Calling All Anglophiles

[Hilary Briss]

Christmas came early the other day, in the form of a parcel from Amazon UK. The contents: the League of Gentlemen Christmas Special, Michael Palin's new Sahara travel show, Bhaji on the Beach, and a trio of Mike Leigh films. All British productions.

So, I wonder, as I sit here listening to my Blur CD, what makes this stuff so good? Do the British really make better music and movies, or is it just me, and my America hating ways? Does anyone else here favour British entertainment over American? Does anyone else crave an alternative to "Friends" and "The Bachelor"??? And why do I have six pairs of Doc Martens?

[Viola]

Re: Calling All Anglophiles

Originally posted by Hilary Briss
And why do I have six pairs of Doc Martens?

Different colors and styles?

I only have one, and they are feeling a little snug these days. I guess my feet really did grow during pregnancy.

[Hilary Briss]

Different colors and styles?

Yup. Two pairs of boots, one with steel toes and one without. Two pairs of shoes, again, with and without steel toes. Two pairs of sandals, none with steel toes, obviously. They were purchased in five different countries.

[DaryLLL]

What I like about Britain--

The Beatles

6 meals a day (breakfast, elevenses, lunch, tea, high tea, supper)

The Chieftains

Monty Python and Fawlty Towers

CS Lewis

Bowie

The Druids and the Celts

Harry Potter

The cult of Diana

Trainspotting

Angela Thirkell

Sex Pistols

Bubble and squeak

Toad in the hole

Spotted dog

(haven't eaten the last 2, but like their names)

[daylily]

British humor is different from American, more subtle and less slapstick, I think. I laugh my head off whenever I see that scene in As Time Goes By where Lionel and Jean are arguing about fish fingers. "Why are they called fish fingers? Fish don't have fingers." I'm a big fan of that show. I even want to get a DVD player so that I can get the 2 DVDs with the entire series on them.

And Last of the Summer Wine is probably incomprehensible to most Americans, but it's so funny. I'm not even sure why I like it. I guess I find humor in seeing a bunch of geriatrics behaving like they're a gang of teenagers.

Does anyone like The Vicar of Dibley? That's another one of my favorites.

And I love British movies too. At the video store, I always go straight to the British section.

And British literature. Is anyone here a Barbara Pym fan? She's one of my all-time favorite authors. And right now I'm reading through Anthony Trollope's Barchester novels, and it seems I'm the only person in America (other than my aunt) who has even heard of him, much less finds his books gently comic, slightly sexy and highly entertaining.

[ladylee]

re: British Lit--any David Lodge fans? Hilarious! If you haven't read him, you should!

edited to add link:

http://freelocalcalls.freeuk.com/castlegates/lodge.htm

[Moon]

Oh, me. I pay for satellite strictly for National Geographic (Maeve) and BBCAmerica (me).

Someday when I am old and rich, (It's going to happen, right?) my friend and I are going to be Patsy and Edina. (Only, without the coke.) Even in my fantasies, though, I don't get to be tall and blonde, my subconcious only takes me so far. :LOL

And Graeme Norton is my guilty secret. :

The character I really loved, though, was Diana in the sitcom about pensioners, what ~was~the name of that show?

I love the fact that my NPR station carries "My Word" and "My Music", too. Sunday is radio day in my house. "Prairie Home Companion", "My Word", "My Music", "SezWho?", and "The Car Guys".

[DaryLLL]

Yes, I've read David Lodge and Barbara Pym. In fact, I read so many English authors in my youth, I picked up quite a bit of---French.

My sister (a librarian) is a Trollope freak. She even has an online support group she goes to!

[Hilary Briss]

I grew up in the 70's and 80's with Monty Python, Ripping Yarns and Fawlty Towers. My sense of humor was almost exclusively shaped (some would say warped) by that style of dry, sarcastic humor. My friends and I would copy all of the funny Python voices, and act out the sketches at school the next day. I even named my son after Basil Fawlty.

We also get BBC America, and it is constantly infuriating me. All we get is endless loops of Changing Rooms and Ground Force, plus all of the Python episodes we've already seen twenty times. When I was in Riyadh I used to get BBC Prime, which broadcast heaps of great shows that never see the light of day here. Examples include "Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends", travel shows about Brits in Spain or the Carribbean, a show about the Battersea animal shelter. Really great, cracking stuff.

