# What's the connection between PBS and BBC?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-connection-between-pbs-and-bbc/298680>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 10, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-connection-between-pbs-and-bbc/298680 "2005-04-10T18:01:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-connection-between-pbs-and-bbc/298680/21 "2005-04-11T15:23:06Z")

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> [@Wendell Wagner](#):
>
> From the late 1960’s to the early 1990’s, PBS was the only national market for British TV shows. There actually were some British programs shown on the commercial networks in the early to mid-1960’s. _The Avengers_ and **The Prisoner** are the only ones that I remember. The only other British program that was shown a lot in the U.S. after that time on something other than PBS was _The Benny Hill Show_, which was syndicated on many local channels in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

There was also McGoohan’s previous series, _Danger Man_, known over here as _Secret Agent_. Like _The Prisoner_, it was broadcast on CBS.

Also, up through the 1970s anyway, some independent UHF stations in the U.S. were broadcasting syndicated British shows. I remember seeing _Dave Allen_ and _The Two Ronnies_ on channel 18 in Milwaukee, for example. There might have been others.

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**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\
**Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-connection-between-pbs-and-bbc/298680/22 "2005-04-11T15:49:13Z")

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> [@Wendell Wagner](#):
>
> Sometimes I’m baffled as to why they have become popular. Apparently _Are You Being Served?_ has a large fan base in the U.S. I don’t understand why, since it’s a rather mediocre sitcom.

You’re not the only one baffled by this. Perhaps there’s a mysterious base of fans, or perhaps PBS is just getting the series really cheap. I suspect the second reason more.

For me, _Served_ is worse than mediocre. In fact it has what Dave Barry calls “anti-humor”: it actually _damages_ my ability to enjoy all other humor. When I do catch a few minutes of _Served_ — and it’s only by bad luck that this ever happens — I might as well turn off the TV for the rest of the night. I might as well cancel my cable subscription the next morning, and donate my TV to the Goodwill. _I am not fond of this television series,_ is the message I’m trying to get across here.

And then PBS torments us by showing something good — like _One Foot in the Grave_, or _Murder Most Horrid_ — for a few months, and then never showing it again. Why can’t they repeat those shows over and over?

Because we’re not buying enough of their coffee mugs and tote bags, apparently.

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