# Need help from UK dopers re: bad TV show **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 13, 2011, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-from-uk-dopers-re-bad-tv-show/606027 "2011-12-13T12:42:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-from-uk-dopers-re-bad-tv-show/606027/21 "2011-12-13T17:28:29Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > Thank you, everyone. > > I think I’m going to use _Triangle_, but I’m also going to check out as many of the others as I can, just because I love torturing myself. I’ve never heard of\* Triangle\*. From what you describe as your purpose, I’d say it’s far too obscure. ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-from-uk-dopers-re-bad-tv-show/606027/22 "2011-12-13T17:38:37Z")
> [@Malden\_Capell](#): > > Torchwood. Yep. Also _Are You Being Served_?, (Which is loved in the US for some reason:smack: - But dire ‘pussy’ jokes and rancid gay stereotypes do not a classic make). ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-from-uk-dopers-re-bad-tv-show/606027/23 "2011-12-13T17:51:31Z")
I’ve never seen it, but I’ve heard [Come Back Mrs. Noah](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_Back_Mrs_Noah) which starred Mollie Sugden (aka Mrs. Slocombe) used as an example of bad British Tv. > [@](#): > > I utterly disagree with all these choices except My Hero which most people probably won’t have heard of. Actually my local PBS station has been airing My Hero for years. They also air Last of the Summer Wine and Are You Being Served? And I really do enjoy My Hero. I think the reason so many people blast it is that the lead also starred in Father Ted, and the two shows are markedly different in their comedy style. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-from-uk-dopers-re-bad-tv-show/606027/24 "2011-12-13T18:04:16Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > Gosh, I didn’t want to start any arguments here. I’m honestly looking for a show that is universally acknowledged as bad. That’s a punchline for comics. That the actors who starred in it are ashamed to talk about. > > You do have shows like that over there, don’t you? How about [Crossroads](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossroads_(soap_opera))? It was a soap opera set in a really average motel that ran for years and had wobbly sets, bad acting, corny story lines, the works. It’s a programme that everyone in the country over the age of 25 will have heard of, and regard as rather corny. Or El Dorado as mentioned, as a bad soap that got canned pretty quickly. I’m not sure all that many people would remember Triangle. Oh, I’ve just realised I’ve just repeated what jjimm said. So, what jjimm said. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-from-uk-dopers-re-bad-tv-show/606027/25 "2011-12-13T18:10:21Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > “Ruby (Don’t Take Your Love to Town)”? > > Honestly, I have no idea. Probably “Ruby Tuesday”. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-from-uk-dopers-re-bad-tv-show/606027/26 "2011-12-13T18:23:23Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > I’ve never seen it, but I’ve heard [Come Back Mrs. Noah](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_Back_Mrs_Noah) which starred Mollie Sugden (aka Mrs. Slocombe) used as an example of bad British Tv. > > Actually my local PBS station has been airing My Hero for years. They also air Last of the Summer Wine and Are You Being Served? And I really do enjoy My Hero. I think the reason so many people blast it is that the lead also starred in Father Ted, and the two shows are markedly different in their comedy style. Americans seem to often like ‘Britcoms’ that are widely reviled in the UK - maybe you just don’t get shown the good ones. I quite like Are You Being Served, but I like cheese; LotSW kept getting renewed just because the Beeb wanted to keep the world record I reckon. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-from-uk-dopers-re-bad-tv-show/606027/27 "2011-12-13T18:46:20Z")
I think the worst of them all was _‘Love thy neighbour’_ This was supposed to be a comedy but the synopsis reveals that it wasn’t funny at all. [http://www.phill.co.uk/comedy/lovethy/](http://www.phill.co.uk/comedy/lovethy/) look up a few Youtube clips [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vez4nInKJD8/hqdefault.jpg "LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR PART 1") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vez4nInKJD8) For any child of any enthnicity growing up during the years that this show was aired, it was not pleasant. Plenty of racist taunts and bullying at school, it was quite normal to be greeted by other kids as ‘Sambo’ ‘choccy’ ‘jungle bunny’ ‘chink’ etc and this almost invariably peaked the day of the week after the show had been on - yup, it was prime time viewing. I would bet that anyone who remembers this fondly is white and those would be pretty few in number. ---
