Us brits get a lot of tv from over the atlantic. Channels like Sky seem to be almost totally made up of american TV (its owned by Fox, so no surprise there).
So, what foreign TV do you get in america? Do you just get monty python and benny hill?
Whenever we have a successful show that they want to sell to america, they always end up remaking it with American actors (absolutely fabulous, red dwarf, the office). Usually, when you see the remake, it is absolute rubbish. Why do you guys do this?
Foreign for me being not british I’d have to say 24 / ER / Buffy… the only tv shows I really watch on a regular basis, given the lack of the office/ marion and geoff/ alan partridge at the mo
First of all, it’s not just British shows that get remade across the Atlantic, we’ve done a few of theirs too. The only one I can recall at the moment is Brighton Belles (remake of the Golden Girls), but I’m sure there are others. You wouldn’t exactly recommend that either would you?
There have been numerous threads in this forum about British shows they watch overseas, and of course they got the original versions of Absolutely Fabulous, Red Dwarf and The Office too. BBC America not only broadcasts shows made by the BBC themselves, but by Channel 4 and others.
PBS shows a number of British shows as well. My favorite is Keeping Up Appearances.
That’s pretty big talk from the country that gave us [i[Big Brother*, the Spice Girls, and the show that became American Idol. 
Can’t claim Big Brother. I think that was dutch. We are responsible for who wants to be a millionaire though and the weakest link though.
In my opionion Keeping up Appearances is a very poor example of a British comedy show. Basically is is a one joke plot “Look at me I’m a snob”. there are much better examples around.
In my opionion Keeping up Appearances is a very poor example of a British comedy show. Basically is is a one joke plot “Look at me I’m a snob”. there are much better examples around.
The Office, it manages to make the mundane totally hilarious.
Father Ted, Cowboy Bebop.
Well, I just got the Yes, Minister series 2 DVD from the UK. Series 1 is on the way.
Also:
Red Dwarf
Monty Python
The Young Ones
Yes, Prime Minister
The Good Life
Alexei Sayle’s Stuff
Rising Damp
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
I’ve had many favourites over the years especially english stuff but current favs from england are The Royal Family and The Office and from Canada Trailor Park Boys.
I’ve had many favourites over the years especially english stuff but current favs from england are The Royal Family and The Office and from Canada Trailor Park Boys.
I’d love to see the Rise and fall of Reginald Perrin again. I haven’t seen it since it was first shown on TV back in 1980 or thereabouts.
Gee, owing to my American lack of intelligence, I’d completely failed to notice that. 
Bad news: far as I’m concerned, it’s still funny. I was talking about shows I see on TV now - which I guess is silly because I know it’s an old show. (I enjoy As Time Goes by as well.) I’d have brough up Monty Python and Fawlty Towers if I’d thought of it as a more general question.
We get both shows, but while we get Monty Python, we don’t get Benny Hill …
Was he some elaborate joke the UK was playing on us?
I think we should retaliate by lobbing Carrot Top across the pond.
Do you really want to start a war with one of the few allies we have left? 
I like “Bargain Hunt”, shown on BBC America. For those who haven’t seen it, two teams of two people each go to a flea market, or the British equivalent, and buy a number of items, which are then sold a week later at auction. The winning team is the one which makes the most profit on their items. A question for you Brits about its host, David Dickinson. Is he well know in the UK? What is the general opinion of him there?
Black Adder. I’m a British history dork and a Rowan Atkinson fan so this show is great for me.
Well, a lot of British series do make it to America (relatively) unscathed. PBS has been importing British shows for years, Benny Hill was huge in American syndication in the 80’s, Comedy Central has aired a number of British comedies over the years and of course there’s now BBC America.
The reasons why many British shows are or have been in the past adapted for American television rather than imported whole cloth are obvious, at least to me.
The first and most obvious reason is cultural differences between the US and the UK, which isn’t a serious problem with many shows but is a concern.
The real problem though lies in the length of seasons, or series as you call them over there.
On the big American networks that have typically aired adaptions of British series, a season of a typical show is between 20 and 32 episodes and there’s a new season every year, at least until the show is cancelled.
On British television (and my experience here is limited so this may not be true of all series, but it seems to be true of all the ones I’ve seen) a season is around 8 tpo 16 episodes and several years may pass between one season and the next.
Considering the typical format of American television at least prior to cable’s rise to dominance in the 90’s, it certainly wouldn’t make much sense for ABC, NBC or CBS to air British series in their original forms.
Oh yes, I’m a big fan of all the obvious British shows (MPFC, Benny Hill, Red Dwarf, Doctor Who, Blackadder, Mr. Bean, Fawlty Towers) and thanks to BBC America I’ve also recently become a fan of Jonathan Creek and Cracker.