Gary D.

The beginning of each week, I go through the television log to see if there's anything on worth watching. More and more, from Monday through Friday's there's a big nothing. Someone once referred to AM radio as a 'vast wasteland.' Applies to American TV, in my humble opinion.

Fortunately, on Saturday, 'Waiting for God' is on PBS, 'Foyle's War.' I think the series is about ended, though, because I notice that the new program has the war in Europe ending.

I'm sure the British are churning out their share of mind-numbing tripe--nothing like here in the U.S.A., however, with all the 'reality' shows.

Gary Judkins

GRAEME

Sure do! And huge amounts of reality nonsence as well! Big Brother, Hells Kitchen, The Apprentice...

Have we anything on British TV at the moment to match the consistent high quality of Law and Order or CSI?

I do like Foyle, though if it were an American show there'd have been 121 episodes already!

All men leak.

Gary D.

I have a backlogue of videos, to which I can always fall back on, if I get desperate. Although I'd pass up everything for a good book. Recently, I recorded the multi-part 'Cranford,' and I am glad I did. When I perused it, it sounded sort of claustrophobic--a small English village in the 1830's. So what could happen? All I can say is, I'm glad I did.

If you have Judi Dench and good co-actors, who needs special effects? Of course, Agatha Christy used small villages with, particularly, Jane Marple, for years. So what can go on in small English villages: everything!

Gary

MB

I think there used to be a BBC channel that showed on cable in the US?

I don't really think it has much to do with the country involved - more the individuals...

I'm just watching a programe about the Pixar story - the people involved showed the same
dedication and thoughtfulness as is described of Nick Park (Wallace and Gromit.)

Similiarly, I have seen interesting 'reality' shows that had genuine merit - when they are exposing a situation that really needs it, perhaps... it is how it is handled and who by - weren't Endemol thinking of having a show that had people compete for a kidney?
They aren't British or American - they're just vile..!

I find that cranking up your interest in everything provides more opportunities when looking for something to watch in the (agreed) general wasteland..you can always find the odd gem..every now and then I force myself to watch something I think I don't want to watch.
I love Dog the bounty hunter now after my son persuaded me - fascinating! And his wife has such amazing boobs - they are captivating.

EHV_Emmetts

You are correct.

British television schedules are almost crammed packed with puerile and banal programmes on cooking, moving homes, renovating homes, gardening, fashion, how to bring up children, etc - and of course the "celebrity" version's of all these.

However, if you look very carefully amongst all this tripe you will find the occasional jewel. A BBC show called New Tricks is very good and too a recent Police show called George Gently.

Steve Crook

You can always tune in to BBC Radio 4. Rarely do they let an hour pass without something worth listening to, and something completely different the likes of which you won't hear anywhere else.

Steve

Gary D.

I don't have a high-speed internet connection--just dial-up. On my previous computer I could access old-time radio archives--such as my favorite, the Jack Benny Program. Now, I can't. As much as I would like to listen to radio from the 1940s and 1950s, I am too parsimonious to spend the extra $$$.

The reason I mention this, aren't they still producing high-quality radio dramas in the U.K.? For a while, maybe in the 1970s here, they did some new radio dramas, but I guess it didn't generate the advertising revenue.

As they say, the theatre of the mind is best. My little juvenile mind could conjure up Jack going down into his vault to get a few dollars--opening gates, encountering the alligator, and the old man who kept watch over Jack's money vault. Somehow, it never quite came across when Mr. Benny moved to television.

Over the years, British and American films have become so so interconnected that I, for one, can't tell where one ends and the other begins. Just because, for example, Anthony Hopkins is the star of a film, doesn't make it British. Films are so expensive to produce any more, they require worldwide investors.

The only time I knew it was truly a British film was when I saw the prestigious 'London Films' with Bing Ben of the Korda brothers. Or that muscleman banging the gong for the J. Arthur Rank Organisation.

Unfortunately, both of these movie studios are long gone.

Gary Judkins

Steve Crook

BBC Radio 4 is still the home of drama, new comedy, documentaries, panel shows (serious and humorous) and many other quirky little things that you would never find on any other station. Because shows are cheaper to produce on the radio it's used as a testing ground for new writers and performers. Not all of it is a success but a lot of shows that are now very popular on TV started life on radio 4. But just because it's cheap to produce, that doesn't mean it's low quality.

As for the "British" films of the time when the Korda brothers ruled under Big Ben and the muscleman banged the gong for Rank...
Michael Powell once said of The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp that it is
...a 100% British film but it's photographed by a Frenchman, it's written by a Hungarian, the musical score is by a German Jew, the director was English, the man who did the costumes was a Czech; in other words, it was the kind of film that I've always worked on with a mixed crew of every nationality, no frontiers of any kind.
At other times he's also pointed out that the designer was German, and the leads were Austrian, Scottish and Welsh.

Steve