# Copper on BBCAmerica **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 20, 2012, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-on-bbcamerica/632031 "2012-08-20T04:06:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-on-bbcamerica/632031/1 "2012-08-20T04:06:57Z")
Did anyone else watch the premiere tonight? The characters of Cocaran, the English wife (didn’t catch her name) of the guy with the wolf-head walking stick and Annie have potential. Kind of like Deadwood spliced with Law & Order. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-on-bbcamerica/632031/2 "2012-08-20T12:58:10Z")
I recorded it but watched the first half live and then went to bed… it wasn’t doing much for me but I’ll give it another shot. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-on-bbcamerica/632031/3 "2012-08-20T14:08:35Z")
I meant to watch it, but forgot because I was watching _North by Northwest_ on TCM and, well, Cary Grant. But I see it’s on again Wednesday night at 10. I loved _The Gods of Gotham_ by Lyndsay Faye, and from what I can see this show is derivative of that book but isn’t crediting it. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-on-bbcamerica/632031/4 "2012-08-20T14:14:08Z")
Re above: Her Facebook page says “I’ve been aware of this series existing for about a year now. That means (when one considers the massive work/time it takes to greenlight, fund, cast, and shoot a series) that they have stolen nothing from me, and I heartily look forward to watching it when it airs.” ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-on-bbcamerica/632031/5 "2012-08-20T15:22:43Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > I meant to watch it, but forgot because I was watching _North by Northwest_ on TCM and, well, Cary Grant. But I see it’s on again Wednesday night at 10. I loved _The Gods of Gotham_ by Lyndsay Faye, and from what I can see this show is derivative of that book but isn’t crediting it. If anything, this is _Gangs of New York_ with more focus on the other side. Caveat: I didn’t watch it, just going by the advertising. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-on-bbcamerica/632031/6 "2012-08-20T16:22:33Z")
I watched it. It was OK, so far. We figure we will watch it for a few more episodes. It isn’t horrible … ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-on-bbcamerica/632031/7 "2012-08-20T18:15:17Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > If anything, this is _Gangs of New York_ with more focus on the other side. > > Caveat: I didn’t watch it, just going by the advertising. And considering that they’ve been showing **Gangs of New York** frequently for the last week or so on BBCA, I imagine that’s exactly what they want you to think. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-on-bbcamerica/632031/8 "2012-08-20T19:37:32Z")
The show is interesting enough, but the channel is called BBC America, and I’ve been watching it for _British_ programmes. So it seems like yet another example of channel drift. I hope that this is an anomaly and that the channel mostly sticks to the British stuff. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-on-bbcamerica/632031/9 "2012-08-20T21:31:52Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The show is interesting enough, but the channel is called BBC America, and I’ve been watching it for _British_ programmes. So it seems like yet another example of channel drift. I hope that this is an anomaly and that the channel mostly sticks to the British stuff. If you’re just now catching the channel drift, you’re not watching much BBC America. Seems half or more of their lineup has been American stuff with only the flimsiest excuse to consider it “British”, such as Star Trek TNG (which they air all the time) because of Patrick Stewart being British. As for Copper itself, hated the gratuitous man ass when that one guy got out of bed with the whore, loved the stuff with the black guy acting as an ancient CSI type dealie. Didn’t really like how underage the underage whore looked. Don’t know how old the actress is, but if she is anywhere near as young as she looks, it’s kinda creepy that her parents let her take this role. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2012, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-on-bbcamerica/632031/10 "2012-08-20T22:15:38Z")
No, I watch _a lot_ of BBC America, and I’m well aware of the stuff they show with dubious excuses for a British connection. (Here’s a movie starring a Welshman! And here’s one where the second assistant director is from Manchester (but everyone else is American)!) I was hoping for something more British for their first original series. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-on-bbcamerica/632031/11 "2012-08-21T02:10:47Z")
Looked good so far… ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-on-bbcamerica/632031/12 "2012-08-21T02:46:44Z")
If it wasn’t anywhere near Deadwood quality, at least it wasn’t offensively badly written as so many other hyped shows have been. (Political Animals.) Or as in your face preposterous. (Sherlock.) Somewhere over mediocre with a chance of better if all the endless plot set-up results in a satisfactory collecting of the strands. One thing that worked about Deadwood was that people felt alien and yet their actions were understandable. Copper’s characters felt too modern. The NYC police department didn’t have plainclothes detectives as we understand them in 1864. And the black forensic doctor was about as realistic as Alf. A dead child prostitute wouldn’t have even been a scandal. (I couldn’t figure out why she was killed. Or raped after death. They may be men who like them young and men who like them dead but their Venn diagram shows little intersection.) I’ll keep watching. I think there will only be ten episodes so it should go pretty quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-on-bbcamerica/632031/13 "2012-08-21T03:47:57Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The show is interesting enough, but the channel is called BBC America, and I’ve been watching it for _British_ programmes. So it seems like yet another example of channel drift. I hope that this is an anomaly and that the channel mostly sticks to the British stuff. BBC America is called BBC America because its owned by the BBC and broadcasts in America. They show a decent amount of British programming since they already own stuff produced for the BBC, but I don’t think its supposed to be a British themed TV channel the same way, say, the Sci-fi channel has a sci-fi theme. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-on-bbcamerica/632031/14 "2012-08-21T16:06:25Z")
While the Beeb does own it, they show a lot of programs from ITV and Channel 4. The boss since 2010 is an ex-MTV Networks guy, which explains a lot. The channel has gone way downhill in recent years. Huge blocks of crappy shows, especially crappy “reality” shows. I used to watch several shows per week in the _Coupling_ era. Haven’t watched anything at all, let alone regularly, in some time. (Thank god Tamsin Greig is finally on something good: Episodes on Showtime. Her recent British shows are awful.) Recorded _Coppers_, not sure if we’ll get around to watching it. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-on-bbcamerica/632031/15 "2012-08-21T17:43:09Z")
Not bad, not great. I’m willing to stick with it for a while; I dig period pieces and it’s set more or less in my neighborhood. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-on-bbcamerica/632031/16 "2012-08-28T14:09:11Z")
First ep was okay. Second ep not so much. We watched last night and couldn’t get through it. Editing is choppy, and some of the acting is just not very good. Time to move on. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-on-bbcamerica/632031/17 "2012-08-28T14:17:49Z")
If I have a conspiracy between five or six guys to murder somone, remind me not to send the one guy with a broken leg to do the actual murdering. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-on-bbcamerica/632031/18 "2012-08-28T14:22:06Z")
I only got part way through the first episode before I turned it off and cancelled it on my DVR. That Prince and the Pauper bit with the two little girls was just way too lame. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-on-bbcamerica/632031/19 "2012-08-28T17:46:37Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > If I have a conspiracy between five or six guys to murder somone, remind me not to send the one guy with a broken leg to do the actual murdering. Not to mention, he manages to climb up to the second story with a busted femur and no ladder. Ain’t happening, not with the best painkillers. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2012, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-on-bbcamerica/632031/20 "2012-08-29T01:35:19Z")
I tried it because I like period drama and I like BBC and the setting sounded intriguing. Alas, it did not hold my attention and I didn’t even make it through episode one. Too bad. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/copper-on-bbcamerica/632031.md?page=2)