What American Entertainment is Popular OverSeas?

[Amnesiac]

British entertainment, in America, is one of the smallest and underappreicated niche markets in the country. Most of it is relegated to the purgatory of Public Broadcasting Channels that specialize in semi-partisan non-profit educational programming and politically correct fascist children's shows with not a hint of amusing content. This was the main reason Doctor Who never caught on, as it was largely confined to odd Saturday timeslots on channels nobody, not even geeks really watched. After the inexplicable popularity of Mr. Bean, other shows started to trickle through:

Blackadder
The Vicker of Dibley
A Bit of Fry & Laurie (easier found on DVD than TV)
Balleykissangel (which I think is Irish)
and the Prime Suspect movies.
And anything on Mystery or Masterpiece Theater.

Rather slim pickings, and even those are still stuck on PBS. The only shows to escape PBS are Doctor Who (Torchwood soon) on Sci-Fi Channel and the screamingly funny Black Books which aired on Comedy Central (at 1:00 AM) for only a year. I imagine that if the British and Welsh peoples were aware of what types of shows were representing their entertainment industry over here, they'd actually get angry enough to leave pubs and football games and complain to somebody.

In fact, unless a TV show is animated and comes from Japan, foreign television is almost completely ignored.

American entertainment, by contrast, is force-fed through pipelines of intercontinental channels by the metric tonne-load without the aid of cultural education to explain the obscure, self-referential, post-modern sensibilities ingrained within it to countries who may have never heard of G.I. Joe or Sesame Street. While theres no shortage of U.S. based claptrap spreading, I was wondering how much of that crap actually catches on and is actually enjoyed.

So, for those of you across the pond (or "over thar" as we say here), what kinds of American shows are being force-fed to you and which ones actually seem to be popular and enjoyed?

And by the way, this isn't limited to strictly the British & Welsh Isles, it applies to any country where American TV is being pumped.

 

[Snail Shell]

Many US shows are popular North of the border as well. Some of the top rated shows up here include CSI, House, American Idol (yech), Lost, Family Guy and, well, pretty much all the basic stuff.

Snail Shell

 

[EBunbury]

I'm one of those people who doesn't want to go to McDonalds when overseas; I'd rather try the local cuisine. So you can imagine my reaction the first time I was out of the country, spending a week in Vienna as a student attending a conference, when I turn on the TV in the pension and found two channels, one playing The Brady Bunch and the other playing Love, American Style.

🙂 E. Bunbury

 

[subtle_feather]

Sadly, the only things from America that make it to mass media here in Japan are the most popular movies and songs from America, most of which are insipid. I have a tough time explaining that the Backstreet Boys are not the foremost example of our culture....

 

[nerobob]

I should imagine the actual reason that British television shows haven't caught on in America is because most of them are rubbish.

The best shows on our TV come from America, Lost, the Sopranos, even more mediocre fair such as Dirty Sexy Money and Without a Trace. Same thing with films. Wouldn't call it being "force-fed" exactly.

 

[subtle_feather]

I should imagine the actual reason that British television shows haven't caught on in America is because most of them are rubbish.

The best shows on our TV come from America, Lost, the Sopranos, even more mediocre fair such as Dirty Sexy Money and Without a Trace. Same thing with films. Wouldn't call it being "force-fed" exactly.

I have been watching Shameless lately--that is pretty good.

 

[nerobob]

Which series? It was a fantastic show, gone a bit downhill recently. I take your point though, Britain can produce good TV, and I guess it's unfair to compare it with America where the budgets are so much bigger.

 

[PiedPiper]

Believe it or not.....

--I used to be fairly close pals with the famous German lion and tiger-tamer,..Gunther Gebel-Williams, and he once told me that American westerns were super popular in Germany around the time he was preparing to make his big move. In fact, he added comically, Germans planning on coming to the states would "study" US westerns so they would know how to act once they got here. Said they all got cowboy hats and practiced saying, "Yep." His first circus gig was based out of Sarasota, and he said his only three English words were "Yep,..... Nope,... and Sarasota."

 

[subtle_feather]

Which series? It was a fantastic show, gone a bit downhill recently. I take your point though, Britain can produce good TV, and I guess it's unfair to compare it with America where the budgets are so much bigger.

I've been catching up for the past few weeks, now on series 5. I agree it's gone down a bit but still good. I am American, and America does produce the highest standard of entertainment in the world, but it also produces its fair share of crap. Just got to sort through it I guess. If you are into cop shows, I recommend one called The Wire as among the best TV series ever made--I think you can get it on DVD.

 

[The Sean Man]

It doesn't matter what country produces a tv show....no matter where you go, there's good tv and crappy tv.

As for Brit tv, I catch it every day as i have BBC1 on my satellite.

 

[subZer0]

It's nice to see you guys appreciating our shows. I'd disagree with nerobob to a certain extent - I think we have some very good shows. For one, Spooks is and has been getting better every series.

I do like US tv, though. The Simpsons, Stargate SG-1, Futurama, Bones, Cold Case, Lost, Prison Break, Battlestar Gallactica; the list could go on. I think the US wins every time (apart from Spooks) when it comes to action/adventure shows. I wish we had the same passion for them over here.