**Author:** ![BunnyTVS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BunnyTVS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BunnyTVS)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-from-uk-dopers-re-bad-tv-show/606027/28 "2011-12-13T19:48:24Z")
There was [“It Aint 'Alf 'Ot Mum”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc_E3Zs2E-U) about an squad of British army entertainers in WWII India. [“Bugs”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-R7GKgnK-M) a drama series about high-tech crime fighters. One notable episode had a system of “sonic inverters” that helped cause silent explosions (just think about that for a minute). There was the remake of “Randal and Hopkirk (deceased)”. The original was a cheesy yet fun 60’s show about a private detective and his partner(s ghost). Reeves and Mortimer somehow sucked the entire soul from the show. [Original](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efEnjvILJM8) [travesty.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdxOOd9x2sk) ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-from-uk-dopers-re-bad-tv-show/606027/29 "2011-12-13T21:25:11Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I’ve thought of one that was loved despite being universally acknowledged as having bad scripts, bad acting and low production values: the long-running soap _Crossroads_. > > (Which was parodied beautifully by Victoria Wood and Julie Walters in hte [Acorn Antiques](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC8POMoEpYQ) sketches.) Yes, _Crossroads_ is the British comedians’ touchstone for bad TV. ---
**Author:** ![Teacake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teacake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacake)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-from-uk-dopers-re-bad-tv-show/606027/30 "2011-12-13T21:30:52Z")
I came in to mention El Dorado, but I see it’s been done. It was definitely the first thing that sprang to mind, assuming that you want really bad rather than just boring (Songs of Praise, anyone?). I wouldn’t go with Triangle. Neither of us has ever heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-from-uk-dopers-re-bad-tv-show/606027/31 "2011-12-13T21:36:53Z")
> [@casdave](#): > > I think the worst of them all was _‘Love thy neighbour’_ > > This was supposed to be a comedy but the synopsis reveals that it wasn’t funny at all. > > [http://www.phill.co.uk/comedy/lovethy/](http://www.phill.co.uk/comedy/lovethy/) > > look up a few Youtube clips > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vez4nInKJD8&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vez4nInKJD8&feature=related) > > For any child of any enthnicity growing up during the years that this show was aired, it was not pleasant. Plenty of racist taunts and bullying at school, it was quite normal to be greeted by other kids as ‘Sambo’ ‘choccy’ ‘jungle bunny’ ‘chink’ etc and this almost invariably peaked the day of the week after the show had been on - yup, it was prime time viewing. > > I would bet that anyone who remembers this fondly is white and those would be pretty few in number. I am white and it totally made me cringe! Of course, it was clearly _meant_ to be an anti-racist show, with (IIRC: it is possible that memory has censored itself) the prejudiced white guy as a buffoon and the black guy as sort of two-dimensional paragon, but it was so badly done it came out as embarrassing and deeply racially insensitive ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-from-uk-dopers-re-bad-tv-show/606027/32 "2011-12-13T22:47:50Z")
> [@Teacake](#): > > I came in to mention El Dorado, but I see it’s been done. It was definitely the first thing that sprang to mind, assuming that you want really bad rather than just boring (Songs of Praise, anyone?). I wouldn’t go with Triangle. Neither of us has ever heard of it. Agreed. I came in to mention it too. And I also have never heard of Triangle. El dorado was different to the likes of Crossroads as it was hugely expensive, massively hyped and was woefully woefully bad. It was the Ishtar of British prime time TV. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-from-uk-dopers-re-bad-tv-show/606027/33 "2011-12-14T00:16:44Z")
