England is turning into America!

C

ChrisGibboGibson

Guest
The first thing I noticed whilst in the USA was the TV. I sat for hours in the
hotel room watching it.The adverts weren't normal (by our standards) adverts.
They were somewhat longer.

Now I have digital TV (which gives me lots of cable and satellite channels) and
at this time of night things change. There's an advert on now that's been on
for 20 minutes !

"The lateral thigh trainer". Now she looks good, but she don't look British, or
American. She's far too slim to be either.

I'd better shut up while I'm ahead.

Gibbo
 
Yes John.

I'd like to add the following totally trivial points.

UK soaps show UK people as they live in a house that is appropriate to the
soap.

US soaps all have them living in a 100 foot long living room in a 2 million
buck house, the father of the family must earn at least 1M a year to keep all
his children in their flash cars and clothes etc. Now I do remember from living
in the US that the soaps weren't like that (and neither as real life). But the
ones that are released to Europe *are* like that. Is that a US propaganda
thing?

I also remember the news programs being somewhat different to what my wife
recorded whilst I was away.

If it is propaganda, it isn't working. We all know about the US poverty, that
the US tries to deny.

Or is it just purely for entertainment?

The simpsons is, without a doubt, the funniest thing ever to come from USA
(barring perhaps Dubbya). Friends just doesn't appeal to our sense of humour.

Just a personal opinion. Probably worthless.

Oh yes, if you didn't try steak pudding while you were here then you didn't try
English food :)

I sort of agree. It isn't bland. It's just odd.

Gibbo
 
On Sun, 24 Oct 2004 01:25:00 +0000, ChrisGibboGibson wrote:

The first thing I noticed whilst in the USA was the TV. I sat for hours in
the hotel room watching it.The adverts weren't normal (by our standards)
adverts. They were somewhat longer.

Now I have digital TV (which gives me lots of cable and satellite
channels) and at this time of night things change. There's an advert on
now that's been on for 20 minutes !

"The lateral thigh trainer". Now she looks good, but she don't look
British, or American. She's far too slim to be either.

I'd better shut up while I'm ahead.
Click to expand...
Ahead of what?

Thanks,
Rich
 
Rich Grise wrote:

On Sun, 24 Oct 2004 01:25:00 +0000, ChrisGibboGibson wrote:

The first thing I noticed whilst in the USA was the TV. I sat for hours in
the hotel room watching it.The adverts weren't normal (by our standards)
adverts. They were somewhat longer.

Now I have digital TV (which gives me lots of cable and satellite
channels) and at this time of night things change. There's an advert on
now that's been on for 20 minutes !

"The lateral thigh trainer". Now she looks good, but she don't look
British, or American. She's far too slim to be either.

I'd better shut up while I'm ahead.

Ahead of what?
Click to expand...
It's a turn of phrase. Kinda like while I haven't been sussed.

Cos we all know those women in US and UK aren't like that.

Unless you believe the propaganda.

Gibbo
 
On 24 Oct 2004 04:12:04 GMT, chrisgibbogibson@aol.com
(ChrisGibboGibson) wrote:

It's a turn of phrase. Kinda like while I haven't been sussed.

Cos we all know those women in US and UK aren't like that.
Click to expand...
True. It's the 'Burger King Effect.'
--

"What is now proved was once only imagin'd." - William Blake, 1793.
 
On 24 Oct 2004 03:00:30 GMT, chrisgibbogibson@aol.com
(ChrisGibboGibson) wrote:

The simpsons is, without a doubt, the funniest thing ever to come from USA
(barring perhaps Dubbya). Friends just doesn't appeal to our sense of humour.
Click to expand...
I agree. I've never quite understood it. The cartoons out of America
have always been hysterically funny; absolutely unbeatable. But the
comedy programs with real actors just don't seem to work for some
unaccountable reason. I've never understood the appeal of 'Friends'
and sitcoms like that. Baffling!
--

"What is now proved was once only imagin'd." - William Blake, 1793.
 
In article <S8Qed.12867$i02.2597@fe1.news.blueyonder.co.uk>,
"Kevin Aylward" <salesEXTRACT@anasoft.co.uk> writes:
Paul Burridge wrote:
On 24 Oct 2004 03:00:30 GMT, chrisgibbogibson@aol.com
(ChrisGibboGibson) wrote:

The simpsons is, without a doubt, the funniest thing ever to come
from USA (barring perhaps Dubbya). Friends just doesn't appeal to
our sense of humour.

