# UK Dopers: What's popular on TV right now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 12, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-whats-popular-on-tv-right-now/550066 "2010-08-12T17:52:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-whats-popular-on-tv-right-now/550066/21 "2010-10-07T16:42:50Z")
> [@kim\_jung\_il](#): > > > [@Bakhesh](#): > > > > I’m really enjoying “would I lie to you” at the moment (panel show where contestants have to guess if the other team are lying or not), but for some reason, the US never seems to bother adapting panel shows. They are pretty popular over here. I heard they were developing “Have I got news for you” for the US market a while back, but nothing has materialised yet. > > I only came across Would I Lie to You recently, as I am expatriated, but after seeing it, I then watched the previous 3 seasons. > > Us Brits do panel shows very well. I think if someone took a chance and adapted it for the US market, it’d be a ratings winner. Think of Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher, Bill Murray and Rich Hall on the same show trying to out-funny each other. You’d certainly get Rich Hall, he does the circuit of panel shows over here pretty regularly. I guess the problem is that I can’t really imagine reasonably big name, current comedians over there being willing to appear on such a show. Misfits was pretty popular and critically liked over here, with a second series coming soon. ---
**Author:** ![kbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kbear)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-whats-popular-on-tv-right-now/550066/22 "2010-10-07T17:39:47Z")
Spooks and Merlin are back. I don’t know how well they’re doing in the ratings but we’re enjoying them ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-whats-popular-on-tv-right-now/550066/23 "2010-10-07T19:19:58Z")
I’ve posted this in other threads before, but I think the biggest obstacle to getting good panel shows over here is that the celebrity guests have to be both funny and intelligent enough to think on their feet. I think the British TV system is much better than the American system at selecting for intelligence overall (there are, of course, exceptions). I just can’t think of enough American celebrities that would be witty enough to manage it. ---
**Author:** ![dzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzero)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-whats-popular-on-tv-right-now/550066/24 "2010-10-07T23:50:51Z")
Great thread. With the new tv season in the US, I haven’t been looking for new stuff from the UK. And even things that have apparently been around for a few years, like Ideal, were new to me. I’d been watching Merlin (first 2 seasons) off and on over the summer but didn’t know about Sherlock. I liked MI-5 but when they switched over to the Spooks moniker, the cast changed completely and the first episode seemed to be appealing more to a much younger and perhaps more juvenile audience. Although I could be thinking of something else entirely - it’s been a year or 2. Being Human sounds good and I’ll be checking that one out. Does anyone like Primeval? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-whats-popular-on-tv-right-now/550066/25 "2010-10-08T00:05:34Z")
> [@dzero](#): > > I liked MI-5 but when they switched over to the Spooks moniker, the cast changed completely and the first episode seemed to be appealing more to a much younger and perhaps more juvenile audience. Although I could be thinking of something else entirely - it’s been a year or 2. There was a short-lived horrifically ill-conceived spinoff aimed at a younger audience. This is almost certainly what you are remembering. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-whats-popular-on-tv-right-now/550066/26 "2010-10-08T02:07:51Z")
I’m over here in the US but I regularly watch EastEnders and Harry and Paul (sketch comedy with Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse, who was one of the co-creators of The Fast Show a.k.a. Brilliant as it was titled in the US). The Inbetweeners’ third season just started airing, I think it’s quite good. ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-whats-popular-on-tv-right-now/550066/27 "2010-10-08T02:48:36Z")
I didn’t know this thread was still going on. I’m like Halley’s Comet, passing through once every 76 years while my trail of volatile emissions causes widespread panic. Anyhow, we watch quite a bit of television from overseas and I’d like to check out some of these shows (_Sherlock_ sounds interesting). At the moment, we’re following the current season of _X Factor_, it’s my daughter’s favourite show. ---