I don't like US sitcoms, though. Whether or not it's a case of the difference in humour (I suspect so) they just don't do it for me. British comedy clearly wins that one, I'm afraid.

 

[steph]

Interesting question.
I LOVE Monty Python but hated that show with the 2 ckicks that ran on our Comedy Central channel for the longest~Absolutely Fabulous, was it called? I tried to get into it for several episodes but I just couldn't do it. No idea why~I think I have a pretty good sense of humor and understand that US humor is different form English, but we mostly find the same things funny I think. I do when I'm with my British friends, at least.
Whatever. Can someone explain to me why David Hasselhoff is so huge in Germany~there's another one I'm stumped about.

XOXO

 

[RobAce]

Funny thing sub-zero....I live in the US and agree with you.

On the sitcoms part. After Married with Children, there really has not been a good sitcom for me.
I enjoy all the BBC has to offer. Blackadder being the absolute best. Then the Office, Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, The Thin Blue Line, Are you being Served, the list to me is endless.

Perhaps I just get British humor better. I prefer a snide sarcastic exchange than a few "fart" or sex jokes from US sitcoms.

TALLY HO!!!

Rob

 

[Amnesiac]

Additional information...

I made one or two grievous errors in my opening post, particularly in addressing Absolutely Fabulous, The Office, Fawlty Towers and Are You Being Served?

British Comedy in the States is still predominantly thought of in the vein of Monty Python, which even then isn't quite balanced: Holy Grail is the favorite in the States where Life of Brian is usually favored in the UK. The Office did indeed make its mark here when it arrived on television and DVD, but has largely been usurped by the American re-imaging, which continues to be a powerhouse hit. By now, only fans would be able to tell you that it originated as a British show. Gervais' second offering Extras isn't as widely known outside of the cable audiences, who tend to also talk about other shows a bit more than Extras.

Absolutely Fabulous was a big Comedy Central hit for many years, although it was largely a show that more people heard of than watched. Both AbFab and Fawlty Towers are known by name, but are largely relegated to a rabid fan base that specializes in obscure television-that-is-actually-better-than-most-American-television. Both Towers and AbFab are more cult hits than well-known imports: you would have a hard time finding anyone who could quote from AbFab other than "Darling" and anything at all of Towers.

True to my opening post, Are You Being Served? is enjoying an unhealthy amount of continuous rotation on PBS despite being 20+ years old, and yet still unknown among many TV viewers. Joining it are several other British shows whose names escape me (Dad's War(?)) that all seem to have 1970 as a copyright date.

 

[penny lane]

I don't think American sitcoms are all that bad. Yes, there is a lot a crap on now, but I think the American version of The Office is funny. I didn't like it at first, but I kept watching and it grew on me.

Others I think worth mentioning that are on now are 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and South Park...11 years later, and the show hasn't lost it's edge.

Some Brit-coms I enjoyed watching over the years, but probably wouldn't translate well to American television are Spaced, I'm Alan Partridge, The League of Gentlemen, and The Mighty Boosh (I think that one is still on).

 

[Scouse]

Shameless is worth watching. Although I haven't paid much attention to Skins, it seems to have a reasonable fanbase. Life on Mars should be watched world wide.

At the moment, british tv isn't up to much, but Red Dwarf is a guaranteed giggle.

Theres a series called Hustle, on bbc1 that I used to watch.

Peep Show is simply genius.

________________________________________________________

I've just realised that I went a little off topic, and instead of listing American shows that are big over here, I listed English stuff that SHOULD be big in America.

Its mainly animation for me. South Park, Family Guy and American Dad. Not so much the Simpsons, but I loved it growing up.

I watch 24 and Lost every now and then.

 

[Sandrock74]

I went to London, England and spent nine days there back in 1997. After the dreadfully long flight, I was eager to get to my hotel room, stretch out, lay down and relax while seeing what was on British television. (I have a hard time sleeping on planes, so I usually read instead.)
Anyway, imagine my surprise when I turned on the tv and STAR TREK was on! After that, Baywatch came on! It was like I had never left home. Since I always disliked Baywatch, I fell asleep and got my rest. Still, I was surprised at the American programs that were on whenever I checked. Maybe I was looking at the BBC American channel?
One other thing I noticed. They call soccer "football". Also, our hockey (NHL) translates MUCH better on television than their hockey.
There's my story and I'm sticking to it!

 

[RUNOFFSTAGE]

Over here the american shows definitely outnumber the swedish ones, basically because we aren't that good at making anything watchable.
The animated shows like South Park, Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad and Futurama are quite appreciated among the younger, though Homer is a favourite for a lot of older people too, especially men ;P
Then there's series like That 70's Show, Will & Grace, Scrubs, 2½ Men, King of Queens, Darma & Greg, Nanny, Ally McBeal and others that are being broadcasted at LEAST once a day, sometimes on more than one channel.
Talkshows is the thing that's REALLY flooding, and the late night shows are rarely broadcasted with subtitles.. Sometimes I just want to puke all over Oprah, Dr Phil and the others xD
The thing that I think is the best are series like House, Lost (1st season, the others kind of sucked), Medium, Prison Break and so on - they are more than beloved over here ^^,

Err, yeah, quite an essay with shows broadcasted in Sweden, I might have made a mistake with the Americanness of some of them but I think it should be correct ;D