American Reacts to Why British TV is Better than American TV!

[@davidmckie7128]

There are lots of good American TV shows I have watched here in the UK, however I have noticed that in the UK shows generally have actors of all ages, shapes and looks wheras in America shows have mostly glamorous looking people.

[@fransmith3255]

Yeah, the British shows are a lot more believable. The American shows mostly come across as fake... M*A*S*H* was fabulous. Very little after that has been remotely watchable. British shows are more original too.

[@chrisaskin6144]

"Happy Valley" was one of the best series' ever on TV.

[@darren_anscombe]

Final episode could have been better but I totally agree; the acting from everyone was world-class throughout.

[@ct5625]

No one understands the QI points system other than the highly secretive "QI elves" who are wise beyond our understanding.

[@patricialewis1464]

Too late to leave a comment. 😢But I am SO glad you liked Happy Valley. It was great

[@katashworth41]

The Elves have a podcast, No Such Thing As A Fish.

[@Rionnagan]

I seem to remember a documentary / behind-the-scenes where someone did attempt to explain the points system, but it was incomprehensible.

[@hdg2526]

but the answer is the blue whale! 😂

[@Rionnagan]

@@hdg2526 Couldn't stop laughing when Alan Davies failed to say Blue Whale when it was actually(?) the answer.

[@grimreaper-qh2zn]

The reason is that US TV is made to sell products. UK TV doesn't have to pander to the Sponsor.

[@Lee_303]

ITV? "Corontaion street is sponsored by this tin of cat food 'ere"? 😄

[@grimreaper-qh2zn]

@@Lee_303 That's because it only appeals to Cats. 🤣

[@davidholt6903]

The limit of Fawlty Towers to 2 seasons was made deliberately by the writers John Cleese and Connie Booth, who decided to end the series while it was at its peak of excellent writing.

[@torresilk4277]

They said they couldn’t top s2e6 so what’s the point?…

[@Isleofskye]

100% Right and that,also,applied to The Office,Extras,Fleabag and quite a few others.

[@brianconlan4215]

I thought it was because they got a divorce.

[@torresilk4277]

That was before season 2

[@xolotlnephthys]

It was also 2 seasons over 4 years, everyone was more than likely busy doing other projects as well

[@Mag75684]

I'm from the UK and although I have access to American programmes I mostly watch British, Irish , Australian and stuff from New Zealand. I love the fact that over here even mainstream tv will have subtitled dramas from all over Europe on them. I'm not saying all American tv is trash it's mostly that I prefer the programmes created in other parts of the world.

[@Theresabrown1805]

I have watched a lot Polish tv shows which were brilliantly made one show I really enjoyed was a world war 2 drama about partisans in Warsaw Time of Honor if you haven't watched that show I would recommend you finding the show and watching it does have English subtitles. The show is based around 2 brothers and two friends joining the Polish underground movement in WWII fighting to rid Warsaw and Poland of the Nazi occupation as the city of Warsaw is devided in 2 on one side you have the Jewish ghetto on the side the Nazi's and Poles. The show is action packed you would really enjoy the show. A lot Polish tv shows I found have been very well made and I thought the acting was superb.

[@angelau1194]

I quite like a bit of "Nordic Noir" too to ring the changes.

[@angelau1194]

@@Theresabrown1805 I quite like not knowing who the actors are instead of the same old actors over and over again even if they are good, I think it makes them seem a bit (read "a lot" 😊) more believable - but they do have to be good 😊

[@Mag75684]

@Theresabrown1805 thanks for that Theresa. I'll look into that.

[@fransmith3255]

I'm from Australia and we watch BRITISH comedy shows. Basically NO American comedy shows make it to our screens. They aren't good and they aren't funny - they're childish and simplistic. We watch our own shows and comedy, but we watch British shows when we aren't watching our own. The first statement that British comedy shows are generally less known than American shows is simply ridiculously false in any other country other than America, lol!! Of course American comedy shows are better known to an American, lol!! American comedy shows are NOT well known in any other country other than America. Quite an arrogant statement right there suggesting that the rest of the world also watches mostly American comedy, and definitely not true...

[@t.a.k.palfrey3882]

If there are two words which best exemplify the reason UK television is best, they would be David Attenborough.

