Next channel down the road of network decay: BBC America

elmwood · #1 5th June 2011, 04:27 PM

Star Trek: The Next Generation?
Battlestar Galactica?
The X-Files?
Movies like Alien 3?

Since when did BBC America become the Sci-Fi Channel with some Top Gear and Graham Norton thrown in for the non-geeks among us? Sure, Americans might not be interested in watching sheepdog trials and long cricket tests, but don't you have any more interesting shows that are, you know, from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, that you can air?

I'm looking at the schedule for BBC Canada, and guess what? No American shows, no American movies. Everything's British. Why not the same for the US?

Another channel with potential gone to shit. Fuck you, BBC America. Go bugger yourself up the bloody arse. Except for the times you air Top Gear and the news.

iampunha · #2 5th June 2011, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elmwood

Sure, Americans might not be interested in watching sheepdog trials and long cricket tests ...

Every American I'd watch TV with would watch cricket with me ...

(Seriously. Fun sport.)

u wan buy dvd? · #3 5th June 2011, 05:03 PM

Screw all American TV, if I could only see The Mighty Boosh. It was on Adult Swim for a while I think, and then I moved somewhere without Cartoon Network.

Wolf Larsen · #4 5th June 2011, 08:02 PM

You need to drink ounce of beer per point in cricket to keep it interesting.

hendo · #5 5th June 2011, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wolf Larsen

You need to drink ounce of beer per point in cricket to keep it interesting.

There are no "points" in cricket.

dbuzman · #6 5th June 2011, 10:06 PM

What's kind of funny is that all I watch on BBCA is Top Gear, Graham Norton, Dr Who and other british shows. So putting the american shows on just means I watch it less.

Jay Tea · #7 6th June 2011, 02:41 AM

Alien 3 was 'half' British (Pinewood Studios, most of the cast)

I suppose if BBC Canada airs UK programming the lack if it on BBCA reflects their lack of faith that anybody is going to tune in surely?

eleanorigby · #8 6th June 2011, 03:59 AM

So essentially I can stop feeling guilty for not signing up for it? I love British TV (what I see of it--for all I know the stuff that isn't exported is complete rubbish, as they say), and have always meant to add BBC-A to my cable.

Seems to be no reason to do so now.

Promethea · #9 6th June 2011, 04:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eleanorigby

So essentially I can stop feeling guilty for not signing up for it? I love British TV (what I see of it--for all I know the stuff that isn't exported is complete rubbish, as they say), and have always meant to add BBC-A to my cable.

Seems to be no reason to do so now.

An added downside to the British shows on BBCA - they chop bits out of the episodes in order to fit in more commericials. On shows that originallly had no commerical breaks because they aired on the BBC, this can lead to pretty big chunks of plot needing to be jettisoned. I remember idly flicking through the channels when visiting my parents and finding a couple of episodes of "Life on Mars", for instance. Good LUCK trying to make sense of that show with 10-15 minutes shaved out of an ep.

Jay Tea · #10 6th June 2011, 04:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Promethea

Quote:

Originally Posted by eleanorigby

So essentially I can stop feeling guilty for not signing up for it? I love British TV (what I see of it--for all I know the stuff that isn't exported is complete rubbish, as they say), and have always meant to add BBC-A to my cable.

Seems to be no reason to do so now.

An added downside to the British shows on BBCA - they chop bits out of the episodes in order to fit in more commericials. On shows that originallly had no commerical breaks because they aired on the BBC, this can lead to pretty big chunks of plot needing to be jettisoned. I remember idly flicking through the channels when visiting my parents and finding a couple of episodes of "Life on Mars", for instance. Good LUCK trying to make sense of that show with 10-15 minutes shaved out of an ep.

Indeed, makes you wonder why they even bother to be perfectly honest, you'd be better off buying the DVDs or streaming it. Is iPlayer available in any way to US folks?

Wolf Larsen · #11 6th June 2011, 04:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hendo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wolf Larsen

You need to drink ounce of beer per point in cricket to keep it interesting.

There are no "points" in cricket.

But there is one on the top of your head. Watching cricket, which I have done live, is like watching oil paint dry.

Lord Blackmore · #12 6th June 2011, 05:54 AM

BBC America has kinda sucked for a while now. I subscribed to a UK Proxy server so I can watch shows on BBC iPlayer instead of being at the mercy of whatever the BBC America programmers decide I want to see.

Lord Blackmore · #13 6th June 2011, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jay Tea

Is iPlayer available in any way to US folks?

Either find a free UK Proxy server or subscribe to one.

Taur · #14 6th June 2011, 06:16 AM

We have only first tier cable and we haven't looked into upgrading. We're fortunate that BC's Knowledge Network airs a bunch of British documentaries and dramas and since the KN operates like PBS, there is very little advertising. We're getting the full episodes, as far as I know.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wolf Larsen

Watching cricket, which I have done live, is like watching oil paint dry.

Cricket is not so much a sport as it is a lifestyle.

BJMoose · #15 6th June 2011, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hendo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wolf Larsen

You need to drink ounce of beer per point in cricket to keep it interesting.

There is no point in cricket.

FTFY

mswas · #16 7th June 2011, 05:19 AM

Yeah, I hate the trend of Niche channels becoming just general channels.

Of course the death of cable television is happening as we speak. Cable TV pretty much will not exist after 2020. HBO Go, is the end of Cable Television.

I can't wait to see it all end, I hate the concept of networks. It'll be great when producers of content can control the vectors of spreading their content themselves.

Where HBO goes, so will go the rest of Cable Television.

When my building finally gets FiOS and a couple more of the premium movie channels go to an online streaming model as HBO has done, I will cancel my cable subscription and have only an internet upstream, and spend the other hundred dollars directly on content.

An Gadaí · #17 16th June 2011, 10:15 PM

Don't worry the same thing is happening to Sky Atlantic, which is meant to be the British HBO channel. They're showing Star Trek: Voyager reruns and other bullshit to fill out their schedule. It was great to see Tremé but seriously it's a pointless channel other than the small handful of HBO first run stuff. And of course the hardscore fans have just downloaded it the minute it aired on US TV anyway.

Jay Tea · #18 17th June 2011, 01:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by An Gadaí

Don't worry the same thing is happening to Sky Atlantic, which is meant to be the British HBO channel. They're showing Star Trek: Voyager reruns and other bullshit to fill out their schedule. It was great to see Tremé but seriously it's a pointless channel other than the small handful of HBO first run stuff. And of course the hardscore fans have just downloaded it the minute it aired on US TV anyway.

It's just a gash channel showing old material with a few first to air shows like Game of Thrones, Bored to Death and Treme - i'm not aware of any cable channels that really break this mould, and most of them are much worse. I'm certainly not subscribing to it when they start charging, i'm happy enough buying or streaming TV series if I think they merit watching.