What British TV programmes do you get in the USA?

Hi Lord Ellpus,

My all time favorite is Are You Being Served? I love that show and never miss it if I can at all help it.

Have you ever watched Danger UXB? I know that's a pretty old one but I used to love it too!

Love the Bristish sense of humor!

OMG,Ellpus,99% of those are my favorites !!!!
Refresh my memory,please,isn't "House of Catds"
the one with "Francis Urquhardt". If so,I thought it was great! How'd you feel about the ending?
As far as the rest of the dramas,I've seen them either on the local PBS affiliate,or on the BBC America cable tv network. How did you feel about how they ended the whole Morse series. I didn't like the ending when I read about it,and refuse to watch the official last episode.
As for the comedies,Auf Weidersen,Pet isn't shown here,and I don't like Fawlty towers. Only Fools and Horses isn't shown here,but the rest are/have been,and I loved all of them. How did you feel about the ending of One Foot in the Grave? That's another final episode I'll refuse to watch,because I disagree w/the ending !!!
Have you ever watched the show that is filmed in Holmfirth,Yorkshire? The name totally slips my mind,but it is about the adventures of 3 OAP's.
To me,little is lost in regard to speech patterns,customs,etc.

lindatw

Of those you've posted, m'lordship, the only one I recognize is Fawlty Towers. Rumpole of the Bailey used to be a favorite, as was Are You Being Served. Is that still on? I watch TV so rarerly, usually only at other people's homes. No need to mention Monty Python's Flying Circus, I suppose.

Are You Being Served is on satellite here in Louisiana. I will see if I can find out which channel. It's already been on this week. Will let you know.

pssst, lindatw, are you the lady who had the pleasure of meeting Ellpus in the flesh?

What's the one with Violet Bucket? (Boo-kay...) I like that one.

And "As Time Goes By."

Watched "One Foot in the Grave" while I was IN England, adored it. Think I saw it the other day just for a moment.

Pretty much every "Mystery", though Morse and um oh you know that one with that one chick from "The Cook, The Thief, The Wife, and Her Lover" are my favorites.

Argh, what is that???!!

TENNISON! I think. That's not what it's called though, that's the character's name.

PRIME SUSPECT!!!!!!!!!

(I hadda look it up.)

Sozobe: You're thinking of "Keeping Up Appearances" I like it,"As Time goes By",
and many others.


Lindatw

You are right Sozobe. Prime Suspect is great! I haven't seen it in awhile but I do like it!

P.S. Sozobe: Only in my imagination did I meet
the Right Honorable Lord E !!!

lindatw

Yes, Keeping up Appearances is another I'm passingly familiar with.

I do not watch much television. But of that little I have watched, Blackadder and Fawlty Towers were two of my favorites. We had a complete set of the Fawlty Towers tapes (pre DVD) As a rule just about any quality programing broadcast in the US as either a British origin, input or influence.

I know this is referring to the US, but can I add the Australian perspective? Please?






- Heartbeat
- My Family
- Birds of a Feather
- One Foot in the grave
- Mr Bean (very old!)
- series about history of the Royal Family presented by the Cambridge academic Nigel ... <I can't remember his last name, sorry!>
- and my favourite favourite favourite - BLACK BOOKS!

and much much more. I always watched the comedies, I was in love with them and Black Books but for some reason that has been removed! WHYWHYWHY??

Keeping Up Appearances was my mother's favorite show. She also liked Fawlty Towers.

Father Ted was good
Keeping up appearances

And, a few others mentioned in your other thread Lordie.

Oh yes, "Coupling" was good too. I don't like the American version, "Friends". Lordie who copied who on this one?

I apologize for not joining in the question and answer session with you....it's just that when you are all bashing away at the keyboards, I am bashing away in bed.

That didn't come out quite right, did it.

Knocking out the Z's is what I mean, but what I'm dreaming about, might possibly cover the first paragraph....who knows?

Ha!..... Are you being served seems to keep coming up. Funny, that is SO old here, and has been seen so many times on re-runs, it has sort of faded out of existence nowadays.
As far as humour goes, it is pretty good, and typical of our "naughty postcard" style of innuendo that was prevalent in those days. A natural TV series progression, and a copycat version of our famous "Carry on" films (Carry on Camping, Carry on Doctor etc etc).....lavatorial humour, as it is known. Wendy Richard was one of the regular actresses in "Carry on", before going on to appear as the glamourpuss in Are you being served, alongside Miss Slocum and her pussy.
If you like "Are you being served", you will love the "Carry on" films.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carry_On_films

http://www.carryonline.com/carry/cofilms.html

Hi,M'Lord !!! What few of them I've seen,I'm not that fond of the "Carry On" movies,but then,I'm
not that fond of "Benny Hill" either,and they seem to be similar.

lindatw

One thing that I am both amazed and saddened to note, is that you don't seem to have heard of our comedy series "Only Fools and Horses".
I also noticed this seems to be missing from Australian TV as well.