I agree. I've never quite understood it. The cartoons out of America
have always been hysterically funny; absolutely unbeatable. But the
comedy programs with real actors just don't seem to work for some
unaccountable reason. I've never understood the appeal of 'Friends'
and sitcoms like that. Baffling!

Indeed Friends is complete crap, as is Sex and the city.

There are a few I like, such as Frazier.

I agree, up until the last few seasons, I really enjoyed
Click to expand...
Frazier. However, it ended up lasting too long. It was good
that they quit while they were still 'on top.' My guess is
that the first 4-5yrs, it was truly one of my favorite TV
shows. Somewhere less bad than 'Friends', but still very bad
are the repetitive 'private eye' or 'pseudo-cop' shows like
Quincy and its' ilk (Quincy wasn't really a cop, but was
an olden time Crossing Jordan.) Of course, the first year or
two of Crossing Jordan was also okay.

In general, there are just too much junky, repetitive TV
shows that are claimed to be 'sitcoms.' Without the laugh
track hints, the shows would have appropriately died
much earlier. Perhaps the 'laugh track' should be outlawed?

Perhaps my most consistent guilty pleasures are the Law and
Order, NYPD Blue and CSI shows. I don't know if NYPD Blue is
'ending', but the prototypical 'screwed up' cop played by
Dennis Franz will be very much missed by me (whether or not
he played Sipowitz or Buntz.) They tend to get new material
from the news reports, but their formula seems to becoming
relatively exhausted.

John
 
On Sun, 24 Oct 2004 15:48:02 +0000, Kevin Aylward wrote:

Paul Burridge wrote:
On 24 Oct 2004 03:00:30 GMT, chrisgibbogibson@aol.com (ChrisGibboGibson)
wrote:

The simpsons is, without a doubt, the funniest thing ever to come from
USA (barring perhaps Dubbya). Friends just doesn't appeal to our sense
of humour.

I agree. I've never quite understood it. The cartoons out of America
have always been hysterically funny; absolutely unbeatable. But the
comedy programs with real actors just don't seem to work for some
unaccountable reason. I've never understood the appeal of 'Friends' and
sitcoms like that. Baffling!

Indeed Friends is complete crap, as is Sex and the city.

There are a few I like, such as Frazier.
Click to expand...
I like Dharma & Greg, Spin City, Just Shoot Me, and, one that I
found surprisingly enjoyable, Becker.

I used to watch South Park religiously, but haven't had cable in a
couple of years. )-;

Guess I like to laugh. ;-)

Cheers!
Rich
 
On Sun, 24 Oct 2004 04:12:04 +0000, ChrisGibboGibson wrote:

Rich Grise wrote:


On Sun, 24 Oct 2004 01:25:00 +0000, ChrisGibboGibson wrote:

The first thing I noticed whilst in the USA was the TV. I sat for hours
in the hotel room watching it.The adverts weren't normal (by our
standards) adverts. They were somewhat longer.

Now I have digital TV (which gives me lots of cable and satellite
channels) and at this time of night things change. There's an advert on
now that's been on for 20 minutes !

"The lateral thigh trainer". Now she looks good, but she don't look
British, or American. She's far too slim to be either.

I'd better shut up while I'm ahead.

Ahead of what?


It's a turn of phrase. Kinda like while I haven't been sussed.

Cos we all know those women in US and UK aren't like that.

Unless you believe the propaganda.

I just need to quit trying to be clever when I'm too drunk to see my
Click to expand...
hand in front of my face. %-}

Thanks!
RIch
 
On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 00:00:03 -0700, dB wrote:

chrisgibbogibson@aol.com (ChrisGibboGibson) wrote in message news:<20041023212500.24078.00002616@mb-m13.aol.com>...
The first thing I noticed whilst in the USA was the TV.
........
The adverts weren't normal (by our standards) adverts.


What I noticed is that there is frequently no program caption
displayed before and after the advertisement. The transmission will
blithely go from program material to an advert and back without any
indication. Most frustrating and unprofessional.
Click to expand...
They don't want "smart" VCRs to be able to recognize when the commercials
are, to automatically pause recording. ;-)

Cheers!
Rich
 
"Paul Burridge" <pb@notthisbit.osiris1.co.uk> wrote in message
news:pvcnn096d7kp8rqeb22age5tk514330g8p@4ax.com...
On 24 Oct 2004 03:00:30 GMT, chrisgibbogibson@aol.com
(ChrisGibboGibson) wrote:

The simpsons is, without a doubt, the funniest thing ever to come from
USA
(barring perhaps Dubbya). Friends just doesn't appeal to our sense of
humour.

