# What Imported TV do you like to watch? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 15, 2007, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-imported-tv-do-you-like-to-watch/404206 "2007-05-15T17:27:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-imported-tv-do-you-like-to-watch/404206/21 "2007-05-16T03:04:38Z")
**Lexx** which was a German/Canadian production that was shown on the Sci-Fi Channel in the US. For those who don’t know, it was an epic sci-fi sex comedy about a security guard, a love slave, a dead guy and a robot head. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-imported-tv-do-you-like-to-watch/404206/22 "2007-05-16T03:44:58Z")
**Prison Break The Sopranos Millennium Drawn Together South Park Family Guy Top Gear** My wife is also a big fan of **The O.C.** and **Desperate Housewives** ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-imported-tv-do-you-like-to-watch/404206/23 "2007-05-16T03:46:15Z")
The only BBC show I stuck with was **Black Books** , about Bernard, the drunk who ran a bookstore. Or hung out in a bookstore and would occasionally give someone a book so they’d leave him alone so he could drink. Or he’d sometimes hit them with a book so they’d leave. He had a funny friend Manny and a slightly slutty friend Franny. Favorite episode was when Bernard was house-sitting with Manny, for a guy who collected expensive wine. Manny and Bernard got confused about which wine it was okay to drink. Somehow it was funnier that they got blitzed on the good stuff. A friend loaned me DVDs of **Hex** and **Shameless** but I haven’t watched them yet. ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-imported-tv-do-you-like-to-watch/404206/24 "2007-05-16T04:16:36Z")
[QUOTE=Morbo] How is _Extras_ not 100% British? Because HBO co-distributed it with the BBC? [/QUOTE] Well, HBO co-\*\*produced \*\* it. That’s why I wouldn’t call it 100% non-American…it’s a silly quibble, sure. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-imported-tv-do-you-like-to-watch/404206/25 "2007-05-16T04:22:14Z")
QI. It stands for Quite Interesting. Stephen Fry hosts, and awards points for being interesting during the discussions. He subtracts points when someone gives the obvious, widely-accepted, and wrong answer. His panel always includes Alan Davies (Jonathan Creek), plus other celebrities (even the occasional North American). It would never get the green light here in the States, and wouldn’t get ratings even if it were produced. But I love it. I also liked a series called Who Do You Think You Are? They follow celebrities with a camera as they trace their ancestry. One episode had Stephen Fry going to the apartment house in Vienna where some relatives had lived in the 30s to find a plaque on the building memorializing all the Jews (including his cousins) that had been arrested there and send to camps. A lot of touching moments in the various episodes, showing that most of us really don’t know much about our family history. Every celebrity was surprised at what they found. It would make a great PBS series. ---
**Author:** ![Intravenus\_De\_Milo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Intravenus\_De\_Milo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intravenus_De_Milo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-imported-tv-do-you-like-to-watch/404206/26 "2007-05-16T04:38:38Z")
I really enjoyed the Japanese Iron Chef when the Food Network first started airing it. The ingredients and dishes were so over-the-top (especially when then had, for example, a certain pork that was only raised in one prefecture and slaughtered on only four days each year, etc.), and the dubs - especially of the judges - were at times hilariously bad. Then it got overexposed, the American version with Shatner came out, and for some reason when a new batch of Japanese episodes hit the States, the “Chairman” was dubbed - which cut considerably into his innate wackiness. Ah, well. It was good while it lasted… ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-imported-tv-do-you-like-to-watch/404206/27 "2007-05-16T04:52:34Z")
_The Office_, and Nickelodeon’s _Are You Afraid Of The Dark,_ which was a Canadian production from YTV/Cinar despite it being popular in America in the 90s. The accents are a dead giveaway, especially the way they say “sorry” - it’s always pronounced as “soary.” ---
**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:** [May 16, 2007, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-imported-tv-do-you-like-to-watch/404206/28 "2007-05-16T05:46:30Z")
[QUOTE=Saltire] QI. It stands for Quite Interesting. Stephen Fry hosts, and awards points for being interesting during the discussions. He subtracts points when someone gives the obvious, widely-accepted, and wrong answer. His panel always includes Alan Davies (Jonathan Creek), plus other celebrities (even the occasional North American). It would never get the green light here in the States, and wouldn’t get ratings even if it were produced. But I love it. I also liked a series called Who Do You Think You Are? They follow celebrities with a camera as they trace their ancestry. One episode had Stephen Fry going to the apartment house in Vienna where some relatives had lived in the 30s to find a plaque on the building memorializing all the Jews (including his cousins) that had been arrested there and send to camps. A lot of touching moments in the various episodes, showing that most of us really don’t know much about our family history. Every celebrity was surprised at what they found. It would make a great PBS series. [/QUOTE] I love QI as well. It fits Stephen’s swotty personality exactly. The documentary when he traced his roots brought me to tears. Wonderful. He did another amazing documentary called “The Manic Depressive” or something like that, where he examined his own experience with manic depression and interviewed many people with the condition. Brits are so lucky to have Stephen Fry in their social discourse. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-imported-tv-do-you-like-to-watch/404206/29 "2007-05-16T07:31:25Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] The only BBC show I stuck with was **Black Books** , about Bernard, the drunk who ran a bookstore. Or hung out in a bookstore and would occasionally give someone a book so they’d leave him alone so he could drink. Or he’d sometimes hit them with a book so they’d leave. He had a funny friend Manny and a slightly slutty friend Franny. Favorite episode was when Bernard was house-sitting with Manny, for a guy who collected expensive wine. Manny and Bernard got confused about which wine it was okay to drink. Somehow it was funnier that they got blitzed on the good stuff. A friend loaned me DVDs of **Hex** and **Shameless** but I haven’t watched them yet. [/QUOTE] Black Books! I knew I was forgetting one! Since I’ve seen all the episodes multiple times, however, it’s lost some of it’s appeal for me. Still, I loved it when I first started watching it. Spaced is great too. I like Hex a lot and am excited about it finishing up on BBCA this summer, but I don’t know if I’d consider it one of my favorites. Still, it’s trashy fun in a similar vein as Footballers Wives. ---
