So what are the masterpieces of non-English language television? Anyone know? It’s relatively easy to find great foreign movies, but I can’t think of a single famous foreign language TV show (English dubbings of Japanese cartoons and “Iron Chef” aside). But they’ve got to be out there, right? So what’s the German “I Love Lucy,” the French “Cheers,” the Tagalog “Hill Street Blues,” the Portuguese “Sopranos,” the Japanese “Seinfeld”, the Hindi “Simpsons”?
Only scripted shows, please (local versions of “Pop Idol” are a dime a dozen), and no soap operas please…just 'cause I don’t like 'em, and they seem a bit too easy.
And if there are any classic English-language shows from countries that aren’t known as TV exporters, those are welcome too. Everyone knows American, British, and to an extent Australian, Canadian, and even Irish shows. But a great TV show from Jamaica or Zimbabwe or South Africa or even New Zealand would be interesting to hear about as well.
No, anime’s fine – I mentioned “Japanese cartoons” as just about the only example I could think of of foreign TV shows that have penetrated the English-speaking culture at all.
(Speaking of animation in general, when I think about it, there were a couple dubbed cartoons that used to be popular – The Smurfs and Belle and Sebastian, for example. But I’m more interested in adult shows, which would include anime.)
In India, Mahabharat and Ramayan were very, very, very popular. These were made & broadcast in mid to late 80s so the production values are pretty bad, but it conveys the basic story well.
Kyunki…Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi… (literally Because the M-i-l was too ‘The Wife’ once), from what I know, is also pretty popular. Haven’t really seen it.
My favorite is Trick, starring Hiroshi Abe (in my opinion, the Japanese equivalent of Bruce Campbell) and Yukie Nakama as a professor and magician who investigate paranormal claims. Kind of like The X-files except based on reality, i.e., the paranormal claims are false, and the people claiming them are scam artists. Admittedly, I found the end of the series disappointing.
The whole thing is done sort of tongue-in-cheek, and whenever someone does a Mulder-esque rant of “if you can’t account for every possibility within the next thirty seconds then you have to admit there’s a chance that the cause is supernatural,” he gets smacked down for the moron that he is.
My absolutely favourite show running now – Sabado Gigante
Don Francisco is the greatest television host of all time. My Spanish is limited to knowing when I’m being cursed at, but **Sabado Gigante ** is non-stop entertainment despite my language problems.
I’m dying for my local cable provider to carry Telemundo so that I can watch Cien Mexicanos Dijeron, which I presume is just like Family Feud. O, how I wish I got that show. I’ve never seen it, I just assume I’d like it.
For people who haven’t watched Sabado Gigante, you need to know some of the things they do. They have contests for whose pet dog looks most like what celebrity, the studio audience sings along with the commercial jingles, and a man dressed up as a lion who comes out of a cave and plays a trumpet. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s pure gold.