Thank god for my multi-system TV and DVD player, so I can order BBC stuff from the UK which isn't available here.

[PinkSunfish]

"What's all this shouting, we'll have no trouble here!"

Moon - you are thinking of "Waiting for God".

Hilary, a brilliant British alternative to Friends is "Coupling". It is similar in that it involves six friends (three male, three female) but it is much madder and funnier. I cry with laughter everytime I see it. You would probably enjoy The Office as well. It is a fly-on-the-wall parody, very very funny.

We have just had the third series of League of Gentlemen over here, it was excellent although my favourite characters, Edward and Tubbs are gone.

"It's a local shop for local people".

PS Dary LLL don't you mean Spotted Dick (it's a sponge pudding with raisins).

[DaryLLL]

Originally posted by PinkSunfish
PS Dary LLL don't you mean Spotted Dick (it's a sponge pudding with raisins). [/B]

Oh god, do I? That's even funnier!

Would you like to hear my theory about the dinosaurs? (that's A.N.N.E. Elk, not an elk)

Always look on the sunny side of life...

And now a massage from the Swedish Prime Minister...

[daylily]

"Spotted Dick!" LOL. That reminds me of the Adrian Mole Diaries by Sue Townsend. Has anyone read those? They're the diary of an adolescent working-class boy. Very very funny.

There's an on-line Trollope group? I'll have to check that out.

[Hilary Briss]

my favourite characters, Edward and Tubbs are gone

Yes, I saw a clip where they were flattened by an inter-city express train. What a pity. They were such local folks. I am conniving to have someone in the UK send me the third series on video, but I'll buy the DVD when it's available.

I haven't seen The Office, but I did enjoy The Boss, with Jim Broadbent. It was brilliant to give him his own series. They do show Coupling here... I'll try to give it a go.

I plan to see Mike Leigh's newest film in the near future, although I don't believe it is here yet.

[Irishmommy]

DaryLLL, since when were the Chieftans British????????

[emmaline]

I don't care for "Coupling" (unless it involves me of course) - what about "This Life"?? I loved that show

[juicylucy]

Yes, I loved This Life as well. It ended sadly a while back. I do miss British TV (I grew up in the UK)- I have BBC America but as Hilary Briss said, they just show endless episodes of Changing Rooms and Ground Force. However, there is a WONDERFUL new show coming to BBC America on Dec 10th called What Not To Wear. I wrn you, if you do not share the english sarcastic sense of humour, you may be shocked by this show. It is basically a couple of bitchy women who pick ladies off the street and give them makeovers. But they are so MEAN about them whilst doing it- ie "gosh, your arse looks HUGE in that", and "I can't believe you leave the house dressed like that". Oh, how I love that show.

[owensmom]

I too love BBCA, but now I've seen all the eps of Ground Force and Changing Rooms (thanks Tivo!!). They are soooooooooo much better then Trading Rooms and Surprise Gardener - big surprise the British original is better then the one the US stole from them...

I used to watch a show called Cold Feet that is British - I think it is being shown on Bravo right now. Sorta Friends-ish, even stars the girl that was Ross's british wife!

And I Louis Theroux's Weird Weekend! That is such a great great show, I'm hoping he does more or it comes back on or something! Was he on one of Michael Moore's tv shows as a reporter/correspondent too? TV Nation or something?

Have you seen Trigger Happy TV on comedy central? Sort of like Jackass but classier, funnier, more intelligent. Funny stuff! I love when the bunnies were humping in the theatre....

[Joi]

Moon....


My best friend and I want to be Patsy and Edina as well......

[heartmama]

Amywillow, after I had ds, my feet also outgrew my Doc Martens...

Favorite thing in Britian:

Double Clotted Cream, Double Clotted Cream, Double Clotted Cream....did I mention the Double Clotted Cream????

Heartmama

[Oceanone]

Hilary Bliss,

Now I am all excited. Are you telling me that the British DVD's from say amazon.uk work on US DVD players? We are getting a DVD player for christmas, and every time I look up DVD's they seem to have regions these days like "REgion 1 US and Canada". Does anyone know.

By the way I love all the British stuff, well not all, but it's easier to list what I don't like than what I do.