[@gillcawthorn7572]

Please please ,will somebody mention `Red Dwarf`? There, I`ve done it

[@grimreaper-qh2zn]

Remember Fawlty Towers only had two seasons was because John Cleese and Connie Booth didn't want to write any more but wanted to move on to new things (they had got divorced as well of course).

[@MrSinclairn]

2 seasons of 6 episodes,4 years apart,because Cleese was working on the 2 classic Python movies '.....The Holy Grail' and 'The Life of Brian' ! 👌👍

[@timwates512]

Joel, you really need to review Line of Duty - Written by Jed Mercurio (There are about 7 short seasons) - high drama and well acted. Centred around a police anti-corruption unit. Also, written by the same genius, is Bodyguard. The last one is "Vigil" - A high stakes drama set on a Royal Navy submarine. Get on it!!!! Promise you that you won't be bored.

[@judithrowe8065]

If you liked Happy Valley, try Line Of Duty. Stunning cast, clever writing. The two best British shows for years. An older series, Spooks is a British espionage series. Again excellent at all levels.

[@rebeccacooper1466]

What I would do to watch Line of Duty again not knowing, I have never been so gripped by a show in my life

[@generaladvance5812]

The narrators voice on these videos really grates me.

[@gavingiant6900]

America did a version of Fawlty Towers, and yep they messed that one up aswell. I can't remember if you've done the video with Stephen Fry talking about American vs British humour/comedy, if not look it up. It's a great insight into how both sides of the pond do and see comedy, it might be a Ted Talks video (can't remember).

[@bernadettelanders7306]

Oh yes, Fry talking about the difference between UK and USA TV is excellent. Definitely worth watching.

[@gavingiant6900]

@@bernadettelanders7306 Yep, he definitely has a way with words.

[@josefschiltz2192]

Joel. Try Endeavour when you have the opportunity. That's where the clip "Give my regards to Mrs. Thursday" comes from. it's an outstanding detective series. This is set in the 60s to early 70s and is a prequel to Inspector Morse that began in 1987 and had a long run on ITV television. Inspector Morse lasted almost as long as it's star, John Thaw, lived. Shaun Evans stars as the younger Morse in Endeavour and the series has only just ended it's final short season. His boss is Detective Inspector Fred Thursday played by Roger Allam. There are some very fine cast members over the years. Each episode was two hours on commercial television.

[@viewer47ful]

I am from UK living in USA. I have Brit Box streaming service great British shows, past and present

[@colingregory7464]

For years the point of the points on Qi was to make Allan Davies look stupid, they have let up on him a little recently

[@flintlock539]

Hi Joel , an interesting video. In Belgium we can watch British tv on cable tv (pierre)

[@angelavara4097]

I lived in America for a couple of years and I have to say the tv shows were just ok. One night a car advert came on and the bloke trying to sell said just call this number and ask for some bloke I can't remember the name but my husband at the time called the place and asked for the man and was told he is never here lol

[@johanassumner5468]

you would love the yes minister, yes prime minister series... the truth is shown so well

[@philiprowney]

Hey, go find "Fawlty Towers: Re-Opened" it's a doc by Steven Fry on the show's 40th anniversary.

[@vaudevillian7]

The writers are often in the shows too, especially with comedies. Most dramas have a similar number of writers too

[@ryanbadger4437]

Just as you said "happy valley", I was thinking of it at that moment too. One can see the storyline as potentially realistic. It isn't so outlandish or so far removed from reality and has one thinking about serious aspects of common life.

[@dianegraham7145]

But bloody miserable😏

[@ryanbadger4437]

Certainly...@@dianegraham7145

[@JamesLMason]

One of my favourite new comedies was The Outlaws, written by Stephen Merchant. I never thought I'd see Christopher Walken in something like that. Daisy May Cooper has done some great stuff too, lately.

[@jamesguitar7384]

My favourite is Peaky Blinders .

[@craigmcfly]

The reason I love The Good Place and Ted Lasso so much is because they knew the meaning of telling a story in a fixed amount of time rather than dragging it out for seasons. I like to think they got that from us.

[@ChrisJames1973]

Ted Lasso lost its way in the last series and it all became a bit silly in my opinion.

[@NurseTwoFeet]

It's precisely your reaction to Fawlty Towers that makes the fact that two series was the right amount. Your imagination, debate amongst fiends etc are what make it a sweet spot of episodes!!?

