British Expatriate Network

Just flicking through the TV channels and they're still showing the Lawrence Welk show.

It was a sick f***ing joke back in 1955.

I think they only get away with re-running shite like that in the U.S.

I like a good Christian main street virginal American polka myself. What's wrong with you? lol Seriously, I think it's a hoot. You have to admit it's sociologically interesting. I like all those old U.S variety shows. They had a Flip Wilson marathon on a station the other day. Fab!

And before we get on our cultural high horses, in Britain at the same time, we were showing The Black And White Minstrel Show and Sing Something Simple or dreadful hackneyed stereotypes like Dick Emery, so we can hardly talk.

The networks will run these old shows ..while folks watch them ... once the audience tapers of the show will go back to the archives to gather cobwebs again .

I can't believe it when I catch this show - and I agree with Indybrit - it had to be sad viewing back when it was first run.

Lee, I'm a bit worried about you - but then again I just admitted to watching too.............. o

I like it in a highly ironic, campish sort of way and in truth can only really bear to watch about twenty minutes at a time. (Although I really do love some of the other old U.S variety shows as snapshots of the time).

But if it gives pleasure to millions of retirees in the midwest and it reminds them of a simpler time that never was, what's the harm? It just doesn't offend me that much. Radio 2 was playing all this sort of crap until they went all hip in the '90s. And as I say at the same time Lawrence Welk was originally on the air, Britain was airing shows just as awful (Des O'Connor anyone?) or truly offensive.

God, we were such an uptight little country at the time we practically banned pop and rock music from the airwaves until 1967. North America never did that!

I was suggesting to GF last night that Comcast Digital needs another colour category for the menu where you choose what to watch (Green = Sports, Blue = News etc) - something like Yellow = For Idiots.

They could put The Bible Network, QVC, The Nashville Network etc. in there and help folks find them a bit quicker wink

Nice one. If they had a brit tv director they could have categories like: Crap, more crap, even crappier, really crap, most crappy, total crap, and sh!ite.

I have come to depressingly realize that I pay $45 per month to watch BBC America. How sad and economically stupid is that? There is not one channel that I regularly watch. I have tried watching CNN but the presentation is such completel crap that I can only stand it for a few minutes.

tv channels I watch on a regular basis

ESPN 1 & 2
Fox Sports Detroit and World
Discovery
Science Channel
Discovery Wings
History
History Intl.
OLN (Tour De France is on it)
NWI

and that's about it.

my choice is about the same but add.
HGTV
COURT TV
ANIMAL PLANET
NFL CHANNEL
FOX NEWS CNN NEWS
DIY
and all the premium movie channels
hbo
sundance
ifc ( love this one )
flix
cinemax
showtime

Watch BBC America about twice a month, History Channel about the same and occasionally the footie - say once a month. Everything else I watch is Netflix DVDs so the $45 is a complete waste of money really.

Resident 4 year old watches the kids' shows but that's on another TV that doesn't even have digital so really, I don't need it but for BBC America roll

Couldn't live without (in no particular order)

Boomerang - all day Looney Tunes without commercials.
BBC America - Little Britain, Monty Python and Brilliant!
Sundance, IFC, Encore Movies - gots to have them.
Fox Sports World for the rugger and footy.
Speedvision for F1 and rallying.
Comedy Central - South Park, Dave Chappelle, Insomniac.
Fox - for The Simpsons.
Discovery - MythBusters.

I also get the Music Choice package with like 90 channels of music and talk radio. I mainly listen to the New Wave / Punk and Reggae channels.

On the other hand, if you ask Mrs Rude, there'd be a lot more Nick at Nite, TV Land and HGTV added, along with Oxygen, Bravo and stuff like that roll

Oh - forgot Music Choice. We use that a lot instead of putting the radio on so not quite so bad as $45 down the drain. Still, expensive radio station.

But no commercials - win some, y'lose some...

We have different TV stations in Canada (although some the same too. We do not for instance have Fox News and so during a quick sojourn over the border, I was gripped by it in a slightly appalled way). My partner and I pay about $75 U.S for a bundle that includes high speed Internet access, a clutch of digital channels that we choose and a whole bunch of time-shifting and movie channels that appear to be thrown in. If I were living by myself I would never pay that sort of money (I was paying about 20 dollars a month before for basic cable) but between the two of us it seems quite reasonable. I don't watch a lot of TV, but the stations I like the most are

CBC Newsworld
TV Ontario (provincial public TV station. Like PBS a bit old-fashioned with its British fare like re-runs of 'Inspector Morse' and 'Heartbeat' but there's no ads and it often carries interesting docs.)
BBC Canada (which is going downhill with more and more repeats although it still seems marginally more cutting edge than BBC America).
BBC World (24 hour news from the Beeb).
PBS Buffalo.
Independent Film Channel (Canadian version).
The Documentary Channel (a joint venture between the CBC and the National Film Board).
CBC Television (not a patch on the Beeb and is completely disfigured by badly made promos and cheap commercials but excels at news/current affairs/documentaries and also carries Corrie).
Showcase (carries some interesting British stuff such as 'Queer As Folk' and 'Ali G' but also a lot of HBO stuff as we don't get HBO directly, such as 'Six Feet Under', 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' and 'The Sopranos')

And that's about it. I often glance at CNN to see what they're up to and quite regularly watch ABC Nightline, which I consider the best American perspective on the news.