I’m a Whore for British Television

Yup, it’s true. Have been for about 15 years, when I first discovered that Saturday nights were British comedy/EastEnders night on the Syracuse PBS station. How many times have I watched the entire series of Keeping Up Appearances? Probably 20. And I still don’t get all that tired of it. There’s something about Richard and Hyacinth and their neighbors and Hyacinth’s constant belief that she’s better than everyone else that never fails to amuse.

The thing about British television that I like the most is that the actors look normal. Sure, some could probably fit quite easily into Hollywood (such as Michelle Ryan, who was once on EastEnders, but then landed the lead in NBC’s Bionic Woman series, which has since been canceled). But most, at least on the shows I’ve seen over the years, look like they eat a sandwich from time to time without immediately running to the gym to work it off. They have hips, maybe even a little bit of a stomach. For the most part, they look like normal, healthy women. Letitia Dean is probably the perfect example of this.

I’ve always been a huge fan of British comedies. For some reason, they’ve just always struck me as much funnier than most American comedies, though I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never been much of a fan of Monty Python, aside from the dead parrot sketch and Hell’s Grannies. And aside from being funnier, they’re often a bit more . . . how can I phrase this? Not exactly crude, but more adult without feeling the need to hide that they’re for adults, or cater to children who might happen to stumble across them. If that makes any sense. The level of paranoia that’s inherent in American media (though, this makes little logical sense, given the proliferation of Britney Spears and her vag-showing self) when it comes to children stumbling across television programs that are deemed “inappropriate” or a little flash of a boob that apparently sends the nation into a panic because, “Oh no, the little children might have seen Janet’s breast!” is just bizarre. British comedy (and, often, drama, which I’ll touch on in a bit) doesn’t seem to cater to this fear.

Anyway, for some examples of British comedy that I find hilarious, let’s turn to youtube:

Catherine Tate and David Tennant on Comic Relief 2007. David Tennant is the current Dr. Who, so there are Dr. Who references.

The soup song from The Mighty Boosh. While I can’t quite get into the show (it’s a bit too weird even for me), I’m oddly amused by the soup song.

And one more for the comedy section . . .

Daffyd from Little Britain.

Other great British comedies include AbFab, Black Books, and the Young Ones.

Now, on to drama. The biggest thing in British television drama at the moment seems to be Torchwood and, while I normally don’t like science fiction shows (or anything science-fiction related, for that matter), I’ve been caught up in the Torchwood frenzy. It’s weird, and at times Eve Myles gets on my nerves, but I’m addicted to Captain Jack, Ianto, and Tosh, though not so much Owen or Gwen. So far this season they’ve all had interesting story lines, though I really wish there was a bit more about Ianto’s life. Here’s a Torchwood Season 2 trailer, for the as-yet uninitiated:

And, yes, that’s James Marsters – Spike from Buffy.

Finally, there’s EastEnders. Admittedly, I haven’t seen the show in years – YEARS! – and I hate that I haven’t. But the PBS station here doesn’t carry it. But the thing I always liked about EastEnders is that, while it’s got all the drama and craziness typical of soaps, the people in the show look normal and have normal jobs. The best story lines from back in the day were the Tony-sleeping-with-his-girlfriend’s-brother story line and the Joe-Wicks-is-schizophrenic-and-covering-everything-in-aluminum-foil story line. Also, the Sonia-has-a-baby-while-on-a-date-and-didn’t-know-she-was-pregnant one was good, too. I hear there are some good story lines recently, but, again, I haven’t been able to watch it.