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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
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Welcome, Shyheart!  Yep, Jackie, the term "Britcoms" is alive and entrenched. Here's a web site: http://www.britcoms.com/I don't watch much TV, either, except for news, weather, quiz shows and the occasional Britcom. I shall look for Red Dwarf, I'm interested now in the accents.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2000
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>Scottish Accent/Black Country
I'm not a regular but isn't Craig Charles from Liverpool?
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2000
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>I guess you don't have an entertainment mecca like Hollywood over there, do you?
That's fine Jazz, if we can be rude about your President you can be rude about our TV. Actually, we're pretty rude about our own Prime Minister and our own TV most of the time. The short answer is that the British comedy shown on American television is self-selected - we keep the best to ourselves.
Regarding Britcoms, I think that the stuff that gets filtered through to an American audience tends to be the rather safe mid-evening slot stuff with a touch of nostalgia aimed at an older audience. Programmes like "Are you Being Served?", "Benny Hill", "On the Buses" and "Dad's Army" are early seventies shows which were pulled from the schedules years ago (around the same time that the USA stopped making "I Love Lucy") Sadly, some have recently crept back in the early evening slots to cope with digital TV's insatiable desire for content over quality.
Some programming like "Porridge, "Open All Hours", "Only Fools and Horses", "Fawlty Towers" and "Monty Python" have survived the test of time slightly better. "Keeping Up Appearances" ran until 1995, "The Thin Blue Line", "Waiting for God" and "One Foot in the Grave" (last programme tonight) are more recent examples of early evening sit-com.
There is a lot of good comedy which is not exported as much. One of our top programmes is "Have I Got News for You" which is a very irreverant look at the week's news. It deals with British politics and it would be unlikely to interest a significant section of the American audience. Other programmes like "Men Behaving Badly", "Red Dwarf", "Goodness Gracious Me", "The Young Ones", "Blackadder" and "Ab Fab" are/were mid-evening programmes for a younger adult audience. Some, like "Red Dwarf", have a cult following and the low production values are part of the joke. In fact you may have noticed that British comedy programmes tend to go for people who look funny as well as being funny, we're less inclined to go for glamour, it would be hard to imagine a succesful UK version of "Dynasty". If you ever get to see "The Royle Family", you'll know what I mean.
Some of our programmes like "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire" or get "translated" so you never get to see the British versions. A gound-breaking programme like "Cracker" (very edgy, urban, threatening with the wonderful Robbie Coltrane) was re-made as "Fitz" with an American cast and writing team and was much the worse for it. Think of what the "Sopranos" would be like if it were re-made by Disney! Conversely, "ER" is streaks ahead of our own, early evening medical show "Casualty" in my opinion.
Our later evening comedy tends not to get exported quite so readily to America, it tends to have too much "language" and sex (and not enough violence) combined with regional accents and British humour. Think of something with the edge of "The Full Monty" or "Trainspotting", more Lenny Bruce than Lucille Ball.
As an aside Jazz, have you ever been outside America? - you might enjoy a trip to Europe one day. (Just don't watch the television!)
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
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I could be wrong - which is why I asked for advice. He's on 'Robot Wars' as well, if you ever want to check. Anybody else prepared to give us definitive views on Craig Charles' geographic roots? (No fair if you read his biog - only deductions from accent allowed.)
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
Jazz:
>an entertainment mecca like Hollywood over there, do you?<
guess you don't read the credits-- other wise you might have noticed "Pinewood Studios" Located just outside london, it is an international center for film production. (check out an some english, or international films, with parts done in England.) I think you'll find pinewood studios comming up a lot more often than you realize!
i think british sit coms are often funnier since they are simpler. there are fewer effects--no of the morphing or cartoon effects like in "alley mcbeal" . and they have more comedy based on class and language. and yes, most of the US is still too puritanical for international comedy.