I agree. I've never quite understood it. The cartoons out of America
have always been hysterically funny; absolutely unbeatable. But the
comedy programs with real actors just don't seem to work for some
unaccountable reason. I've never understood the appeal of 'Friends'
and sitcoms like that. Baffling!
Click to expand...
I haven't watched a non-animated major network TV show in
probably 15 years. They don't have that much appeal here,
either.
 
On Sun, 24 Oct 2004 15:00:27 +0100, Paul Burridge
<pb@notthisbit.osiris1.co.uk> wrote:

On 24 Oct 2004 03:00:30 GMT, chrisgibbogibson@aol.com
(ChrisGibboGibson) wrote:

The simpsons is, without a doubt, the funniest thing ever to come from USA
(barring perhaps Dubbya). Friends just doesn't appeal to our sense of humour.

I agree. I've never quite understood it. The cartoons out of America
have always been hysterically funny; absolutely unbeatable. But the
comedy programs with real actors just don't seem to work for some
unaccountable reason. I've never understood the appeal of 'Friends'
and sitcoms like that. Baffling!
Click to expand...
I think it is because our UK comedies are character-based, while the
US ones are funny-line based. What that means in practice is that with
a US sitcom, they deliver the "joke" and wait for the laugh. It has a
very artificial feel to it that I guess we just don't go for.

d
Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com
 
On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 16:40:05 GMT, donald@pearce.uk.com (Don Pearce)
wrote:

I think it is because our UK comedies are character-based, while the
US ones are funny-line based. What that means in practice is that with
a US sitcom, they deliver the "joke" and wait for the laugh. It has a
very artificial feel to it that I guess we just don't go for.
Click to expand...
Maybe! But their cartoons are certainly all about characterisation,
aren't they? So why the different approach here?
--

"What is now proved was once only imagin'd." - William Blake, 1793.
 
On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 19:08:17 +0100, Paul Burridge
<pb@notthisbit.osiris1.co.uk> wrote:

On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 16:40:05 GMT, donald@pearce.uk.com (Don Pearce)
wrote:

I think it is because our UK comedies are character-based, while the
US ones are funny-line based. What that means in practice is that with
a US sitcom, they deliver the "joke" and wait for the laugh. It has a
very artificial feel to it that I guess we just don't go for.

Maybe! But their cartoons are certainly all about characterisation,
aren't they? So why the different approach here?
Click to expand...
The cartoon characters haven't been through the US acting school
system!

d
Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com
 
On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 19:41:12 GMT, "Ken Finney"
<kenneth.c.finney@boeing.com> wrote:

That is in line with what we are taught in the US. We are that our
comedies are "situation comedies" (e.g. normal people in funny
situations), and that British comedy are based on funny people in
normal situations.
Click to expand...
Oh. What about Red Dwarf? That's not a particularly normal situation
(unless you come from California, of course).
--

"What is now proved was once only imagin'd." - William Blake, 1793.
 
"John Dyson" <dyson@iquest.net> wrote in message > What usually happens is
that a TV show starts with a cute premise, and is
really good
for a few episodes. Then, the same thing is recycled over and over again
until it is
a boring soap opera... This is similar to telling the same joke over and

My sentiments exactly - in fact Star-Trek of all programmes is beginning to
Click to expand...
fall into this trap. I worked out that about one in 5 were quite good and
the rest were 'soaps'.
Shame really.I don't think even writing maestros can keep up a standard of
excellence of 100s of episodes. Look at Faulty Towers, it only had about 10
episodes if that.

Tom
(The Simpson's is an exception - they somehow have managed to keep the
standards up).
 
"Paul Burridge" <pb@notthisbit.osiris1.co.uk> wrote in message
news:pvcnn096d7kp8rqeb22age5tk514330g8p@4ax.com...
On 24 Oct 2004 03:00:30 GMT, chrisgibbogibson@aol.com
(ChrisGibboGibson) wrote:

The simpsons is, without a doubt, the funniest thing ever to come from
USA
(barring perhaps Dubbya). Friends just doesn't appeal to our sense of
humour.

I agree. I've never quite understood it. The cartoons out of America
have always been hysterically funny; absolutely unbeatable. But the
Click to expand...
I think they are bordering on genius on the cartoon genre but comedy with
actors..???Where are they coming from. Give me Foghorn Leghorn any day.

Tom
 
"Rich Grise" <rich@example.net> wrote in message
news:pan.2004.10.25.23.51.38.487531@example.net...
On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 16:40:05 +0000, Don Pearce wrote:

On Sun, 24 Oct 2004 15:00:27 +0100, Paul Burridge
pb@notthisbit.osiris1.co.uk> wrote:

On 24 Oct 2004 03:00:30 GMT, chrisgibbogibson@aol.com
(ChrisGibboGibson) wrote:

The simpsons is, without a doubt, the funniest thing ever to come from
USA
(barring perhaps Dubbya). Friends just doesn't appeal to our sense of
humour.