[@hamiltonb.8468]

It's interesting to note how many American TV shows now use British actors. I wonder why?

[@SpiritmanProductions]

One of the ironies lies with 'soap operas'. They are so called because, in the beginning, a soap manufacturer sponsored a US radio melodrama, but I guess the advertising and excessive sponsor control spoiled the format for US consumers to some extent. So the irony is that, despite the format being born in the US, it's the UK, with fewer restrictions, that has both the longest-running radio soap (The Archers, since 1950) and the longest-running TV soap (Coronation Street, since 1960).

[@chrisperyagh]

My cousins from Texas visited the UK back in 1994 when there were only four terrestrial channels here. They said even though we only have four channels, there's far more quality content on our four channels compared to the hundreds of cable channels they have. What got me when I lived in Canada and also visited the US is the frequency of advert breaks during shows. Normally in the UK we have the ad breaks halfway through a 30 minute programme or around three or four of them in an hour show (unless it's Channel 5), but in the US and Canada, there were the opening titles followed immediately by an ad break, then around ten minutes of the show and then another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, then another ten minutes and another ad break, ...

[@corringhamdepot4434]

British TV shows are usually written and produced by one or two people. So come to an end when they think they have done what they set out to do. Or they have run out of ideas. In the US they have teams of writers. Whose job is to just keep it going as long as possible, while the ratings are still good. They can do this because the amount of money a network TV show makes in the US is huge. While in the UK, a star of a successful TV Series will soon go off and do lots of other things as well. Instead of sticking with the one thing for financial reasons,

[@richjdnz]

Grew up in New Zealand in the 1980's. We had 2 TV channels. Tv1 and Tv2. Tv1 was "TV UK", aired mostly NZ and UK programming. I remember it having minimal ads at the end of each half hour. Tv2 was "TV USA", aired mostly US and a small smattering of 'international' programmes (I remember a fair bit of Canadian and Australian shows), with an advert break every 15 minutes. The comparison of the amount of advertising was quite stark, we noticed it and our parents would always complain if the show the family was going to watch that evening was on Tv2. New Zealand had to wait until 1989 before the third (and first fully commercialised, ad break every 8 minutes) channel arrived, partly owned by NBC. "Come home to the feeling, only on 3!" Google this jingle, its awesome!

[@jamesdignanmusic2765]

Yup - I definitely remember the difference between the two channels (even before TV2 became part of TVNZ and was still South Pacific Television). Greetings from Dunedin!

[@peterc.1618]

Crikey, I don't don't think any terrestrial channel has breaks every 8 minutes in the UK. C5 often has the first commercial break 8 minutes in and then either every 15 or 30 minutes.

[@Fineleg659]

Without doubt, the best drama on BBC in years is "Line of Duty"

[@Rionnagan]

Never watched it, but EVERYONE was talking about it wherever I went: work, supermarket, neighbours, social media. It was inescapable, and anyone spouting spoilers was immediately exiled.

[@jacobrogers7286]

It was crap

[@darren_anscombe]

@@jacobrogers7286 a lot of folk and pundits would disagree but like arsrholes and opinions, everyone has one.

[@Mr4dspecs]

As an Aussie, I have to say British telly is generally “da bomb”. However, there are wonderful American shows such as M*A*S*H, House, Veep, Big Bang Theory, and so many more. And all Aussies of my generation got our understanding of American culture from Happy Days and The Brady Bunch (do American children really invite their friends over for “milk & cookies”?) :-D

[@anny1_232]

They may have done back in the 50’s! Not so sure it would happen now!

[@Mr4dspecs]

@@anny1_232 70s, please - I’m not THAT old 😆

[@stewrmo]

Big Bang Theory? Christ, even Americans hate that crap, the ones I have spoken to about it anyway...

[@deballen7031]

I went off M*A*S*H a bit when they started throwing in the canned laughter. House and TBBT are great though and I enjoyed Chance, too.

[@gillcawthorn7572]

Third Rock from the Sun

[@JOHANNA-qd6iz]

I hated the TV in the States I would be watching something the ads would come on by the time the ads were over I would have forgotten what I was watching.