**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:** [October 8, 2010, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-whats-popular-on-tv-right-now/550066/28 "2010-10-08T08:46:37Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > I’m over here in the US but I regularly watch EastEnders and Harry and Paul (sketch comedy with Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse, who was one of the co-creators of The Fast Show a.k.a. Brilliant as it was titled in the US). _Harry and Paul_ makes me want to claw my eyes out, it’s so bad. Look for endless “working class people talking like intellectuals” jokes, and the “Mr Psycho Bean” sketch is horribly ill-conceived. Harry and Paul both used to be extremely funny comedians. These days they’ve scraped through the bottom of the barrel and are busily tunnelling towards the Earth’s core. ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-whats-popular-on-tv-right-now/550066/29 "2010-10-08T11:30:58Z")
ITV have just started a new Sunday evening costume drame, _Downton Abbey_. Tosh, but \*good \*tosh. Essentially it’s _Upstairs, Downstairs_ revisited: aristo family upstairs - Maggie Smith doing a wonderful turn as the Dowager Countess - and mixed bag of servants below stairs. The plot line is something to do with breaking an entail so that the house and money (including American heiress’s dowery) doesn’t go to a third cousin - a lawyer who actually earns a living, God forbid - but it doesn’t really matter. Just sit back and enjoy the sets, the costumes, and the writing. The ratings are good so far - probably helped by being directly after the X-Factor! (By the way, I’m with **jjimm** , X-factor is manipulative rubbish but I love it anyway :smack: ) ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-whats-popular-on-tv-right-now/550066/30 "2010-10-08T14:17:29Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > > [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > > > I’m over here in the US but I regularly watch EastEnders and Harry and Paul (sketch comedy with Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse, who was one of the co-creators of The Fast Show a.k.a. Brilliant as it was titled in the US). > > _Harry and Paul_ makes me want to claw my eyes out, it’s so bad. Look for endless “working class people talking like intellectuals” jokes, and the “Mr Psycho Bean” sketch is horribly ill-conceived. > > Harry and Paul both used to be extremely funny comedians. These days they’ve scraped through the bottom of the barrel and are busily tunnelling towards the Earth’s core. Agreed. It also definitely does count as a show that’s popular in the UK right now, because it failed as completely as it deserved to. ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-whats-popular-on-tv-right-now/550066/31 "2010-10-08T16:12:14Z")
> [@dzero](#): > > Does anyone like Primeval? i enjoyed what i saw of it - with the exception of the **uber** -annoying, twenty-something IT whizkid. LOTS less of him and lots more of jason flemying for the new season, thank you very much. :rolleyes: which reminds me: anyone know when that new season plans on showing up stateside? it’s been forever since i saw it. ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-whats-popular-on-tv-right-now/550066/32 "2010-10-08T20:47:54Z")
> [@MarcusF](#): > > ITV have just started a new Sunday evening costume drame, _Downton Abbey_. Tosh, but \*good \*tosh. Essentially it’s _Upstairs, Downstairs_ revisited: aristo family upstairs - Maggie Smith doing a wonderful turn as the Dowager Countess - and mixed bag of servants below stairs. > > The plot line is something to do with breaking an entail so that the house and money (including American heiress’s dowery) doesn’t go to a third cousin - a lawyer who actually earns a living, God forbid - but it doesn’t really matter. Just sit back and enjoy the sets, the costumes, and the writing. Ooh, I’m loving Downton Abbey. It’s perfect Sunday evening viewing - the televisual equivalent of sinking into a warm bath. ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-whats-popular-on-tv-right-now/550066/33 "2010-10-08T21:29:48Z")
I forgot to mention, another Sunday night drama which I really enjoyed was [Joe Maddison’s War](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1620822/), though I very much doubt it’ll make it States-side. I watched it because it was set in my home town, South Shields (not, in spite of what every single write-up claims, Newcastle - it’s a coastal town further south), and was about a shipyard worker during WW2 who joins the home guard. My great-grandad having been a ship-yard worker who was in the Home Guard, I was curious to see it, and was pleasantly surprised. The plot was a bit :dubious: at times, but I thought it was very well-acted. Kevin Whately in particular reminded me so much of my grandad in his attitude and mannerisms that I got quite emotional at times. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2010, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-whats-popular-on-tv-right-now/550066/34 "2010-10-09T10:59:00Z")
New water cooler convos: _The Apprentice_. We can’t claim this one as it’s a UK adaptation of the American show. A more arrogant bunch of idiotic clots I’ve never seen in my life. What I don’t get is why they persist in behaving in such a nutty way when the damn program has been on for years? Don’t they realise that by being completely pig-headed, non-collaborative, shouty and just generally stupid, they’re not going to win? Is the ego of the business-oriented ‘reality show’ contestant impervious to reason and precedent? ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-whats-popular-on-tv-right-now/550066/35 "2010-10-10T18:35:34Z")
