floridapete
07-16-2006, 06:52 PM
What do you watch on TV ?
I ask because whenever we are there for the Winter, after a couple of weeks or so I become frustrated with the appalling choice of TV programmes on offer and start to crave something which provides interest with entertainment and is preferably lasts rather more than 3 minutes long without being interrupted by yet another commercial break.
Yes, they may have hundreds of channels to choose from but, when you really get down to it, there's not more than half a dozen that's worth watching and even they get repeated so they come around again just a few days (or even a few hours) after you first saw them. Biography Channel almost only shows bio's of Americans (oh, gawd, it's the Kennedy's again) and the Travel Channel hardly ever shows any travel outside of the United States of which 80% seems to be Las Vegas (yawn).
In desperation we often tune into PBS channel and find some good programmes there - including nightly BBC America (never to be confused with BBC World Service because this is only the BBC 'Americanised' from their Washington Office). We even took to watching Deutsche Weld (German World) on PBS as this, at least, gave some European news - but with smiling Ivy League German front-men ! PBS also has some good musical programmes (forgetting the Lawrence Welk specials) and often re-runs of classic British Comedies.
Other channels we enjoy include Bravo - for their excellent Actors Studio series of interviews with famous actors in front of an acting students audience; what used to be the daily morning programme with Katie Courick and Matt Lauer (though I hear that she has now moved on) and Oprah because she tackles such great subjects that nobody else would dare to handle.
But I can do without all the loudly arguing political chat-shows, even Larry King 'growls' at his subjects rather than just listening as Parky would and the Americans have no equivalent of our Question Time where politicians and the public get to challenge each other. The American politicians would run a mile from that opportunity !
Also, America has no equivalent (so far as I have ever seen) of Panorama, as an investigative current affairs programme with teeth, or of Top Gear as an objective (OK, sometimes Clarksons subjective) views programme on cars and motoring. You can imagine the motor industry lawyers sharpening their pencils if Clarkson ran a "Top Gear USA" can't you ?
It always amazes me, when we get back home, that we can enjoy a whole evening of varied entertainment on UK without even switching the one channel - usually BBC2 !
So what do you all find to keep the brain alive when watching US TV ? You can't really just survive on a TV diet of ball-games, Big Brother, Pop Idol etc. - or do you ? ;)
I ask because whenever we are there for the Winter, after a couple of weeks or so I become frustrated with the appalling choice of TV programmes on offer and start to crave something which provides interest with entertainment and is preferably lasts rather more than 3 minutes long without being interrupted by yet another commercial break.
Yes, they may have hundreds of channels to choose from but, when you really get down to it, there's not more than half a dozen that's worth watching and even they get repeated so they come around again just a few days (or even a few hours) after you first saw them. Biography Channel almost only shows bio's of Americans (oh, gawd, it's the Kennedy's again) and the Travel Channel hardly ever shows any travel outside of the United States of which 80% seems to be Las Vegas (yawn).
In desperation we often tune into PBS channel and find some good programmes there - including nightly BBC America (never to be confused with BBC World Service because this is only the BBC 'Americanised' from their Washington Office). We even took to watching Deutsche Weld (German World) on PBS as this, at least, gave some European news - but with smiling Ivy League German front-men ! PBS also has some good musical programmes (forgetting the Lawrence Welk specials) and often re-runs of classic British Comedies.
Other channels we enjoy include Bravo - for their excellent Actors Studio series of interviews with famous actors in front of an acting students audience; what used to be the daily morning programme with Katie Courick and Matt Lauer (though I hear that she has now moved on) and Oprah because she tackles such great subjects that nobody else would dare to handle.
But I can do without all the loudly arguing political chat-shows, even Larry King 'growls' at his subjects rather than just listening as Parky would and the Americans have no equivalent of our Question Time where politicians and the public get to challenge each other. The American politicians would run a mile from that opportunity !
Also, America has no equivalent (so far as I have ever seen) of Panorama, as an investigative current affairs programme with teeth, or of Top Gear as an objective (OK, sometimes Clarksons subjective) views programme on cars and motoring. You can imagine the motor industry lawyers sharpening their pencils if Clarkson ran a "Top Gear USA" can't you ?
It always amazes me, when we get back home, that we can enjoy a whole evening of varied entertainment on UK without even switching the one channel - usually BBC2 !
So what do you all find to keep the brain alive when watching US TV ? You can't really just survive on a TV diet of ball-games, Big Brother, Pop Idol etc. - or do you ? ;)