[@lillired857]

Fools and horses went on and never lost its great writing(god rest John Sullivan). I grew up on US tv as a 70s child, yes I do think ours is(slightly) better, but thats because its more relatable. Scrubs is my fave US long runner, and My Name is Earl, before the coma!..but theres also been Orange is the New Black, Breaking bad, Better call Saul , Brokklyn 99 and loads more..I just finished Manifest and loved it! I prefer our comedy, but you do surrealism, medical Drama, and cop shows brilliantly. We're adept at Crime Drama too though. I still have the box sets of Ali Mcbeal and Northern Exposure. So better is subjective.

[@hobi1kenobi112]

The Young Ones, Are You Being Served?, Chef, Only Fools, Desmond's and its spinoff Porkpie, Dempsey & Makepeace, Blackadder, Bottom, etc, all great British telly. As a Brit, my US favs growing up were Everybody Loves Raymond, Sister, Sister, Fresh Prince and The Littlest Hobo!

[@JJfromPhilly67]

Before even watching, let the shows speak for themselves. Doctor Who, Blake's 7, Poldark (both),Are You Being Served, Yes Minister, Yes Prime Minister, To the Manor Born, Keeping Up Appearances, Waiting for God, As Time Goes By, Fawlty Towers, Monty Python's Flying Circus, BENNY HILL, Inspector Morse, Lewis, Endeavor, Vera, Grantchester, MI5/Spooks, Poldark (both), Downton Abbey, basically every British show broadcast on PBS' Masterpiece Theatre, Masterpiece Mystery now Masterpiece.

[@Rionnagan]

Broadchurch, Shetland, The Good Life, All Creatures Great & Small, The Vicar of Dibley ...

[@peterc.1618]

Blake's 7 takes me back to my youth, 7pm every Monday. I don't know why Monty Python's Flying Circus isn't being repeated, I only caught it when it was repeated, perhaps for the first time. I'm sure many of today's youth would find it funny. To the Manor Born and the Good Life; Penelope Keith was unknown at the time of the Good Life (but only until the first episode aired). Are You Being Served is another good one, and Dick Emery is much underrated I think.

[@andydeakin7914]

The 2 writers of Fawlty Towers decided to leave it at its best, and thank god they did. That’s the problem with American comedies - sometimes good at the beginning and they get worse as time goes on into multiple seasons that go on way too long. Think Friends, think Modern Family. John Cleese thankfully wanted his 12 episodes to be remembered as a masterpiece, which it is.

[@liamblack2574]

So sad they are bringing fawlty towers back

[@bernadettelanders7306]

Aussie here, I watch more UK tv, then Aussie, but enjoy a few Aussies shows. Not too much American, I can watch repeats of Friends. Trying to think of what American shows I watch🤔. British comedy is definitely the best. I still watch UK Escape to the Country, Bargain Hunt and many more. Watching UK Fake or Fortune on KZbin lately, stacks of it, love it. The old American sitcoms from the 60s were good, no comedy from USA like that anymore.

[@jelly-baby]

I love Dr Blake , shame that didn't continue.

[@bernadettelanders7306]

@@jelly-baby what was that show, Dr Blake, doesn’t ring a bell 🤔lol

[@jelly-baby]

@bernadettelanders7306 Dr Blake Mysteries... "The series stars Craig McLachlan in the lead role of Dr. Lucien Blake, who returns home to Ballarat, northwest of Melbourne, in the late 1950s to take over his late father's general medical practice and role as police surgeon after an absence of 30 years." He usually ends up going rogue and solving the murders!😅 I think it ran for 5 or 6 series.

[@bernadettelanders7306]

@@jelly-baby Was I living under a rock 😂? I’ve never heard of it. I know of Craig Mc and Ballarat, but never heard of the show. Maybe I watched something on another channel lol.

[@atinukeladipo2164]

Joel I think you’d really enjoy Doc Martin, one of my fave ITV series

[@carlchapman4053]

I'm English but the American series that was short and left me wanting more was 'Police Squad' and I am grateful that they became a series of movies later on. I still love the six episodes that they made and I hope the executives that cancelled the show were fired and never worked again!

[@leehallam9365]

It was cancelled for being too funny. The high concentration of jokes required more concentration than they felt it fair to expect of their audience.

[@PedroConejo1939]

Police Squad was genius. I also got into Bakersfield PD - not as funny as Police Squad but was starting to go places. Then it ended.