When my sisters came home for a visit (both have been in Oz since about '71) we started a chat similar to this thread.... re. TV progs, and they had never heard of the above. I searched around in the video cabinet and found a couple of episodes on tape, and we settled down to watch them one evening.
Both were quite sober, but both laughed (screamed more like) so much, that our neighbour telephoned me to ask if everything was OK (seriously).

I would rate Only fools as being the funniest, sharpest and most clever comedy series ever to have been on TV in the UK. I would seriously rate it as a ten out of ten, where at the same time, in comparison, I would rate Are you being Served as a four or five, even though I still think it is good.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/onlyfools/

The series revolves around the Trotter family, and the dodgy wheelings and dealings of Del ("Del boy") Trotter, in and around the streets and markets of London.
He is well meaning, but always seems to buy the wrong stock (Russian camcorders that are the size of a car engine, etc) and gets into all sorts of scrapes in the process.

....One time, he "acquires" (from a very dodgy source) a Sattelite dish for his TV, and installs it on the balcony of his tenth floor council flat (apartment).
It turns out to be part of the London Heathrow Airports landing navigation equipment that has recently been stolen, and the last ten seconds of the episode, sees Del and his brother (who now realise what they have done), standing on their balcony and looking in disbelief at the Jet aircraft all circling overhead.


A classic example of the humour (oh, there are so,so many to choose from) is a small piece of dialogue between Del boy, and a friend of his called Trigger "Trig".

Now, Trigger is basically a sandwich short of a picnic, and keeps a dead straight face at all times. Del and Trig went to school with one another, and are now aged in their early forties.

Trig is a council roadsweeper.

Trig "Hey Del, have you seen my medal from the Council?" <shows medal>

Del "That's nice....what did you get that for?"

Trig "For looking after council property.....I've had the same broom for over twenty years"

Del (looking quizzical) "That's good, Trig. Twenty years, eh?"

Trig " Yeah, my dad had a saying...."You look after your broom...."

Del "..and your broom will look after you?"

Trig "Nah, just....you look after your broom.....that was what he used to say"

Del (shaking head in disbelief) "Really.....that's fascinating"

Trig "So I did, and we've been together for over twenty years, this old broom and me.....and in that time, it's only had seven new heads, and eight new handles, but we're still together....that's why I've got this medal" <shows medal again, as proud as punch>

Del looks at everyone else in the group, who are looking as amazed as he is.........

If there is ANYTHING that I would recommend, as far as UK comedy is concerned, "Only Fools and Horses" would tower over everything, IMO.
Watch two or three episodes to get into the characters properly, and you will be hooked.

Quite agree with you Linda......"Carry on" was very good in it's day, but I now look at it and cringe at all the puns. Still raises the odd chuckle though.

Benny Hill didn't do too much for me, either. Very clever man, and SOME of the sketches were funny.....but it was a bit too slapstick for my taste.

Lordie; Speaking of slapstick,are you familiar with the Three Stooges ? Curley,Larry,and Moe,and sometimes Shemp. They are uniquely American,and too funny !

lindatw

1. Morse (LOVE IT, CAN GET IT OVER HERE)
2. A Touch of Frost
3. House of Cards
4. Cracker (RINGS A BELL, HAVEN'T SEEN IT OVER HERE)
5. Silent Witness (HAVEN'T SEEN IT)
1. Only Fools and Horses (FAVORITE, HAVEN'T SEEN IT OVER HERE)
2. Auf Wiedersen Pet (NOT A HUGE FAN)
3. Blackadder (WAS HILARIOUS WHEN IT FIRST STARTED)
4. Fawlty Towers (A CLASSIC, CAN GET IT OVER HERE)
5. One Foot in the Grave (SEE IT OCCASIONALLY HERE, LIKE IT)
6. Vicar of Dibley (DON'T REALLY CARE FOR THIS ONE)
7. Father Ted (LOVED IT BUT CAN'T GET IT HERE)

Others I loved/liked:
Keeping up appearances - which we get here.
Absolutely Fabulous - used to have it on comedy central but I don't have that channel any more.
French & Saunders - would love to see all the reruns of those.
Morecambe & Wise - ditto
The Two Ronnies / & Open All Hours - ditto
The Bill - liked it, can't get it here (we have Law & Order)
Casualty - liked it, can't get it here (we have E.R.)
Coronation Street - can't get it here
Eastenders - can't get it here
Jeeves & Wooster
Victoria Wood
Allo Allo
I used to love the Young Ones but I grew out of that
Not the Nine O'Clock News (a favorite)
Bird of a Feather
Rising Damp
Dad's Army
Only when I laugh
The Generation Game
The Dick Emery Show
Last of the Summer Wine (a favorite)
Yes Minister
Terry & June
George & Mildred / The Ropers
It aint half hot Mum
Steptoe & Son