> [@kbear](#): > > Spooks and Merlin are back. I don’t know how well they’re doing in the ratings but we’re enjoying them Sadly I’m one of those who really hates Merlin. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmundex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@Sigmundex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmundex)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-whats-popular-on-tv-right-now/550066/36 "2010-10-11T02:03:11Z")
There are two current UK shows that I just love. The Inbetweeners, mentioned earlier by one poster, and Peep Show. They are both funny in a way that probably wouldn’t be palatable to many Americans, unfortunately. SuperHans is one of the greatest characters ever created, in my humble opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-whats-popular-on-tv-right-now/550066/37 "2010-10-11T02:55:58Z")
> [@Sigmundex](#): > > There are two current UK shows that I just love. The Inbetweeners, mentioned earlier by one poster, and Peep Show. They are both funny in a way that probably wouldn’t be palatable to many Americans, unfortunately. SuperHans is one of the greatest characters ever created, in my humble opinion. Peep Show is amazing. The season-ending episode (fifth?) when Mark meets up with the girl on the canal boat and ends up eating her dog, thanks to Jez’s hijinks, might be the funniest sitcom episode I’ve ever seen. I think the new season starts in November - I can’t wait! ---
**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:** [October 11, 2010, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-whats-popular-on-tv-right-now/550066/38 "2010-10-11T09:52:46Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > New water cooler convos: _The Apprentice_. We can’t claim this one as it’s a UK adaptation of the American show. > > A more arrogant bunch of idiotic clots I’ve never seen in my life. > > What I don’t get is why they persist in behaving in such a nutty way when the damn program has been on for years? Don’t they realise that by being completely pig-headed, non-collaborative, shouty and just generally stupid, they’re not going to win? Is the ego of the business-oriented ‘reality show’ contestant impervious to reason and precedent? I think that fact that they’re “completely pig-headed, non-collaborative, shouty and just generally stupid” is 1) the reason they get picked to be on the show, and 2) the reason they don’t realise that being “completely pig-headed, non-collaborative, shouty and just generally stupid” is not a winning strategy. I’m not a huge fan of either the In-Betweeners or Peep Show as the comedy of humiliation holds limited appeal to me, although I find Mitchell and Webb to be very funny indeed in their other guises. David Mitchell also has an amusing podcast/vodcast (“David Mitchell’s Soapbox”) which I recommend - he’s just finished the second series. The IT Crowd, although currently between series, is still hilarious. Graham Lineham’s shows are pretty much all winners (see also: Father Ted, Black Books). ---
**Author:** ![Baboonanza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f475e1/32.png) [@Baboonanza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baboonanza)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-whats-popular-on-tv-right-now/550066/39 "2010-10-11T10:05:29Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I’m not a huge fan of either the In-Betweeners or Peep Show as the comedy of humiliation holds limited appeal to me, although I find Mitchell and Webb to be very funny indeed in their other guises. Interestingly I never ‘got’ the Office for the same reason. I didn’t find it funny, just cringemaking. Peep Show on the other hand is beyond fantastic. The best British comedy in the last 10 years IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Bakhesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Bakhesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakhesh)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-whats-popular-on-tv-right-now/550066/40 "2010-10-11T10:11:23Z")
> [@Baboonanza](#): > > > [@Gyrate](#): > > > > I’m not a huge fan of either the In-Betweeners or Peep Show as the comedy of humiliation holds limited appeal to me, although I find Mitchell and Webb to be very funny indeed in their other guises. > > Interestingly I never ‘got’ the Office for the same reason. I didn’t find it funny, just cringemaking. > > Peep Show on the other hand is beyond fantastic. The best British comedy in the last 10 years IMO. I’m with Gyrate. I absolutely love David Mitchell in everything he does, except Peep Show, which I find much to cringy. Maybe I associate with the characters too much. Slightly off topic, but the show he does a show on Radio 4 called “the unbelievable truth”, and it can be extremely funny too ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xjcDGkwYzo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xjcDGkwYzo)) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-whats-popular-on-tv-right-now/550066.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-dopers-whats-popular-on-tv-right-now/550066.md?page=3)