[@amnril]

It was cancelled because many of the jokes were ‘sight gags’ which meant the audience had to actually watch it. Apparently, most American have the shows on whilst they’re doing something else thus would miss the jokes because they wouldn’t actually be paying attention. Police Squad became the Naked Gun films of course.

[@GemnEyes]

@@leehallam9365 for real? How ridiculous lol

[@peterc.1618]

As far as I recall Police Squad was on very late on C4 so I only saw a few episodes but it was funny, Airplane type of humour.

[@sueKay]

I really like a lot of American and Canadian TV, but I still prefer British TV. You should try and watch Red Dwarf, that's just about my favourite British TV show. I like Still Game as well, but I don't know how well the humour translates to non-Brits.

[@scarba]

My favourite British humour is dark…everything Julia Davis ever made. And League of gentlemen of course.

[@spiritusinfinitus]

Ahhh.. The Peter Serafinowicz Show was massively underrated. (The kitchen gun spoof part) There was so much crammed into that show it was unbelievable. Also from Peter, check out the Fantastic and absolutely mad "Look Around You" show that he wrote and stared with Robert Popper (writer of Friday Night Dinner)

[@andywalton1257]

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, a great program from my youth.

[@almostyummymummy]

It Ain't Half Hot, too.

[@reluctantheist5224]

A programme surely?

[@PedroConejo1939]

When I lived in the US - quite a few years ago now - I found US TV was inane, from news to comedy to drama to the endless shitty adverts. It was so bad I couldn't watch it. Nothing makes you appreciate British TV like American TV. There's good stuff in there but what a pile of crap you have to spoon through to find it.

[@bramhenry1163]

For anyone confused a Soap Opera is basically a British version of a Telenovela with more drama and questionably better actors

[@jacquelinebell6040]

I’m currently watching Merlin, just loved it when it came out in the beginning. Another that I’d just finished watching was Atlantis. Not really getting into anything decent this year so far on tv.

[@angelau1194]

Loved "Happy Valley!" Did you notice the sign changes each week outside "Fawlty Towers?" ie flowery twats,farty towels,fatty owls...YT will probably censor these. Another show I used to love with Andrew Lincoln was "Teachers." It was quite bizarre at times (where did the donkeys come from, where did the little people go? oh into garbage cans maybe...) but so watchable. It took me a while but I eventually go my daughter hooked. Worth a watch if you can find it.

[@chrisperyagh]

With UK comedy series, they usually know when to stop rather than dragging things out for decades like what happens with a lot of US shows. Three series is often enough - better left wanting more than suffering a prolonged agony.

[@lynnm6413]

Shetland, Endeavour and Happy Valley are the best copper shows…I prefer them to CSI, NCIS or Criminal Minds

[@blackknight1013]

I'm from the UK and I'd hate to say one is better or worse. I think the quality of our top actors is outstanding and I agree we know better when to kill a show off. That said there are plenty of US shows that would make my top ten. I will say that shows the US has copied of ours to me personally tend to be inferior.

[@Muckylittleme]

Both have made some excellent TV but I would say British TV is quality over content and has more quality per program than US TV.

[@nightowl5395]

'Fleabag' was just mentioned there by the narrator, and I am now wondering if Joel would enjoy seeing any clips or episodes from that series... 🤔 I can't tell if that would be considered representative of British humour or not...but it is very original - if not ground-breaking - and she is certainly a British talent 👍

[@Rionnagan]

Fleabag was marvellous.

[@geekexmachina]

John Cleese has said that 12 episodes was very deliberate for 2 reasons, firstly because there maybe extra mileage from ideas they would be repeating in some way other episodes and he was not wanting to do that, plus some of the ideas though funny he said it wasnt easy to create the circumstances to get the characters into the right state of mind to execute. The second reason is expectations, after the first season viewers were remembering only the best parts if season 1 ( back before it was possible to watch again because of before home recording) which meant people expected the second season to be at a minimum as good as the best bits ( this is common apparently with audiences at the time) so a third season would be stressful, he said this happened with Fierce creatures which followed on a fish called Wanda s success.

[@improvesheffield4824]

One of the best comedy shows ever is American, the Golden Girls, except it’s creator and main writer is British !😃

[@smudger671]

What about Frasier? One of the best written comedies.

