A (random) question to American viewers of Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares

[Marble]

While I agree with the sentiment and will be moving to the UK next year to study TV scriptwriting, there are a vast number of top class American shows that push the envelope of drama on the small screen.

There's no shortage of talent among the auteurs working today in America. It's the business model they have to work in that cripples some of our most ambitious projects. Hopefully this strike will help establish content-creators here as deserving of more respect. (And audiences, for that matter.)

 

[Unspeaked]

While I agree with the sentiment and will be moving to the UK next year to study TV scriptwriting, there are a vast number of top class American shows that push the envelope of drama on the small screen.

There's no shortage of talent among the auteurs working today in America. It's the business model they have to work in that cripples some of our most ambitious projects. Hopefully this strike will help establish content-creators here as deserving of more respect. (And audiences, for that matter.)

I agree.

There's just so many more channels and programs in the US that there's bound to be a lot more crap.

I'm sure there's plenty of crap on overseas networks, as well!

 

[dogtanian]

OMG Torchwood is shocking! I've never understood how such a great budget can turn out that crap! Really bad. Robin Hood is OK but generally I do watch quite a bit of US stuff, Futurama, Simpsons, Lost and Heroes.

American Reality shows sometimes appear on MTV in the UK which are frightening to witness, watched ten minutes of some bi-sexual woman choosing between men or women which was cringe-worthy.

I also can't watch American news channels, BBC News tries to be pointlessly edgy sometimes, I don't care whether they stand up or have fancy animations I just want the news! CNN appears in hotels around the world and that has all this tosh.

I find it hilarious on some US adaptions of British formats when they recap in a weird disembodied with swooshy noises every 5 minutes, just in case we weren't paying attention! And who is this Ryan Seacrest w*nker! what a kn*bend! Sorry to use rude language

 

[r1ch4rd]

There's no shortage of talent among the auteurs working today in America. It's the business model they have to work in that cripples some of our most ambitious projects. Hopefully this strike will help establish content-creators here as deserving of more respect. (And audiences, for that matter.)

If you own a TV in the UK you have to pay for a license (around £135 or $270 per year) which funds the BBC. This allows the BBC to run without putting adverts in the middle of programmes and the adverts that it does show are just for other BBC programmes. What it also means is that the BBC is not running for profit and can just focus on making great shows like Life on Mars, Dr Who etc.

This puts pressure on the other channels to not show so many adverts and to produce better quality programming. I think this is the main reason that we get better TV here (although quite a lot of it is still absolute rubbish, Jeremy Kyle I am looking your way)

 

[Marble]

The BBC do have a good reputation. Their mandate and the public support is definitely part of it. Mind, the BBC still sometimes architect shows to make them marketable overseas. From an outsider's point of view, BBC Worldwide does make them somewhat of an enterprise.

Still, for-profit stations like HBO have produced lots of peerless content over the years—but it hasn't stopped them from axing much of it mid-run in a way distinctive of the American business-model.

 

[Unspeaked]

If you own a TV in the UK you have to pay for a license (around £135 or $270 per year) which funds the BBC. This allows the BBC to run without putting adverts in the middle of programmes and the adverts that it does show are just for other BBC programmes. What it also means is that the BBC is not running for profit and can just focus on making great shows like Life on Mars, Dr Who etc.

Public television is like that in the US. It gets a subsidy from the government and contributions from viewers so it can air programs commercial free, though there's often a little "message from our sponsors" at the beginning or end.

Oddly enough, they're the ones that air the most British imports aside from BBC America.

The BBC do have a good reputation. Their mandate and the public support is definitely part of it. Mind, the BBC still sometimes architect shows to make them marketable overseas. From an outsider's point of view, BBC Worldwide does make them somewhat of an enterprise.

Very true.

We've entered an era where they look at possible DVD sales and overseas sales as much as ratings within the UK. In fact, some shows are even jointly funded by interests in Canada, Australia, etc.