Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
nomenon, tourists are complaining about weekend noise and obnoxious (though generally
harmless) young drunks on the streets.
BRITISH TV
Although it has its share of lowbrow reality programming, much British television is still
so good—and so British—that it deserves a mention as a sightseeing treat. After a hard
day of castle climbing, watch the telly over tea in the living room of your village B&B.
For many years there were only five free channels, but now nearly every British
television can receive a couple dozen. BBC television is government-regulated and
commercial-free. Broadcasting of its eight channels (and of the five BBC radio stations)
is funded by a mandatory £ 145.50-per-year-per-household television and radio license
(hmmm, 60 cents per day to escape commercials and public-broadcasting pledge
drives...not bad). Channels 3, 4, and 5 are privately owned, are a little more lowbrow, and
have commercials—but those “adverts” are often clever and sophisticated, providing a fun
look at British life. About 60 percent of households pay for cable or satellite television.
Whereas California “accents” fill our airwaves 24 hours a day, homogenizing the way
our country speaks, Britain protects and promotes its regional accents by its choice of TV
and radio announcers. See if you can tell where each is from (or ask a local for help).
Commercial-free British TV, while looser than it used to be, is still careful about what
it airs and when. But after the 21:00 “watershed” hour, when children are expected to be
in bed, some nudity and profanity are allowed, and may cause you to spill your tea.
American programs (such as Game of Thrones, CSI, Friends, Frasier, How I Met
Your Mother, The Simpsons, Family Guy, and trash-talk shows) are very popular. But the
visiting viewer should be sure to tune the TV to more typically British shows, including a
dose of British situation- and political-comedy fun, and the top-notch BBC evening news.
British comedies have tickled the American funny bone for years, from sketch comedy
(Monty Python's Flying Circus) to sitcoms ( Are You Being Served?, Fawlty Towers, Ab-
solutely Fabulous, and The Office ). Quiz shows and reality shows are taken very seriously
here ( American Idol, America's Got Talent, Dancing with the Stars, Who Wants to Be
a Millionaire?, and The X Factor are all based on British shows). Jonathan Ross is the
David Letterman of Britain for sometimes edgy late-night talk. Other popular late-night
“chat show” hosts include Graham Norton and Alan Carr. For a tear-filled, slice-of-life
taste of British soaps dealing in all the controversial issues, see the popular and remark-
ably long-running Emmerdale, Coronation Street, or EastEnders. The costume drama
Downton Abbey, the long-running sci-fi serial Doctor Who, and the small-town dramedy
Doc Martin have all become hits on both sides of the Atlantic.
 
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