caldrail's Blog

Whoa, looks like you were being stalked by a MOB of pigeons.

 

They all come from NYC, you know. And sound like Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Robert DeNiro, and Marlon Brando.

 

The Goodfeathers

 

-- Nephele

Nora Batty passed on??? Oh no! What ever will Compo do???

 

Last of the Summer Wine used to be a staple here on Public Broadcasting, but it hasn't been on in quite some time. The last episodes I saw had Foggy as the one who attempted to keep Compo and Clegg in line...I've yet to see the ones with Frank Thorton on there (for me he will always be Cpt. Stephen Peacock). I must hit up NetFlix to see how many they have on DVD.

Last of the Summer Wine has conquered the Colonies? Unbelievable. It really does suprise seeing as the program is so ridiculously genteel and survives on self-parody. For us Brits, its embarrasing, especially those of us getting older and looking forward to emulating their exploits...

Well, like I said, it was on...I do miss it.

 

On the local PBS station (and much like the other ones across the country) Sunday night is the 'Brit invasion', so to speak. When not running their fundraising programs (which seem to be dominating again, dammit), the current line up is As Time Goes By (which I do enjoy, as I'm a Dame Judi fan), Waiting For God (which is now even funnier that my parents are living in a 55+ community), Chef! (always did love that show...poor Everton...), Mulberry (not a fan of this one), and an hour of something (right now I think it's Johnathan Creek, which I never cared for). They switch these frequently, with ATGB and WFG being staples around here, along with Are You Being Served? (an all-time classic). They showed the entire repertoire of The Vicar Of Dibley a couple of times, which was wonderful, and they've now taken that off. They used to show Doc Martin, which I did enjoy, and Waking The Dead (which I've always loved), but no idea what's happened to them.

 

When BBC America first came out, they showed Father Ted (first class) for a long time, and the PBS picked it up.

 

But even as a kid, PBS showed the Monty Python group cavorting around, the trials and tribulations of one Mr. Basil Fawlty, the on-goings of Grace Bros., and a few others. I remember Yes, PM! being on there, and trying to watch it...but not knowing the inner workings and inter-fighting of British politics, my dad and I never became fans.

Yes PM was very much a child of its time and played on british behaviour that was viewed as bureaucratic and anachronistic. I agree - its hard to see how americans would get the jokes. What fascinates me though is how some of the more folksy comedy like Vicar of Dibley translates to californian sense of humour. I mean its so english!

Actually, when you think about it, VoD would work well in any major metropolitan area, particularly in the coastal regions of the US (where most of the population is). Think about it: a 'modern' vicar, who's hip and pretty much aware of what is going on, is now working in the boonies, where there are individuals, characters, and in general odd behavior. Anyone who has done the same thing as Geraldine Granger (me, for one) can recognize the same types of things that she went through...well, somewhat similar, as there's no way there would be both an Alice and a Jim in the same population group (or is there???). And also, many of those who have left the rural scene for the (sub)urban scene and then go back home are going to face the same types of situations (two of my best friends). Sure, the specific behaviors of the characters might have been English, but the basis for the humor is more universal.

 

And, well, a predilection for British humor probably is required. But, as you can see, I was practically raised on the stuff!

Thing is, we get american comedy over here. I've seen programs like Taxi, Happy Days, Seinfeld, Cheers etc and whilst it can be very funny indeed, some of the humour seems very strange (or even excruciating) to our ears, dependent as it is on american culture, and I'm sure some jokes are going straight over our heads. The cartoons (Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park) always seem to hit the spot.

Oh, you're right about that. Sometimes the jokes on BritComs are just mildly amusing to me...sometimes they're spot on. Then again, that's true with the American ones, too. They say that sarcasm and sense of humor is the last thing one learns about a language, and I'd expand that to 'culture' as well.

Possibly. We're exposed to a good deal of american culture from your film and tv however, its familiar to us, even if some of the detail and subtlety escape. Some Brits hate it, I'm not too bothered, but there are two aspects to american culture portrayed on screen that grate somewhat. First is the 'warm family moments' which are a bit too sweet for british sensibilities, the other is that strange obsession with male 'coming of age'. In fact, to our eyes US entertainment seems obsessed with youth, period. In British comedy, youths are usually embarrasing, which is pretty much what they are in real life. I know I was

Eh, it's an almost Pollyanna mentality...and why I won't watch most any of the shows on TV. My favorite one, Boston Legal was smart, quirky, funny, and not obsessed with youth (in fact, all of the main characters were in their late 30s and older...many in their 50s/60s). That was yoinked off the air. Arrested Development is another one that I loved: quirky, smart writing, an ensemble cast which is filled with great story lines. But it didn't get a good following, so it was also pulled. The general sitcoms over here are trash, have been trash for some time, and I refuse to watch. Too sappy, too much of hot/skinny/smart ass wife with fat/lazy/dumb husband, and them berating each other. It's as bad as the 3 million reality shows on right now.

Maybe we're lucky then and the worst ones don't cross the Atlantic. I must be honest though, there are exceptions. Fresh Prince of Bel Air does make me laugh though I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it, and thats despite it being a star vehicle for a young Will Smith.

 

What I will say though is american drama is getting very professional indeed and just wees over the standard of acting we get in BBC rivals.

It has gotten better, yes...my favorites are the ones which show on cable. Rescue Me in particular is a favorite, and I used to watch The Shield pretty religiously, too. They're also more on the BBC model, where there are fewer episodes to a season and a fair amount of time between seasons, which leaves the actors (and presumably, the rest) to do other projects in between. Until I moved into this apartment, I never had HBO or Showtime (it's included in my rent now), so I never got into The Sopranos, and I still can't be arsed to watch like Weeds or Californication.

Its got a lot to do with the quality of acting/direction. The modern BBC dramas all have the same style. There's no character study, just a lot of overacting and odd dialogue with breathless editing and flash imagery. Its all style nd no substance. You never have time to actually learn anything about the characters but I guess thats deliberate, because there isn't any to learn in the first place. A very hollow experience and one intended for those whose attention span is limited.