Yes, I'm always struck by the rest of the world's seeming obsession with us, and how you all at the same time try to revile us. I wish you'd make up your minds - after all, no one's forcing you to drink Coke, watch those silly shows, and wear those overpriced jeans. My penpals (British and German) seem so flattered when I know things about their countries and their lives.
The advertising thing gets worse by the minute. It's becoming increasingly difficult to tune it all out, both literally and figuratively. Most commercials have such an air of desperation about them, and are becoming more loud and vulgar to keep our attention. Last night I was trying to watch something on network TV (as opposed to cable, which is just as bad, really), and there was a full six minutes of ads between the opening titles and the beginning of the episode. I'm afraid they lost me - I just didn't want to watch it any more, and I hadn't even seen any of it yet! Lack of commercial interruptions is just one of the many reasons we love TCM.
Yes, of course CCN, and other US stations carry international news, but their reporting is so sensational, geocentric, and biased that I don't believe much of what they tell me. And the line between "news" and "entertainment" grows hazier every minute.
But I am old enough to know that, as we say, "what goes around, comes around," and there will eventually be a swing back to fair and informative news coverage. I only hope I will live long enough to see it happen.
Copyright
Hey Judith
You're a good sport considering my criticisms.
Actually many of your TV shows are far better than ours. We used to have good shows twenty years ago, funny and socially relevant. Now they're just bland rubbish. We don't have anything as good as Friends, Seinfeld, Sex in the City, Desperate Housewives not to mention my son's favourite The Sopranos. I even quite like the second line ones like Las Vegas (though the gorgeous girls have something to do with that) and American Chopper.
Yep you're right we all stand back and criticise the yanks but we would all like an American lifestyle. We Brits are crazy about Hollywood, our newspapers are full of Holywood gossip. I understand that there are probably half a million illegal British immigrants in California and Florida. Most of them went out there for a holiday and thought "I like it here, it's nice and sunny, I think I'll stay here". They just disappear taking jobs as plumbers, clerks, electricians etc.
Is TCM your public service broadcasting network?
David
You're a good sport considering my criticisms.
Actually many of your TV shows are far better than ours. We used to have good shows twenty years ago, funny and socially relevant. Now they're just bland rubbish. We don't have anything as good as Friends, Seinfeld, Sex in the City, Desperate Housewives not to mention my son's favourite The Sopranos. I even quite like the second line ones like Las Vegas (though the gorgeous girls have something to do with that) and American Chopper.
Yep you're right we all stand back and criticise the yanks but we would all like an American lifestyle. We Brits are crazy about Hollywood, our newspapers are full of Holywood gossip. I understand that there are probably half a million illegal British immigrants in California and Florida. Most of them went out there for a holiday and thought "I like it here, it's nice and sunny, I think I'll stay here". They just disappear taking jobs as plumbers, clerks, electricians etc.
Is TCM your public service broadcasting network?
David
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jdb1
Oops - sorry, I was assuming that everyone here was a TCM devotee.
TCM is the Turner Classic Movie channel, the one that shows the largest number of "classic" Hollywood movies broadcast on American TV, without commercial interruption. Most of us here are a breakaway group who met up on the TCM message board, and most of what we talk about is based on what TCM airs from day to day. Take a look at TCM.com, if you haven't already done so.
Our once "public service," then "commercial-free," and now simply "public television" network is called PBS, the Public Broadcasting System. This is an amalgam of local TV stations which show some nationally broadcast PBS programming, and a lot of locally produced programming (which is really PBS programming, only they show it on a different schedule). Over the past few years, PBS has gone from thanking corporate sponsors for their contributions, to showing brief ads that were more like public service announcements, to now unrepentantly showing the same commercials that appear on commercial TV.
A preponderance of the programming is still British. After all, as well know in Brooklyn, if you say it with a British accent, it's not only classy, it's automatically educational.
TCM is the Turner Classic Movie channel, the one that shows the largest number of "classic" Hollywood movies broadcast on American TV, without commercial interruption. Most of us here are a breakaway group who met up on the TCM message board, and most of what we talk about is based on what TCM airs from day to day. Take a look at TCM.com, if you haven't already done so.
Our once "public service," then "commercial-free," and now simply "public television" network is called PBS, the Public Broadcasting System. This is an amalgam of local TV stations which show some nationally broadcast PBS programming, and a lot of locally produced programming (which is really PBS programming, only they show it on a different schedule). Over the past few years, PBS has gone from thanking corporate sponsors for their contributions, to showing brief ads that were more like public service announcements, to now unrepentantly showing the same commercials that appear on commercial TV.
A preponderance of the programming is still British. After all, as well know in Brooklyn, if you say it with a British accent, it's not only classy, it's automatically educational.
Judith
I have checked TCM, I think it may be available on our Sky Satellite channel. I will follow it up and see. Thanks for the tip. There's a TCM.co. uk as well which seems to specialise in British products.
It's very flattering to know that Brooklynites think it's classy if it's British. What a shame incidentally Brooklyn Dodgers moved to LA. They've never been the same.
In the UK we have the same attitude to the French as you do to us. If you want it to look sexy, stylish, chic and classy give it a French name. Never say "room" say "salon", don't say "cooking" say "cuisine", never say "shop" say "boutique" etc.
Yes the trouble is once commercials creep in it ceases to be a public broadcasting service and must pander to the sponsors and ratings. I suppose there's no chance that the US government would impose a national licence fee. No of course not, silly question.
David
I have checked TCM, I think it may be available on our Sky Satellite channel. I will follow it up and see. Thanks for the tip. There's a TCM.co. uk as well which seems to specialise in British products.
It's very flattering to know that Brooklynites think it's classy if it's British. What a shame incidentally Brooklyn Dodgers moved to LA. They've never been the same.
In the UK we have the same attitude to the French as you do to us. If you want it to look sexy, stylish, chic and classy give it a French name. Never say "room" say "salon", don't say "cooking" say "cuisine", never say "shop" say "boutique" etc.
Yes the trouble is once commercials creep in it ceases to be a public broadcasting service and must pander to the sponsors and ratings. I suppose there's no chance that the US government would impose a national licence fee. No of course not, silly question.
David