What I’ve learned about the British from Television.
Aline writes: Due to a long horrible bout of bronchitis last week, I have had lots of time to watch television. I thought I would share what I have observed from all those hours (really I am just trying to keep my mind from completely turning to mush.) We have satellite tv, which gives us hundreds of channels with almost nothing on, just like home. But when you are sick, well, who’s picky? My completely unscientific analysis based on gross generalizations is as follows ☺:
The British love mysteries. I mean, there is a constant stream of Miss Marple, Poirot, Sherlock Homes, Dalziel, Cadfael, Morse, etc.. This was great for me, as I am a huge British mystery fan. Even if I have seen them over and over.
The British are obsessed by auctions. There are 4 or 5 auction shows on, where contestants find treasures in their attics, find treasures at a boot sale, find treasures at their friend’s houses and then auction the items off to win prizes or make money. I found these oddly compelling, although that may be due to the amount of medication I was taking.
The British are proud and interested in their history. There are programs on every day about Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, What the Romans Gave to Us, archeology shows, and more than I can name. Many of these shows use reenactments, but I love them, as I never get tired of history.
The British love to travel. Well, there are seemingly hundreds of travel shows, most involving visiting and/or moving to warmer climes. Now that it is getting dark at 4:00 pm here, I am starting to understand why.
The British are big Star Trek fans. There is some form of Star Trek on almost every hour during the day. Choose your poison: next generation, voyager, deep space nine, or enterprise. I opt for the first three. There doesn’t seem to be any classic on – perhaps Captain Kirk is too much of a cowboy for the British.
The British are keeping the mini-series alive. This seems to be a format not used much in the US anymore, but we are currently watching multiple British mini-series: Bleak House, Egypt, and Rocket Man to name the 3 current ones. It seems like shows often use this format; for example, the latest creation from Ricky Gervais, Extras, had 6 episodes this year. I like this flexible format, since it seems like it maintains quality better than the infinite episode sitcoms in the US. And it means that the series actually has an ending.
The British watch American sitcoms/programs. There is a constant stream of Friends, Seinfeld, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Mash, The King of Queens, Will & Grace, etc. Needless to say, I don’t look at these, as I didn’t need to move 5,000 miles to watch these shows!
I am happy to report that I am getting better, and so my TV watching is back down to a reasonable level. It’s a good thing, because I felt all those brain cells that flourished in my MLA classes shrinking up…
The British love mysteries. I mean, there is a constant stream of Miss Marple, Poirot, Sherlock Homes, Dalziel, Cadfael, Morse, etc.. This was great for me, as I am a huge British mystery fan. Even if I have seen them over and over.
The British are obsessed by auctions. There are 4 or 5 auction shows on, where contestants find treasures in their attics, find treasures at a boot sale, find treasures at their friend’s houses and then auction the items off to win prizes or make money. I found these oddly compelling, although that may be due to the amount of medication I was taking.
The British are proud and interested in their history. There are programs on every day about Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, What the Romans Gave to Us, archeology shows, and more than I can name. Many of these shows use reenactments, but I love them, as I never get tired of history.
The British love to travel. Well, there are seemingly hundreds of travel shows, most involving visiting and/or moving to warmer climes. Now that it is getting dark at 4:00 pm here, I am starting to understand why.
The British are big Star Trek fans. There is some form of Star Trek on almost every hour during the day. Choose your poison: next generation, voyager, deep space nine, or enterprise. I opt for the first three. There doesn’t seem to be any classic on – perhaps Captain Kirk is too much of a cowboy for the British.
The British are keeping the mini-series alive. This seems to be a format not used much in the US anymore, but we are currently watching multiple British mini-series: Bleak House, Egypt, and Rocket Man to name the 3 current ones. It seems like shows often use this format; for example, the latest creation from Ricky Gervais, Extras, had 6 episodes this year. I like this flexible format, since it seems like it maintains quality better than the infinite episode sitcoms in the US. And it means that the series actually has an ending.
The British watch American sitcoms/programs. There is a constant stream of Friends, Seinfeld, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Mash, The King of Queens, Will & Grace, etc. Needless to say, I don’t look at these, as I didn’t need to move 5,000 miles to watch these shows!
I am happy to report that I am getting better, and so my TV watching is back down to a reasonable level. It’s a good thing, because I felt all those brain cells that flourished in my MLA classes shrinking up…
posted by Bill | 6:43 PM
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