> [@Galanthus](#): > > I utterly disagree with all these choices except _My Hero_ which most people probably won’t have heard of. A lot of Americans will be familiar with My Hero - it played on the BBC-A for at least a couple of years. > [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > My favourite moment is when the teenage hero runs to the rescue of his girlfriend, Ruby, and the background music was… well, take a wild guess. “Wildfire”? So, what do you actual brits think of **Little Britian** and **Clatterford**? I thought the first was stupid and the second totally incomprehensible based on the pilot. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-from-uk-dopers-re-bad-tv-show/606027/34 "2011-12-14T09:50:07Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Yes, _Crossroads_ is the British comedians’ touchstone for bad TV. Yeah, okay, this is it. Although you have to admit it was redeemed somewhat by the Bobby-Ewing ending (of the resurrected version). The other “joke” show is _The Bill_, a long-running police drama. Not because it was particularly bad (although sometimes it was) but because absolutely every British actor and actress had a guest role at some point in their career. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-from-uk-dopers-re-bad-tv-show/606027/35 "2011-12-14T10:15:36Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > A lot of Americans will be familiar with My Hero - it played on the BBC-A for at least a couple of years. > > “Wildfire”? > > So, what do you actual brits think of **Little Britian** and **Clatterford**? I thought the first was stupid and the second totally incomprehensible based on the pilot. I had to look up “Clatterford”, turns out that it is what they call “Jam and Jerusalem” in the colonies. Anyway, I never really watch those sort of shows (see also: Vicar of Dibley) as I find them all a bit embarrassing and not far removed from “Last of the Summer Wine”. “Little Britain” is one of the least funny things I have seen on British TV. I rank it lower than “Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps”, which is really fucking saying something. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-from-uk-dopers-re-bad-tv-show/606027/36 "2011-12-14T10:18:52Z")
_Beadle’s About_ ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-from-uk-dopers-re-bad-tv-show/606027/37 "2011-12-14T10:34:41Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > _Beadle’s About_ Meh - America invented the prank show with _Candid Camera_. I hate them, especially ones like _Punk’d_ which are just nasty, but they’re neither new nor universally reviled. At first I read “Clatterford” as [Catterick](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catterick_(TV_series)), which was pretty awful in its own right. Vic and Bob are funny in the right format. This wasn’t it. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-from-uk-dopers-re-bad-tv-show/606027/38 "2011-12-14T11:01:35Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Meh - America invented the prank show with _Candid Camera_. Not because it was a prank show, though it was a dire example of one. But because it had a smarmy gnome host Jeremy Beadle. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-from-uk-dopers-re-bad-tv-show/606027/39 "2011-12-14T11:22:19Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > Probably “Ruby Tuesday”. Sorry, I meant to [link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWcUSa-f5dE) Ruby, by the Kaiser Chefs. Annoyingly ever present on the radio at the time. Maybe some actors would be somehow ashamed of Soap Operas like Eastenders, or the Aussie Neighbours. Fair amount of mockery there. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-from-uk-dopers-re-bad-tv-show/606027/40 "2011-12-14T11:31:33Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > How about [Crossroads](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossroads_(soap_opera))? It was a soap opera set in a really average motel that ran for years and had wobbly sets, bad acting, corny story lines, the works. It’s a programme that everyone in the country over the age of 25 will have heard of, and regard as rather corny. > > Or El Dorado as mentioned, as a bad soap that got canned pretty quickly. I’m not sure all that many people would remember Triangle. > > Oh, I’ve just realised I’ve just repeated what jjimm said. So, what jjimm said. I always remember Sandy was supposed to be pulling a pint to serve up to a customer, but the camera shot was wrong, so that you could see the already full pint under the bar while he went through the motions. I loved that show, it was so dreadful. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-from-uk-dopers-re-bad-tv-show/606027.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-from-uk-dopers-re-bad-tv-show/606027.md?page=3)