Dr. Who & Torchwood... Why can't American TV come up with the same standards?

[Randall Flagg]

I just went through Children of Earth and Who's Xmas special.

These two things are so far above American network capabilities that it's shameful.


WHY?

[Tikki]

1. I don't know...but you are certainly correct about...

Dr.Who and Torchwood...


Tikki

[Dr. Strange]

2. Battlestar Galactica?

Lost?
Sopranos?
Monday Night Football?
Jersey Whore? (Or whatever that MTV show is.)

[Telly Savalas]

22. The Wire and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia belong on that list.

Mad Men too.

[Dr. Strange]

23. And Dexter.

Can't believe I forgot Dexter.

[EndersDame]

3. We can come up with brilliant shows they just dont last long

Firefly comes to mind

[flvegan]

4. Did you see how we were going to mangle Top Gear?

Tanner Foust? Are you serious?

[MorningGlow]

7. That was a mercy killing

I thank the good Lord every day for that plan going the way of the dodo.

[Jkid]

5. Because high quality shows, unless really popular are less profitable.

Reality programs and cheap sitcoms are too profitable. If PBS can produce programing with the same caliber of the broadcasting networks and more, the commercial networks will have to actually compete. And they hate real competition, because it will mean spending money to make more money.

[KatyaR]

6. British TV's about all I watch anymore--

thank god for Netflix.

Try the UK version of "Life on Mars"--just brilliant.

[denem]

9. UK "Life on Mars" - The Gene Genie rocks.

Intelligence, attention to detail, a bit of time travel - what more could could you want? The final scene when the girl from the test pattern turns off your TV. Brilliant.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

17. The Gov is the best!.............

I like Glenister's Hunt so much more than Keitel's (and I'm a Keitel fan). I'm watching the second series now.

edit: spelling

[bikebloke]

10. Just started it last night.

So good.

[JitterbugPerfume]

8. Battlestar Galactica, The Plan

is on SyFy Sunday night . It should be pretty good considering how great the series was.

[bikebloke]

11. I read it's mostly a clip show.

For me, it will be a Netflix, rather than a purchase. I finished up the series a couple weeks ago.

[mr blur]

12. Both BBC programs - not a commercial station

And designed to be seen unbroken by adverts, which I really think makes a difference.

[denem]

13. Children of Earth?

The Aliens type scene, OK, now we get the see the monsters? No. We see a half mummified child connected up for "The Hit". - The '456' are drug dealers. Most disturbing thing I've seen in years

[elocs]

14. How odd. The first I've seen of this thread and at the moment I'm watching Torchwood

season 2 on Netflix streaming. It's nice being able to watch one episode after another, but season 3 is only on dvd.

[JCMach1]

15. Those who think there is not crap T.V. in Britain need to watch more of it!

You will have to trust me on that and perhaps some of our British DUers...

Even Springer has his own show in Britain!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

16. When British TV is good, it's very, very good, and when it's bad, it's horrid

The original British Life on Mars was so far ahead of the American remake that it's a shame they didn't just show the original. Of course, Gene said a lot of things that you can't say on American TV, but he was hilarious in an Archie Bunker type of way, only smarter.

Both Doctor Who and Torchwood captured me from the first episode.

MI-5, original title Spooks, is amazing. It's a spy program, but one with subtlety and humanity. The main characters are not just action figures--they are often severely conflicted about what they are asked to do. The bad guys are sometimes those we often think of as the good guys, and the conspiracies uncovered would be considered way too edgy for American television, too many slams at entities that are sacred cows in American media. The suspense is real, because the series has a track record of getting rid of popular characters by either killing them off or forcing them into hiding or otherwise disgracing them. You genuinely cannot be assured that "it will all come out all right at the end."

Only three seasons and part of the fourth have been shown on U.S. TV, first on A&E and then on BBC America. It brought complaints of being "anti-American," because of some of its subject matter (e.g. extraordinary rendition of British citizens on UK soil), so I think that's why it was canceled. But fortunately, seasons 4 through 6 are available on Netflix, and season 7 will be released later this month. Season 8 will soon be available in the UK and therefore available to anyone who has a region-free player and an account with Amazon UK.

On the other hand, there's some really shlocky British TV and lame comedies.

[Mojambo]

18. American television is about quantity

We do 22-24 episode seasons.

They do like 6-10.

Best to compare our premium cable (HBO/Showtime) series to their programs.

[fishwax]

19. oh, I don't know -- I think some of the better network TV shows hold up pretty well

against Torchwood, though they don't always last long. And some of the shows on cable channels (premium cable shows especially, though not exclusively) are even better.

[HipChick]

20. Different audience..

[Starbucks Anarchist]

21. The Wire, BSG, The Sopranos and Six Feet Under come to mind.