The New Summer Line-Up: British TV

Ah summer break, the time when we have lots of…time. OK I didn’t think that through, but most of do have some more leisure time now that summer has arrived. Sure there are jobs to be had and what not, but we have a break from classes and studying and the overall hustle and bustle of college life. What do I do with all this time then? You could do something productive like save the oceans or whatever, but that would just make you a show-off and nobody likes that. So then, join me in my watching of TV! Not physically join me…unless you want to, I guess I could hang out. But seriously though, watch TV. Specifically British TV because they have some AWESOME shows. I won’t list them, I’m sure you’ve heard of some big ones but there are tons of sit-coms and other such shows that are much better. These shows are surprisingly funny as well and some of the sit-coms relate really well to our 18-20something age range. For those in college and out of, these shows are a lot closer to our age and sensibilities than American shows.

From my experience and what I’ve gathered from friends, British TV treats the viewer as a viewer. By that I mean that they let the show progress and nothing feels forced or contrived for the sake of making sure everyone follows along. There’s also a bit less filler as most of the seasons in Britain are shorter than a typical American show. I’d use Sherlock as the example for a short series, but their episodes are also an hour and half a piece so that one kind of evens out. Sherlock, however, is a great show to portray the difference between our drama genres. (Sorry for the unintentional rhyme) Most of our state-side dramas are pretty formulaic, every iteration of CSI or NCIS (which are essentially the same show anyways) feature a nasty murder and throughout the hour the crime is solved through basic, boring ways. The motivation behind the killings always seem so base and ordinary. Also, the episodes rarely have a strong correlation between them save for the occasional TO BE CONTINUED. Sherlock on the other hand may have shows structured similarly it’s more like British TV starts with a skeleton and then builds the person, where American TV keeps the same guy and changes what hat he’s wearing.

Now this isn’t some Anti-American TV rant there are tons of stateside shows I love, like Fringe, House, etc., but if you’re bored with your television experience then perhaps try out something new, granted if you’re watching on Netflix the shows are actually older, but new to you. One of my favorites is The IT Crowd, which is a great and hysterical show complete with a laugh track and all. If you’re a fan of Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead) then you might want to try Spaced, which stars Pegg. I would recommend searching Netflix if you have it, Fawlty Towers starring John Cleese (Monty Python) is a solid classic and then there’s always Doctor Who which I’m sure you have at least one friend who adores it (I have several myself included). The Brits have a different sense of humor that does take some getting used to, but it never seems to go too far over your head. It may be a reference to something or someplace we don’t know simply because we aren’t around it, but the humor in general is very entertaining and understandable. So, if you’re bored this summer and have a good internet connection surf the wonders of Netflix and find some new shows, after you’re done watching Arrested Development of course.