Even before our trip to the UK, one of our favorite cable stations was BBC America. Prior to cable we’d catch several BC productions on SCETV. The quality of these shows is usually superb. For example, "Coupling" was witty, with incredible comedic timing. The American version just couldn’t pull if off, and was itself pulled off the air after just two episodes.
With such quality over here, why did British TV outright stink when we were there? There was one station that seemed to play non-stop "Big Brother", even showing hours of the contestants just sleeping. There was another station with a studio audience that sat around and talked about Big Brother and who should be voted out next. There would be hours of coverage of a cricket match. Most of what I saw was mind-numbing, and it started at the oddest times. I couldn’t understand why we weren’t seeing the really good shows that they send over here.
Of course, the "American" channel over there showed Judge Judy, so who knows WHAT they think of our shows.
All ranting aside, BBC America has a great new series called ShakespeaRe-Told. We just watched a modern version of "Much Ado About Nothing." Next week is Macbeth. Excellent productions so far. Also tonight we saw "Life on Mars", about a cop that gets kicked back to 1973 after an accident and gets stuck there. Is he in a coma and hallucinating, or is it real? It’s gritty, and interesting, albeit a bit violent for Laura’s tastes.
But then, this is immediately followed by "Footballer’s Wives" and "Fresh Air". I guess they’ve got to export a few losers.