internet changed all that and because UK TV stations were suffering, they paid more money to obtain the US programming like a week after it aired in the U.S.. The Doctor Who revival has actually reinvigorated the whole UK TV scene. Because the good Doctor was so popular amongst young and old (and so quintessentially British!), it had TV execs in a spin, realising that the money wasn't just in twee comedy dramas and crime thrillers but also in family/fantasy programming. This gave us Robin Hood, Merlin and Primevil (none of which I personally liked but enough other people did). This led to a revival of other TV shows like 70s classic Survivors, which was a really good modern interpretation. More recently, Demons (which is pretty much a rip off of Buffy, but not as well written, acted or in anyway near approaching Buffy quality) which is about the descend of Van Helsing family....*snore* I can't even finished that sentence without falling asleep. Anyway, this brings me to " Being Human" which started last night. It is the tale of a werewolf, vampire and a ghost who all end up being housemates. Sounded really cheesy and in fact, started off being really cheesy, what with some crappy acting and clichéd script, but, amazingly, about half way through, I suddenly found myself gripped. This doesn't just change gears, (nerd reference) it goes in to super pursuit mode! I find myself actually psyched to see the next episode. And for show that doesn't have the words "Doctor", "Who", "Lost", "Battle", "Star" or "Galactica" in it, that's actually impressive  |
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Post by penguinslovedw on Jan 31, 2009 23:58:47 GMT -5
It must be a case of "the grass is always greener on the other side" because I have always liked British TV better than American TV. It started with Monty Python's Flying Circus, and went to Doctor Who (Classic is always best, but New is good too), The Young Ones, Blake's 7, The Avengers, Sapphire and Steel, All Creatures Great and Small, Vicar of Dibley, Keeping Up Appearances (yes, I love Hyacinth, so sue me), Black Books, Spaced, Not the Nine o'clock News, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, QI (I bought a multi-region DVD player just so I could get the DVDs from AmazonUK), Robin of Sherwood, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and every single Secret Policeman's Ball and Comic Relief show I can get my hands on. And those are just the shows I remember off the top of my head.
While you are waiting for our Buffy and Battlestar Galactica, I am waiting (ever more impatiently) for Merlin, Clone, Survivors, Sarah Jane Adventures, That Mitchell and Webb Look, and New Doctor Who. We're not going to get the Christmas Special until about April probably. I've actually seen it already, all I can say is: Thank God for YouTube.
My mom and I are going to London in 2 weeks. It's a bit sudden really, but airline tickets were particularly cheap. I've already told her that at least one fo the evenings we're there, all I'm going to do is sit and watch TV and just sort of bask in it all.
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Post by BlackCatWhiteCat on Feb 1, 2009 0:28:59 GMT -5
For your love of Keeping Up Appearances you are awesome, penguine. I saw All Creatures Great and Small in the lineup of Netflix instant watch TV shows and passed on, not sure what it was. I'll definitely check it out now, thanks.
