Are British TV programs better quality than American?American shows just seem so formulistic and 'low rent'...
by 
originallyjustme
ANSWERS: 15
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SOME British TV programs are better than SOME (most?) American TV programs. I suspect this is because the BBC is not so heavily profit-and-ego driven as US television networks. It is difficult to get a truly different show produced and shown on American television.
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People in different regions have different taste and likes.They wanna see stuffs more to which they are familiar with and that's what makes them feel entertained. Regarding rent,it solely depends on the cost of production and the number of viewers.
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Americans copycat many shows that originated in the U.K. I'm not so sure that the reverse is true. The shows we get are the result of pandering to the public appetite for "reality" (sure, right, my foot) shows..you know, a gazillion people watch American Idol or Survivor (ugh)...how many of them watch Frontline? Happy Wednesday! :)
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some British shows are lower class than the ones exported to the U.S. I think standards have lowered all-around, but there's still GOOD stuff out there, American TV. Seems like the Good Stuff gets cancelled too soon, but if you look you'll find it.
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I dont know, eastenders pops into mind :D
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British tv programs are formulaic too....just a different formula aimed at a culturally different audience. I have seen British tv programs I enjoyed thoroughly and ones i found utterly stupid. The bottom line is they are ALL created by companies who's primary function is to market them to a particular demographic.
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Ha, ha, ha. Very funny.
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I can't think of any British shows I like. I'll admit, however, that I don't like much American television either. For instace, I don't watch reality television, and what happened last night on American Idol actually qualifies as news in this country.
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I grew up on British TV in Australia. There were some classic british shows that the US took over, used the scripts and all, and they bombed big time. Mind you, there were some rubbish ones too. I think that each country has its good stuff and its rubbish. On the whole, though, I think the British are better at the murder mystery type show, while the Americans are great at hospital and forensic shows.
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I suggest it european bias.
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These days I do not watch television but, I prefer British to American. I admit to a passion for old British sit coms.
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I've seen some great "British TV", ( Inspector Moorse, Monty Python, Doctor Who, Danger man / The Prisoner, East Enders, Avengers, Dave Allen at Large, etc. ), and some real bad ones over the years and from what I've seen the ratio of good to bad TV is about the same as it is in the states. Canadian TV howerer has some issues they seem to program the worst of American TV and some pretty bad local programming.
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There's something about British tv that really IS working. For instance, The British shows like Life on Mars and Coupling were extremely good, but when remade into the American formula flopped. Shows like Torchwood and Primeval are doing quite well on US stations without "americanizing" them. I think it's simply that there is more freshness to British creativity right now.
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They both have their fair share of the great and the crap.
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I like Torchwood, Prehistoric Park and Primeval. I find them to be pretty good British tv programmes. But I prefer more American tv series shows, like CSI, Law & Order, and NCIS. I guess it depends on the budget and the actors too.
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