[@margaretflounders8510]

I've been patiently waiting how long it would take for someone to bring up the BEST of American tv comedy.."Frasier" still going strong in UK...

[@judithrowe8065]

Yes. it was good, but was on too long. The ridiculous bits with Daphne's brothers, especially after she and Nils got together were awful. Such a brilliant original cast. It should have ended a couple of series earlier.

[@smudger671]

@@judithrowe8065 Unfortunately most comedies carry on past their sell by date. Are you being served and the dreadful last of the summer wine spring to mind. At least John Cleese didn't make the same mistake with Fawlty Towers.

[@callycatus]

Hi JP ..I think you have a lot of good American blockbuster type things like Breaking Bad and The Sopranos but for everyday drama I prefer the UK ones as they show people not being all glammed up all the time so they seem more realistic plus they show all ages and body types .. as for comedy I love The Big Bang and things like Frazier they were good from the past ..

[@Jinty92]

I grew up watching American shows, especially kids shows as we only had 1 hours of kids tv between 3-4pm which was British and 3-4 hours on a Saturday morning which had a lot of American kids shows like The littlest Hobo and Champion the wonder horse. There was also a lot of American cop shows like Chips, Starsky & Hutch, Carney & Lacey, Knight Rider. Nowadays I watched Friends, Lost, Roswell and more recently I loved Manifest and The Handmaid's Tale. I enjoy documentaries but tend to watch more UK ones as the US ones have a lot of needless voiceovers from participants to things that have obviously already been recorded and they are acting in suspense as to what will the outcome be. It seems to be to pad out the show as it would be very short if they just showed it as is. The British documentaries are more life like and actually show real life and interview the participants briefly but is not all fake like some weird click bait.

[@johnfisher9816]

Happy Valley for sure, Joel. It's absolutely in a league of its own. British TV is more cerebral than American. Both have their good points and bad. Slapstick is American, whereas subtle is British. Cheers, John in Canada

[@jelly-baby]

I avoided Happy Valley because I thought it was going to be like Heartbeat. Then I got covid and ended up binge watching the whole lot. It worked out so that I had to wait a week until the final episode was screened! Great show

[@enemde3025]

I have the DVD boxed set of Fawlty Towers. I never get bored of it. 12 episodes was just right. Any more and it would have spoiled it. I hope they DON'T remake it ! Remakes are NEVER any good ! Open All Hours being a prime example.

[@jettser17UK]

I can't get bored of Keeping Up Appearances or Father Ted.

[@thomasryder3564]

QI is the best! From the opening "gag" of the buzzers to the closing "gag' of the points and all the laughs in between! They outright say thing you would never hear on network TV stateside, much less the innuendo. Greetings from Maine. Peace.

[@Tidybitz]

I don't think all U.S programmes are bad, they've done some great stuff, but they tend to overdo it and drag them out with the length of each series and it just becomes tedious with more of the same. Some programmes I've seen have some 22 episodes per series, whereas British one's tend to be mainly 6 or 8 episodes per series. Some of my all time favourites are Spooks, and Silent Witness which are long running with many episodes, others are Happy Valley, Bodyguard, Line of Duty, Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes. These are all BBC, But ITV has had many also over the years, but with adverts. Interesting video, Joel.

[@PHDarren]

09:48 "A sequel series was announced in February 2023, featuring Cleese and his real-life daughter Camilla. The show is under development at Castle Rock Entertainment, with Matthew George, Rob Reiner, Michele Reiner and Derrick Rossi as executive producers. The premise sees Cleese as Basil trying to operate Fawlty Towers with help from his long-lost daughter (to be played by Camilla) and adjusting to the modern world." - we shall see if it works.

[@aaroncunningham3000]

That Kitchen Gun advert was from a the Peter Serafinowicz show, you should watch that, it’s one of the funniest sketch shows ever.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

9:06 That’s because you’re a connoisseur. The intuition is showing.