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DTH
Ghostbuster
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
Posts: 582
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Post by DTH on Feb 1, 2009 6:17:03 GMT -5
It must be a case of "the grass is always greener on the other side" because I have always liked British TV better than American TV. Hey, don't get me wrong, a lot of those shows you mentioned are awesome. But I'll demonstrate the problem... Monty Python's Flying Circus Came out in the 60s Doctor Who 60s - 80s The Young Ones 80s Blake's 7 70s The Avengers 60s Sapphire and Steel 80s All Creatures Great and Small 80s Vicar of Dibley 90s Keeping Up Appearances 80s Black Books 2000s Spaced 90s Not the Nine o'clock News 80s A Bit of Fry and Laurie 80s QI 2000s Robin of Sherwood 80s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 80s Nearly all those shows are old. In the past 20 years, I've seen about a handful of UK shows that I liked. Nearly all those shows are really great. Throw in Blackadder, Nevermind The Buzzcocks, Have I Got News For You, early Red Dwarf with a few others, and you would indeed have a great list of quality TV shows. But most of those have aired with years in between (mostly with twee dramas and/or crime shows which is STANDARD fair for British TV*). American Office, Supernatural, BSG, 30 Rock, Wolverine and the X-Men, Star Wars: Clone Wars, Batman - Brave and the Bold, How I Met Your Mother, Dexter, Desperate Housewives, Scrubs...all those are contemporaries and that's the way it has been for me for years. Mitchel & Webb are pretty funny (check out Peep Show if you haven't already), Sarah Jane, New Who, Torchwood (series 2, anyway) are all pretty good, true. Survivors was REALLY good (but then I caught the original 70s version via reruns). *Examples: Pie In The Sky, Daliel and Pasco, Lovejoy, Hetty Wainthrop Investigates, that one with Alan Davies...ad infinitum. |
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DTH
Ghostbuster
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
Posts: 582
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Post by DTH on Feb 1, 2009 6:18:46 GMT -5
Also: "Penguinslovedw"? Should I translate that to Frobisher loves Doctor Who?  |
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Post by PoolMan on Feb 9, 2009 10:54:06 GMT -5
All I know, DTH, is that any nation that can produce Quite Interesting is okay with me. (Thanks Darth Madler for introducing me!) That show is the definition of funny!
Too bad about the drought since the 80's. Crime dramas, you say?
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DARTHMADLER
Boomstick Coordinator
WARNING: Low Overhang
Posts: 215
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Post by DARTHMADLER on Feb 9, 2009 17:01:00 GMT -5
Always a pleasure.
Well I though Life on Mars was an excellent UK crime show. And I'm going through State of Play which looks pretty cool too. I will be curious to see how the movie adaptation is going to be.
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Post by penguinslovedw on Mar 3, 2009 12:03:56 GMT -5
All I know, DTH, is that any nation that can produce Quite Interesting is okay with me. (Thanks Darth Madler for introducing me!) That show is the definition of funny! Stephen Fry is beyond all the good adjectives I can think of. You would have to make up completely new words just to begin to describe him. It must be a case of "the grass is always greener on the other side" because I have always liked British TV better than American TV. Hey, don't get me wrong, a lot of those shows you mentioned are awesome. But I'll demonstrate the problem... Monty Python's Flying Circus Came out in the 60s Doctor Who 60s - 80s The Young Ones 80s Blake's 7 70s The Avengers 60s Sapphire and Steel 80s All Creatures Great and Small 80s Vicar of Dibley 90s Keeping Up Appearances 80s Black Books 2000s Spaced 90s Not the Nine o'clock News 80s A Bit of Fry and Laurie 80s QI 2000s Robin of Sherwood 80s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 80s I see what you mean. It might be that while these shows are old to you, they are only just getting here in the States in the past few years, so they seem new to us. Also: "Penguinslovedw"? Should I translate that to Frobisher loves Doctor Who? You are the first person to suggest that, and it speaks well of your Doctor Who chi. Actually, the name is one I use often, because if there are two things I love (apart from relatives, friends, and my particularly large tax refund this year) it is penguins and the good Doctor. But when I found out about Frobisher, I considered it a sign from above that the name was indeed good. I just hope that someday, somewhere, in a far brighter and better future, BBC America will start playing good stuff and not 24-hour marathons of "How Clean is Your House?" and "Cash in the Attic". |
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Post by theprettydead on Mar 5, 2009 10:26:50 GMT -5
Wow - for the first time in years, British TV is actually producing stuff I'm interested in! You yanks don't know how good you had with Buffy/Angel, Lost, Supernatural, X-Files, BSG etc. That's funny. 'Cause I never watched any of those shows. And find it a serious rarity when American television produces something I can force myself to sit through. |
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"If I'm going to be desensitized into a mindless stock animal, I may as well do it with a cushy ergonomic seat and magnificent THX-certified sound. -Kevin Murphy
