British v American TV

[imracerx]

Originally Posted by iufrenchman

Don't know what my comrades across the pond thought but I loved the Benny Hill show and the way they managed to work in the "legal: (one only knows the American censors were wary) .. anyway thank you!!

Benny was totally juvenile... No wonder I loved him! Totally subversive and atavistic. Kind of like a Limey John Belushi....

[squigg58]

Originally Posted by Ace1965

There was a idea for an American version of Top Gear last year with Adam Carrolla, drift car driver Tanner Foust, and somebody else who's name escapes me.

It was supposed to be on NBC and they even did a pilot episode but it never went anywhere past that.

According to the latest Top Gear magazine, a US Top Gear is being aired (about now) on the History Channel. It looks like a clone of the BBC programme with "A Big Star In A Small Car" feature, an American "Stig", and an airfield test-track. Apparently it's also filmed in a disused hangar at an ex-marine airbase called El Toro. The presenters are Rutledge Wood, Tanner Foust, and Adam Ferrara.

[dbailey]

Originally Posted by navvet

That's why I watch mostly cable (pay) TV.
I was last in London in 1989. I was wondering. Are there still only three television channels in England? Do you have pay TV?

Ah, good question.

Where I live I can get 4 chanels at the moment as we have not had digital switchover yet and our relay station does not carry the 5th chanel that most of the UK gets.

My son lives 12 miles away and he is tuned to a new digital transmitter and he gets around 60 free to air chanels (only pay for the BBC TV licence). This is through an ariel and not a satelite dish

From what I can see, a lot of the free stuff is repeats of classic shows like Star Trek, Top Gear, Dad's Army etc and there are quite a few mind warping shopping chanels.

We are due to digiatl switchover in about 6 months and should get around 20 free to air chanels once we have upgraded our old ariel and bought a set top decoder box for each TV in the house. We will still only have to buy the yearly BBCTV licence

In addition we do have the option of Pay cable or Pay satelite on monthly sunscription but these do not work in all the country, for example my village does not have a cable hook up and becuase of hills and trees we cant get a view of the satelite and hence we are waiting for them to upgrade our old Wharfe Valley Relay transmitter to digital

[squigg58]

Originally Posted by dbailey

From what I can see, a lot of the free stuff is repeats of classic shows like Star Trek, Top Gear, Dad's Army etc and there are quite a few mind warping shopping chanels.

We will still only have to buy the yearly BBCTV licence

Somewhat ironically, I pay the BBC for a licence, but (with the exception of the F1 Grands Prix) I now only watch the Freeview channels ... Dave, Quest and Yesterday.

[robeston]

So as not to confuse people, I should make it clear that we in the UK do *not* pay the BBC for a licence. What we do is pay for a licence to receive television (and radio) broadcasts, which would be required even if you fixed your system not to get BBC-origin transmissions at all. It is basically a tax, but in this instance one which is essentially ringfenced and given to the BBC as operating capital. Which is, I believe, a wonderful thing as it means we are spared, on at least four channels of tv and several on radio), the curse of advertising. Which is actually even worse on the digital channels than it is on the (formerly) analogue broadcasts, with breaks being dropped in with no warning and without any regard to the flow of the programme.

I am a huge fan of the BBC - in particular BBC 4, which seems to me to embody eveything that used to be so good about BBC2, and Channel 4, before they were compromised (by the gutter press rather than actual public demand) to dumb down to a degree that Channel 4 in particular is largely uninteresting today. And I say that as someone who watched the first night of C4 transmission boggle-eyed with delight and was a big fan for years thereafter.

And I'm not taking what the red-tops call an elitist attitude either; in a typical week I watch as much of the much-maligned Channel Five as anything else. Yes, lots of it is rubbish and I am particularly disengaged by whole evenings of nothing but US-origin films and programmes (and yet they have a sister channel called 5-USA...why?!?!?) but there'd some spiffing stuff on there from time to time. yes, I love documentaries about big technology.

I don't entirtrely agree that 'most' of the material on the digital channels is repeats. A lot, but less than you think. And anyway, if something is worth seeing, its probably worth seeing again. Would you throw a book away once read, never to want to read or even think about it again. Well, depends on the book I supppose, as well as what you choose to watch on tv.

[squigg58]

Originally Posted by robeston

So as not to confuse people, I should make it clear that we in the UK do *not* pay the BBC for a licence.

Collection and enforcement of the licence fee is the responsibility of the BBC, and the licence is almost entirely used to fund the BBC. The BBC pursues its licence fee collection and enforcement under the trading name "TV Licensing". They're the ones who'll come after you if you don't have a licence.

As far as I'm concerned, I pay the BBC for a licence!

[billybunter]

When it comes to documentaries, politics anything "highbrow" the Brits win hands down. The BBC is probably the most respected broadcaster on the planet. I still tune into the world service when i'm on my travels.

[DTravel]

Originally Posted by squigg58

According to the latest Top Gear magazine, a US Top Gear is being aired (about now) on the History Channel. It looks like a clone of the BBC programme with "A Big Star In A Small Car" feature, an American "Stig", and an airfield test-track. Apparently it's also filmed in a disused hangar at an ex-marine airbase called El Toro. The presenters are Rutledge Wood, Tanner Foust, and Adam Ferrara.

The first two episodes of the US version have aired on The History Channel. (Why that channel? I have no clue.) With the caveat that it is not always possible to tell how good a show will be from just the first two episodes, my initial impression is that they are trying too hard to be like the UK original (right down to some of the establishing and setting shots ) and there's no chemistry yet between the presenters. But there is potential if they can loosen up and start enjoying their jobs (and trashing cars ). (And it was kinda fun watching them running around a Georgia town in a Viper being hunted down by an Army Cobra attack helicopter. They lost. See my sig.)

[penfold007]

Originally Posted by robeston

the curse of advertising

I'm a fan of US round and round in ovals racing, which has very little coverage in the UK, so to watch anything beyond the Cup races I have to seek out illegally broadcast internet streams. These come with all the US advertising that goes with the broadcast on the local channel.

Oh dear, there seems to be a break every five minutes, two if there's a caution and it seems to be mostly aimed at men who either can't get it up or can't pee .

They advertise perscription medication and spend half the advert advising of side effects.

Long live the BBC and the way it is funded as far as I am concerned!

[squigg58]

Originally Posted by penfold007

They advertise perscription medication and spend half the advert advising of side effects.

I've seen some of the broadcasts you describe, and the "small print" they have to read out in the adverts is amazing! There was one which said something along the lines of "In clinical trials, heart attacks and deaths were observed, but it's not entirely certain that these were a result of the medication"!