[@carolineskipper6976]

I love a good comedy panel show! Of course, the points are only a small part of these, and at the end of the show you might well miss who actually 'won' - but one of the reasons the points don't even make sense is that these shows are often recorded in real time over about 2 hours, and then cut down to a 30 minute 'best bits' for broadcast, so matching the scores to the broadcast cut would be impossible. I think the fact that we usually have single writers, or a pair of writers, for our shows, togther with the fact that a series is usually only 6-8 episodes keeps the tone and quality consistent. I often find with big successful US shows, I love watching them for maybe 2 series, then I lose interest, and never bother finishing. There is also the thing that successful US shows tend to keep on until cancelled, whereas a lot of British shows have a planned out story arc, which is then 'done' and no more are made. There are exceptions to this- like Midsomer Murders which has been going since 1997 - but they tend to only do about 6 episodes a year.

[@maxthecat14]

Happy Valley!! I loved that show. Every single minute of it.

[@malcolmkirkwood-vn9sg]

Dr who started in the 1960 and still going,I was a kid stood hiding at the back of the sofa/ couche when the Dale's 1st appeared

[@nirmalsuki]

I disagree on Fawlty towers needing more episodes. Every single minute of that show was pure comedy gold and they took months to write. It's all about quality. We still talk about it all these years later because of its amazing quality, not because of its 20-season run.

[@lizdavies3867]

You have to watch Gavin and Stacey. Was huge comedy over here. Americans bought series change format and was a huge flop in Americs. You will laugh your socks off. Bit rude in places but you and your mates will love it.

[@saneben9917]

Some good funny series that have exported well to the UK is Everybody Loves Raymond, The Middle, Malcolm in the Middle, and King of Queens in this order. Then there is Breaking Bad, The Wire, Mad Men etc. All brilliant. So even thought we Brits can do have classics like Fawlty Towers, George and Mildred, Rising Damp, Porridge, Some Mothers Do have Em, Father Ted, The Fast Show, Little Britain, Upstairs Downstairs, Downton Abbey, other historical dramas etc I think the Americans have also produced some good comedy TV shows, along with gritty dramas. I think with American TV it may be spoilt by too many channels, diluting the quality, along with too many ads and product placement!. Again, its comes down to corportaism that is also creeping in to British TV too!!! We are starting to see programmes about different shops which are sponsered by the said shop! Boring. So overall, I would say both countries produce good TV and diversity of good programs is what 8t is all about. What do you think JP?

[@pastortom7488]

I love British TV & could only watch it PBS & few could only be watched latenight on a certain channel when I was growing up because of their often "Adult Humor".then came Cable ,Dish & the Internet, so now I can watch BBC programs anytime & there are so many I like both old & new!

[@pauldear6660]

It's good that you've got the UK flag the correct way up. 👍

[@MJFANDOMEXPOSURE]

None one does it better than the Brits! #britannia

[@gtaylor331]

No, you are totally wrong about the length of shows. Fawlty Towers, one of the greatest shows ever was perfect at 2 series. It could have had another series, it would still have been funny, but the quality would have started to drop.

[@palantir135]

Dad’s army Keeping up appearances Allo Allo Are you being served Grace and favour

[@christinestromberg4057]

Oh Happy Valley, yes.Wow. A great series. Great acting. Gritty. Hard watching at tmes. But there are so many others. Broadchurch was another hard watch.

[@julianaylor4351]

There's a British version of Law and Order ... might be interesting to contrast them.

[@Steppest]

I believe Fawlty Towers ended coz Connie Booth and John Cleese were a couple who separated at the end of the second season and couldn’t work together

[@Lee_303]

Britain is a smaller country so our entertainment isn't spread out so thinly. That said, TV has passed its golden age (imo) & it's just getting so corporate now that they become ever more distant from what viewers actually want. Our golden years were from the 70's into the 90's, possibly early 2000's. It's very telling from the comments below with Only Fools & Horses, etc that the good stuff on tV is old repeats.

[@anette2538]

Keping up appearances 👍❤👋🇩🇰

[@fionagregory9376]

Keeping*

[@GeraldineMulligan]

Think you ought to watch HORRIBLE HISTORIES.Was a kids program stared in 2009 to get kids into history. Instead of the usual boring way, they made it fun. Won a few awards in UK.

