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The Wire is awesome, British TV less so
CookedHaggis:
Reading this blog over at the grauniad got me thinking about The Wire. Again. Currently I'm working my way through series three, where the dealers and police get cut with politicians. It's really, really good. American TV (in contrast, I think, to most other media) does seem to be going through something of a renaissance (The Sopranos, Deadwood, Weeds, Battlestar Galactica, House to name but a few) and The Wire is the pinnacle of this.
It's a shame the UK can't produce anything to touch it, but I suppose that lower budget and especially different broadcast practices (20 episode seasons really come in to their own when dealing with epic, complex, interweaving artistry) don't help. Still, for all the hype around the success of The Office (and Ricky Gervais in general) UK television has been (with the notable exception of the fantastic The Thick of It), at best, mediocre over the last year or so. Great shows like Shameless or even (deviating from fiction) Have I Got News For You seem to have lost their touch, much hyped dramas such as Jeykll are crap and seemingly the only contemporary shows to consistently pull in the plaudits has been Doctor Who (can be fun, but despite the praise seems very uneven) and Life on Mars (which I haven't seen). What happened to great UK comedy programmes or even things like the Beeb's adaptation of Pride & Prejudice? Are there any "must watch" UK TV show right now?
So, yeah, American TV is amazing right now, British TV isn't. What gives?
Inlander:
Hooray! I've been telling people here to watch the Wire for ages. They just don't listen. Just wait 'til you get to season 4 - holy shit! I've watched it once by downloading it (sorry David Simon, I know you hate that, but I'm not prepared to wait over a year for it to screen in Australia and I really truly am hanging out to buy it the instant it comes out on D.V.D.) and it's so powerful and moving that I haven't been able to steel myself to watch it a second time yet, even though it's so fucking good. What's your favourite season? Mine's season 2, though after I've watched 4 a few more times they'll probably be neck-and-neck.
Inlander:
Get the D.V.D.s. You won't regret it.
tomselleck69:
The Wire is indeed the greatest thing on television.
But as for British TV being lousy, I say unto you: what about Peep Show?
öde:
Life On Mars, from what I've seen of it, is pretty awesome.
And Never Mind The Buzzcocks, tomselleck69.
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