I agree. I've never quite understood it. The cartoons out of America
have always been hysterically funny; absolutely unbeatable. But the
comedy programs with real actors just don't seem to work for some
unaccountable reason. I've never understood the appeal of 'Friends'
and sitcoms like that. Baffling!

I think it is because our UK comedies are character-based, while the
US ones are funny-line based. What that means in practice is that with
a US sitcom, they deliver the "joke" and wait for the laugh. It has a
very artificial feel to it that I guess we just don't go for.

Maybe that's because British humour is based on Shakespeare and Yank
humor is based on slapstick. ;-)

Cheers!
Rich


Not really, look at 'The Young Ones' and it's derivatives.
Click to expand...

Tom
 
On Tue, 26 Oct 2004 18:38:19 +1300, "Country Loon"
<fitlikemin@mearns.fairmers.co.uk> wrote:

I think they are bordering on genius on the cartoon genre but comedy with
actors..???Where are they coming from. Give me Foghorn Leghorn any day.
Click to expand...
Agreed. Daffy Duck's my particular favorite cartoon actor. Bugs Bunny
was always a bit too smug for my liking. Currently, of course, The
Simpsons reign supreme.
--

"What is now proved was once only imagin'd." - William Blake, 1793.
 
In article <20041023212500.24078.00002616@mb-m13.aol.com>,
chrisgibbogibson@aol.com (ChrisGibboGibson) writes:
The first thing I noticed whilst in the USA was the TV. I sat for hours in the
hotel room watching it.The adverts weren't normal (by our standards) adverts.
They were somewhat longer.

Now I have digital TV (which gives me lots of cable and satellite channels) and
at this time of night things change. There's an advert on now that's been on
for 20 minutes !

"The lateral thigh trainer". Now she looks good, but she don't look British, or
American. She's far too slim to be either.

I'd better shut up while I'm ahead.

When I was recently in the UK, I had noticed that some of the channels
Click to expand...
had similar amount of commericals as the US. However, I also noticed
the excessive amount of American TV (e.g. Friends, etc.) At least,
UK also has some of our higher class fare (e.g. Simpsons :)).

A most disappointing thing was that on Sky News, I had the 'pleasure'
of watching Dan Rather live (midnight) instead of Fox News. I would have
thought that Sky would have provided their sister network's material instead
of the lowest rated news broadcast from the most crazy newsman.

Another 'odd' thing in the UK was the total lack of censorship for
'polite' manners. For example, we also have the 'medical' shows that
deal with changing body shapes, etc, but I was rather surprised to
see rather complete pictures of 'private parts' (for after-pregnancy
repair type situations) on at approx 10:00PM. The images were DEFINITELY
not titilating, but it was more that the images were gross (akin to
too much blood, or images of someone being disemboweled.) Perhaps the
only major issue is that scanning the TV channels might provide a higher
probability of seeing a disturbing image.

The words like S*** and F*** were not edited on UK OTA TV, and I am
somewhat neutral on that issue.

All in all (ignoring the 50Hz flicker thing, which is purely technical),
and much less superficial censorship (where like in the US, no obvious
political censorship), the TV was quite similar.

I am disappointed for UKers that there is probably too much infestation
of American TV, but if the customer likes it, then why not? I didnt'
get to see my own favorite shows (except maybe Simpsons), and dont 'know
if CSI is available in glorious widescreen in the UK... (CSI is much
much better in HDTV than in just SDTV, but widescreen would certainly
help to mitigate the loss.)

Considering that I saw Law and Order in German (on a German channel),
it seems like CSI would actually be more culturally appropriate than
Law and Order for a European. (The kinds of situations that are depicted
in Law and Order are even culturally inconsistent with my living in the
US midwest, even though I enjoy the show.) In a way, I am wondering
what the effect of the culturally different situations in the US
(especially in the huge cities) has on the enjoyability of the TV shows.

On the other hand, CSI is glitzy enough to be entertaining, and the
Las Vegas setting would likely be more interesting.

One thing that I do like to warn non-USers about American TV and Hollywood
in general: most of what they depict is unrealisitic beyond even common
sense levels. When in such a discussion recently in the UK, I had made
the comment about Hollywoods almost dishonest depiction of the US, but
also claimed (attempted humor, but made the point), that the Star Trek
series are indeed accurate depiction of US lifestyles :).


John
 
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