[@deballen7031]

Hi. I think there's great offerings from both sides of the pond. Supernatural was excellent all the way through and that was a long series. The Boys is brilliant and I'm hoping there's going to be more of it alongside The Last Of Us and From. I'm also hoping there's more to come from The Rigg, too. I was gutted when Flash Forward was pulled as I was really getting into that. Got to love Star Trek and many of the spin-offs from it. As you've probably guessed, I'm a bit of a Sci-fi and Fantasy fan and when I was a lot younger the best the UK offered was Space 1999, Doctor Who, The Flip Side Of Dominic series (of which there were only two to my knowledge) and during the 70's and 80's they were few and far between so America was a winner with the likes of Star Trek and films galore. Comedy and drama wise, the UK's stuff is a bit more edgier and gritty where the American versions are a bit softer and more family friendly from what I've seen but that's just my humble opinion and to each his/her/them/they/it's own.😂

[@enkisdaughter4795]

It may be because you’re a lot younger than me, but you forgot Gerry Anderson’s UFO!

[@deballen7031]

@@enkisdaughter4795 Maybe so as the only time I've seen that is repeats and clips and it hadn't triggered any memories. 😊

[@margretalbrecht95]

Britisch TV is also better than german TV! For sure!

[@fionagregory9376]

British*

[@joesphbegley3088]

A camel is a horse designed by a committee !

[@TheCornishCockney]

Quantity? Or quality? We’ve been brought up on quality,we expect it. Some of the clips shown here were relatively minor shows. SO much left out. The hard edgy dramas,the unfiltered comedy,the sport,the music!! Yep,I’m in the right place.

[@HeatherMyfanwyTylerGreey]

I don't watch many American shows but those I have seen snippets of I have been put off by the obvious canned laughter on comedy programs that are obviously saying, 'Hey that was a joke right - that was a funny - it was funny, right , Laugh Here!', it doesn't give any credence to American intelligence if that fact has to be hammered home all the time by fake laughter. Nor does it allow people to be individuals if they have to be guided by a subliminal 'laugh', 'don't laugh' guide.

[@antheabrouwer3258]

I'm in Australia, but we love English TV!!! Way better. But we love Aussie TV too!!

[@williamwilkes9873]

Maybe English t.v., is more relatable....................big actors doing small parts,......etc.......

[@neilfleming2787]

WOW, did they really re-do Poldark, I sort of remember the original series

[@almostyummymummy]

I recall quite clearly as a Kiwi 'The Onedin Line' I loved that theme so much for so long... I would hum it to myself as I lay in bed that night afterwards.

[@brunswicklord6365]

Just to let you know I love Brit TV but I also love TV from the States. Both are different,, I don't think the Brits could have made Stranger Things which is fantastic but I also think the US would have failed miserably with a version of QI like they did with The In betweeners.

[@richardjones1167]

You have to look hard these days to find a good series, many are too dark or too much like previous ones on or too pc. The less channels we had the more effort was put in to them because the viewing figures were so high.

[@danmayberry1185]

Shakespearean theatre did give Brits a leg up. Wartime musicals put the US ahead, followed by dreadful British TV series through the mid-70s. Then, the UK took over again with mysteries and comedies.

[@judycochrane7546]

While I do prefer U.K. tv in general, there’s some great shows from the USA . If just watched The Bear, if you’ve not seen it yet I can’t recommend it highly enough. One of the best things I’ve seen this year, maybe even the best.

[@KevinPugh-hq8rc]

One show from America that went well when I was young, was M*A*S*H. However, in Britain, they took out the laughter track ... as we don't need to know when to laugh .... perhaps ;) Or more likely, we couldn't afford M*A*S*H with the laughter track.

[@jimmyhillschin9987]

British TV has nosedived in quality in the past few decades as the number of channels has proliferated and the culture of restraint has ebbed away to be replaced by 24/7 politics.

[@DC3Refom]

I also agree , the mainstream media is being Americanised ( ie what reporting actual news or the truth )one and the bbc is crap now and has gotten way too polictical and woke. reason I only watch gb news .

[@andrewbush3744]

I have some Cozens in Canada the commercials are on every 10 minutes car sales USA is the same they have told me

[@derek6579]

If he thinks British TV is good then the quality of US TV must be absolutely dire!

[@philiptodd6255]

I don’t watch tv now but back in the day America did produce some classic shows from the 1960s to the 80 s alongside our own U.K. product but now with so many channels chasing an ever dwindling audience it’s dumbed down quite a lot these days I watch channels like yours on U tube which are far more entertaining than the dross we have on tv