Now, if you know me, then you know that I LOVE tv. I love watching full series over and over again. It may just be a fad, or a current obsession, but there are a few things that I think that British TV does better than American.
One: Awesome TV show ideas in general
Seriously, look at whats on tv now in America. Really the only thing we do, that stays on air for more than 3 seasons, is comedies and crime and medical dramas. NCIS, Grey's, Law & Order, Bones, How I Met Your Mother, Community, The Big Bang Theory and many more, they thrive in America, and, yes, they're amazing tv shows.
However, UK seems to come up with some of the greatest ideas, that America duplicates later on. Case and Point: Skins. Though I've never actually watched Skins (I've heard amazing things about it from my friends though), most people loyal to the UK version have been completely horrified by the MTV redux, and rightfully so. From all the reports that I've read, MTV!Skins is not as great an investment as they thought it would be. Though on the opposite side, The UK version of 'The Office' didn't last nearly as long as the US version of 'The Office'. Nonetheless, both shows originated in UK.
When I heard that Starz was doing a show called 'Camelot' I immediately thought it was going to be a Merlin-esqe show. Thankfully I was wrong. Merlin is, by far, one of my all time favorite tv shows, I love the idea of seeing how Arthur grew up to become the king of legends. I love the idea of Merlin secretly helping him, trying not to actually use magic in front of him. The story of how Arthur met all the knights of the realm is amazingly told, and to top off the amazing stories, Merlin has some of the best actors I have ever seen! *cough*plusAnthonyStewartHeadisamazingandtheonlyreasonIstartedwatching*endcough*
I'm dreading the day where someone in America wants to remake Doctor Who. I'm sorry, but NO. Just No. Doctor Who as a an American, wouldn't work. Rupert Grint as the Twelve however. THAT I could totally get behind.
Two: Size 14 is Not Fat...
(to quote Meg Cabot)
One thing I love about British TV is that they're not afraid to let a main character in one of their tv shows have a little meat on her bones. Yes, some of them are, but (at least in the shows I've seen) a handful of them would probably be considered on the heavy side here on American TV.
One of my favorite companions on Doctor Who, was Donna Noble. Her character was slightly annoying, kind of abrasive, and rarely accepted it when she was told she was wrong. Granted those are her characters traits, but Catherine Tate is one of the funniest actresses I've seen. Not only that, but she openly advocates for theatre to remain just that, theatre, no fancy gimmicks or celebrity actors to lure people in to coming, "You have to have the right people in the right parts. Stunt casting and being gimmicky does the theatre a great disservice." Which I couldn't agree with more. On top of all these amazing qualities, she's got a little meat on her bones.
It's not just Catherine Tate. Billie Piper (Rose from Doctor Who), Lucy Griffiths (Marian from Robin Hood), even Angel Coulby (Gwen from Merlin), all of them don't fit into the standard definition of a tv actress that American TV has. They all have hips, little bellies, and butts, and when you have actresses like that, it says "Hey look! Normal people on TV! You don't have to be a size two to be pretty!!!", which I for one, LOVE.
Three:They know how to cast!
Okay, so this one is kind of a cheat. American TV shows are amazingly cast. Really, could you see anyone but Neil Patrick Harris playing Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother? Or what about anyone but James Roday playing Shawn Spencer on Psych? American TV has truly great at casting.
Blame it on the fact that I don't live in the UK and therefore when I see someone that I actually know on my favorite BBC shows it makes my fangirl heart flutter, or you could just say I'm easily pleased. British TV really knows how to showcase their actors. Bradley James and Colin Morgan are one of the greatest acting pairs I've seen in a long time, add the chemistry that David Tennant and Billie Piper (or David Tennant and ANY of the companions he's had) had in Doctor Who and you quickly see where I'm getting.
All in all, the title of my blog post may not be accurate. British TV may not be BETTER than American TV, but it certainly has its moments of awesome.
Just add this to the reasons why it'd be cool to live in the UK.
stumbled on this because I recently got into dr. who. I totally agree about the real people being on british tv. Rose is prettier than a lot of the "perfect" actresses on american shows. That being said, supernatural is an awesome american show that isn't a crime or medical drama or a comedy.
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