--on an other note, the "our Violet" is fairly common among the irish, but it is a class thing. my mother didn't permit it, she thought it too low class. but she did laspe into refering to my father as himself. But she did make a point of calling my dad, Pat and never Paddy, even though every one else in the family use the irish diminutive. she refused to name my brother Michael, even though he was born on the Michaelmas day, since it was bad enough to be married to Paddy Reilly, but she wasn't going to have Micky Reilly as a son!
as i grew i learned to differeniate between irish culture and irish american culture-- they are very different! but that is another thread.....
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stranger
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stranger
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 11 |
Shanks -- I was pleased with the bit of elucidation on the accents. Guess my provincialism was showing! A question now -- and you used the word before me! -- is the derogatory term "smeghead" actually vulgar slang? Or was it coined for the tv show? Just curious.
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old hand
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Grrr . . . I can't say anything without getting yelled at. Maybe I should just stop posting. The English that I think obviously has slightly different connotations than what actually gets written down.
I was in no manner intending to insult British television. My main questions was whether or not those shows were currently running in England because, for some twisted reason in my head, the quality of the recordings looks similar to those of older American shows. Perhaps it's just me, but the camera angles and sets look considerably different. My mention of Hollywood was simply stating that we have the largest media center in the world that has so much money and competition.
Obviously, "bland" was the wrong term. We've already discussed the differences between American and British humor, and it was pointed out that many Americans find British humor bland or strange. I'm sure the converse is true in the UK. I rather enjoy Monty Python. "The Search for the Holy Grail" is very popular in the US. I personally don't care much for "Keeping Up Appearances" simply because I find it quite odd, and "Are You Being Served" is definitely more liberally sex related than American sit-coms.
I definitely don't care for aspersions calling me simple-minded or immature. If those are true, then why am I here? I'd have to say that I watch more intellectual television than most people.
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Joined: Sep 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891 |
Jazzy dear. If, as you say, your written posts do not always accurately convey what you were thinking, it might be a good idea to write them in Word first, and then reread them. I do that quite often. I find that by rereading myself I can shorten the post and clarify what I want to get across.
You may not have noticed but your previous post came out as extremely condescending. Read it over and you will see that I am right. Unfortunately, because of the format of this forum, we cannot see the expressions behind the posts and must rely on the information provided. That is why it is important to make sure what you write is what you mean to get across.
Words can hurt sweetie. If you sting someone you have to expect they will sting back. No one can know you didn’t mean to do so.
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Well, I don't know what Word is, but that sounds like a good idea--checking, that is. I just do it here.
But--checking doesn't always save me from saying something different than I intended. That is complicated by the fact that I can be a bit impetuous. One thing that I have not yet perfected, Jazz., is to always engage brain before opening mouth (or fingers, here!). I hope for your sake that you catch on to doing that sooner.
I have noticed that posts on this board have gotten away from pointing out people's minor errors, such as spelling
mistakes. I have seen a great many myself that I know come
from the person simply being in a hurry, either to get on with what they're supposed to be doing, or just to go on to the next thread, or whatever. The larmoyancy thread really made it clear how much we all value our time, and also how much we value this Board. So--it seems to me that we appreciate each other, AND each others' situations, because so many are so similar.
Jazz., perhaps you got some private messages, "yelling at"
you. What was posted struck me more as statement of fact than negative criticism. But then--it wasn't directed at something I'd put, either! But there truly is all the difference in the world between a highly judgmental
"You're simple-minded", and bel's gracious, non-judgmental,
"your previous post came out as extremely condescending".
It's obvious you're very bright, and I for one wouldn't like to see you go.
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Joined: Mar 2000
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027 |
Grrr . . . I can't say anything without getting yelled at. Maybe I should just stop posting.This is a well-known, yet passing feeling in my experience. A remark may be perceived as a "yell" on the background of the general tone around here, which is so measured and polite (especially compared to many other boards). So, yes, stop for half a day, then resume in all serenity .
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