**Author:** ![scareyfaerie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scareyfaerie/32/3135_2.png) [@scareyfaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scareyfaerie)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-imported-tv-do-you-like-to-watch/404206/30 "2007-05-16T12:07:14Z")
[QUOTE=ArizonaTeach] I recently got my hands on **Snuff Box** , because I was a fan of \*\*Garth Merenghi \*\* and **Dean Lerner** …wow, that’s some twisted, twisted stuff. [/QUOTE] If you like that little bundle, you might be interested in looking for an animated series called “Monkey Dust”. ---
**Author:** ![Bike\_Rider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Bike\_Rider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bike_Rider)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-imported-tv-do-you-like-to-watch/404206/31 "2007-05-16T14:46:30Z")
Top Gear is my favorite show. I haven’t seen it on in the US, so I either catch it on their site ([topgear.com](http://topgear.com)) or youtube, or wait until I’m in London for work to catch up. It’s interesting as a car review show alone, but some of the best bits are when they do challenges, such as the 1,500 Pound Porsches, 100 Pound cars, or the lap in a van at the nurburgring. The recent road trip they did in $1,000 cars from Miami to New Orleans was incredibly funny. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-imported-tv-do-you-like-to-watch/404206/32 "2007-05-16T14:54:08Z")
[QUOTE=Bike Rider] Top Gear is my favorite show. I haven’t seen it on in the US, so I either catch it on their site ([topgear.com](http://topgear.com)) or youtube, or wait until I’m in London for work to catch up. It’s interesting as a car review show alone, but some of the best bits are when they do challenges, such as the 1,500 Pound Porsches, 100 Pound cars, or the lap in a van at the nurburgring. The recent road trip they did in $1,000 cars from Miami to New Orleans was incredibly funny. [/QUOTE] The BBC is in talks to produce a US version of Top Gear with the three UK presenters. [Link](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6539111.stm) ---
**Author:** ![Bike\_Rider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Bike\_Rider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bike_Rider)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-imported-tv-do-you-like-to-watch/404206/33 "2007-05-16T15:48:45Z")
[QUOTE=Szlater] The BBC is in talks to produce a US version of Top Gear with the three UK presenters. [Link](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6539111.stm) [/QUOTE] Thanks for the link. That would be very 🆒. If it happens, It’ll be interesting to see whether Jeremy tones down his jibes about Americans and American cars. On one hand, I hope not, since that would imply a self-censorship which is charmingly lacking in the current show. On the other hand, it might get a bit tiresome to keep hearing “rubbish” and “fat Americans” twenty times during each car review. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-imported-tv-do-you-like-to-watch/404206/34 "2007-05-16T17:52:56Z")
**Life on Mars**. It’s Back to the Future meets Starsky and Hutch, and unlike _some_ people, the show’s writers planned the ending before writing its two seasons. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-imported-tv-do-you-like-to-watch/404206/35 "2007-05-16T18:41:12Z")
[QUOTE=ArizonaTeach] Well, HBO co-\*\*produced \*\* it. That’s why I wouldn’t call it 100% non-American…it’s a silly quibble, sure. [/QUOTE] I…did not know that. Good point. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-imported-tv-do-you-like-to-watch/404206/36 "2007-05-16T19:29:32Z")
Canada: **Trailer Park Boys Little Mosque on the Prarie** UK: **QI Extras** (this is cancelled? really?!) There’s a whole bunch of other British TV that I am in love with but it’s all off the air now, I watch it from, uh, other means. I’ll have to check out _Coupling_…sounds good 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-imported-tv-do-you-like-to-watch/404206/37 "2007-05-16T20:31:48Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] Extras\*\* (this is cancelled? really?!) [/QUOTE] Not cancelled - they only did two seasons. Being traditionally British, that means 6 episodes per season, 12 total. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-imported-tv-do-you-like-to-watch/404206/38 "2007-05-16T20:39:10Z")
I’m ashamed to admit that I liked the first couple seasons of **McLeod’s Daughters** , but not at all ashamed to enjoy **Brainiac**. Is **How It’s Made** imported? Seems I heard somewhere that it’s Canadian. ---
**Author:** ![GythaOgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@GythaOgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GythaOgg)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-imported-tv-do-you-like-to-watch/404206/39 "2007-05-16T23:31:46Z")
Any of the various ‘Ultraman’ incarnations, but especially the original, and the two most recent, ‘Ultraman Max’ and ‘Ultraman Mebius’. For some reason, I’m finding myself fascinated by ‘How Clean is Your House’ on BBC America. Love the two ladies, they’re fun. First they tell the slobs off and then they very nicely show them how to clean! Speaking of which - it’s on now, must run. ---
**Author:** ![badkittypriestess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8baadc/32.png) [@badkittypriestess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badkittypriestess)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2007, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-imported-tv-do-you-like-to-watch/404206/40 "2007-05-17T01:20:12Z")
[QUOTE=Bobotheoptimist] I’m ashamed to admit that I liked the first couple seasons of **McLeod’s Daughters** , but not at all ashamed to enjoy **Brainiac**. Is **How It’s Made** imported? Seems I heard somewhere that it’s Canadian. [/QUOTE] And what did we like about McLeod’s Daughter’s??? Hmmm??? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-imported-tv-do-you-like-to-watch/404206.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-imported-tv-do-you-like-to-watch/404206.md?page=3)