British TV vs American TV

I don't like British TV in general, in every area it is weak in comparision to the shows you get in the US. I understand that we only get to see the best of the US shows, and there are just as many rubbish ones that we don't pick up. Even so, apart from Top Gear, there is not another single UK show i like at the moment which makes me turn on the TV.

In general US shows are better produced, better scripted, better acted, better cinematography and much more like a movie experience week in week out. Some people say British has better humour, i have to disagree, if anyone watches Buffy or Seinfeld, you'll be shocked at the quality at the one liners they come out with.

Apart from the quality, the quantity too is much more in the US. A single US season contains 22 to 24 episodes. A single UK series has 6 episodes usually, what are the writers doing for the other 18 ????? ran out of ideas? saving it for the next 6 epsides and call it another series? sitting in their garden drinking tea and eating biscuits more like.

In essence, the current state of British TV belong to the trash can, I rather watch reruns of Friends/Seinfeld on DVD than put on soaps/reality TV/Game shows.
 
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I would add "The Shield" to that list too, although asking around I seem to be the only person in the UK who watches it. Great stuff imho.
 
Jokester said:
Having just got back from the US I can agree with that, we just cherry pick the good stuff from them, knowing for sure that it'll be a big hit.

But certainly in the past few years the big shows on UK tele are more and more US ones.

Jokester
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Exactly, we are mainly exposed to the better US shows, channels are going to purchase the best, just like US channels will pick hit UK shows. American TV is full of pap aswell. Although i have to say i do prefer the US tv shows we get here to a lot of uk tv.
 
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I think in comparison to most british programs American's are far worse, sure you have got the odd gem's. But we don't do so badly for a tiny country ;)
 
Some US ones are good like Desperate Housewives, Smallville, My wife n Kids, etc but the actual US TV is crap like that guy said 5 mins then ads :S

Gotta agree, crap is being made on UK TV, Hustle/Spooks still being made? Only the old stuff is good now like Only Fools n Horses but thats just comedy :S
 
Having lived in the UK for 7 years and then moving back home I think I have a good experiance of both.

I think US TV is a lot better. I can sit down on the couch, turn to one of my few favorite channels and am almost certain to find something I will enjoy watching. In the UK i would sit and flip through the channels for hours and not find one thing I wanted to watch.

As for the frequente breaks. I agree that there are more but I havent really noticed it watching TV. I guess I sorta got used to it.

I think the quality of US programs are generally a lot higher and more varied. I dont like the censorship but I got over it.
 
American TV.

Boston Legal is brilliant :D

Other honorable mentions are Smallville, 24, Surface and Desperate Housewives
 
uchuff said:
I would add "The Shield" to that list too, although asking around I seem to be the only person in the UK who watches it. Great stuff imho.
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Make that two of us ;) Censor group hate it because it can get a bit outrageous at times :p
 
stiff_cookie, can you just clear something up for me, is every single channel censored over there or is it only network television stuff that is censored, cable channels don't have the censorship, is that right?
 
Americans produce good films, good general TV series (Lost, X-Files, etc).

We can produce good TV, ITV can do decent TV drama, and c4 has many really good documentaries. BBC1 and 2 however just seem to produce things like "Where does your rubbish go", and "Disaster Masters" - many cheap reality TV shows which are quite frankly IMO rubbish. I think the only thing I've watched on BBC1 which was any good was Life On Mars. Eastenders is just dire, and nothing else springs to mind. BBC does run 'Dragons Den' and 'The Apprentice' - only really decent reality TV i've ever seen.
 
For Drama series, I think American TV is hard to beat:

24
Murder One
Space: Above and Beyond
X-Files
Quantum Leap

All being shows I've been an avid fan of in the past. There's plenty of others which people lap up as well.

For comedy, I think British TV can hold it's head up reasonably high. There's been enough good stuff over the years to keep me entertained, and while Friends is superb, there's an infinite number of dire, drab, uninventive and predictable american sitcoms.

Hard to comment on the state of news/sport reporting and general TV stuff, because I've never been to the US.
 
British TV sucks tbh, most of what i watch is usually american anyways...but saying that TV in America/Canada isnt all that great either.

Most annoying thing about north american tv is that every friggin 5 mins you have an advert break...i mean WTF is that all about lol:p. Take for instance a show like 24 which is shown on sky one here...it starts straight into the action...over in Canada/America they show the starting credits then go into a 5-10 min long advert break....its highly annoying tbh.

Saying that though british tv isnt much better...other than little britain and maybe a couple of others i watch..
 
Sirrel Squirrel said:
stiff_cookie, can you just clear something up for me, is every single channel censored over there or is it only network television stuff that is censored, cable channels don't have the censorship, is that right?
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I dont think stuf like HBO, which you have to pay extra for is censored but your basic cable package is censored.

I only have basic cable so I dont really have anything to compare it too. Besides, HBO is rubbish. only have good stuff once in awhile.
 
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