Why I heart the BBC

When we were in France, after our afternoon naps we would watch BBC 1 through 4 on television before we would go out for dinner.  And I must say, I am utterly addicted.  Why can't we have this type of quality programming in the US?

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Sherlock is one of my favourite mini series by the BBC.  It tracks a 21st century, gritty Sherlock and Watson through present day London and spins some of the Holmes' classics into modern interpretations.  It's smarty done, well paced and packed with enough action and suspense to keep you coming back for more.  Unfortunately in the US, we catch this show a season behind and there are only three episodes to one series.  Needless to say, if you love all things Holmes, you must catch this one on DVD.

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The Brits, it seems, take to their game shows as much or more than the Americans.  What I must say though is that their shows are much smarter than the American game shows that I've seen.  Much like the US game shows, they ask for the contestants to possess a very arcane set of knowledge, however there were some game shows that asked their contestants to do maths very quickly and accurately, had teams made up of "quizzing teams" and pitted them against each other and so on and so forth.  My favourite of all of these is the game show "Pointless."  It pits a pair of contestants against a surveyed group and asks them questions.  The most obscure and least mentioned answer to the question receives the fewest points whereas the most popular and obvious answer receives the most.  As the name suggests, the goal is to remain as close to pointless as possible.  The hosts of this one really make the show.  They have a rather unique way of being demeaning, charming and hilarious all at the same time.  I kind of wish we had this show in the US just so I could watch how they go about just doing that.

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Top Gear was another show that I just utterly enjoyed.  I know there's an American version and I don't know if it's quite as good as the UK edition.  But the guys on the show are just hilarious and the cars they drive are just out of this world.  And the locations!  The locations they get to drive these cars are just amazing.  World renowned race tracks in Germany, the streets of Milan, it's just a feast for the eyes as far as scenery, even if you're not really into cars.

I just noticed that all of these really excellent shows feature men.  There are plenty I watched on British television that featured women - like Country House Rescue - but I think this says to me that deep down inside, I am really more of a tomboy.

Comments

  1. The hubs and I love Top Gear (the UK version)! I love British humor. XD

    Thanks for stopping by!

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  2. I love oh so many shows by BBC - most of the time great quality and fab clothes! Swedish TV run many shows from them. :-)

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  3. Oh man...I love me some British programming too. Sherlock sounds really good. I haven't seen it yet, but it's on my list now!

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  4. The BBC is one of the things I miss the most about the UK.

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  5. I never heard of these shows, but now I have the urge to google them!!!

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  6. Oh Sherlock is my FAVOURITE!! I love it. Such a beautiful updated version: I've seen the first two series now, and am dying for the third to be released next year. Yay BBC!

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  7. Oh, I LOVE BBC! I don't think it's on anymore, but they used to have this fantastic show called Ladette to Lady... I was obsessed! And right now I'm really into Doctor Who and Bedlam!!!

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  8. OH! And the IT Crowd... it's on Netflix, you HAVE to watch it!

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  9. I love British shows--I'll definitely have to check out Sherlock. Right now I can hardly wait for the latest Doc Martin episodes to air on PBS (apparently, they can pick up the rights in March)!

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  10. Got to boast about British TV, I must say! Nothing like 'the beeb', aka the BBC, and if you are one for scenery check out some of Sir David Attenborough's stuff - a. he is essentially and institution, and b. it is amazing, just amazing.

    (:

    Oh, and as Jess said - IT crowd, hilarious.

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