We weren't more then 10 minutes into a new-for-us tv series — one of the somewhat older US police shows that we had missed when it was current. I pressed pause, looked at Sue, and said, "You know what is wrong with this?"
Of course she knew. The young female cop in charge was about 30 and gorgeous. While it is pretty problematic that any cop would rise to the top at that age, it is even more unlikely that she would also be a knockout.
According to this article, Why Americans Love British TV, one thing that Americans love about British tv is that the characters looks like real people.
Vera is a senior police detective who looks like she has paid her dues. Her character is believable.
And doesn't Inspector Ellis also look like she could actually be an experienced detective?
It's true about the men too. Neither Lewis nor Hathaway were exactly heartthrobs, and they probably look better in the poster than they did in the show.
The actors mostly look like us, like real people playing pretty realistic roles. I am not even going to talk about plots and scripts except to say that the Brits don't usually treat the viewers like children but like adults with brains.
British seasons are short, much too short. We are left wanting more. American seasons are long. I often find myself thinking enough is enough.
Of course I am painting with too broad a broad brush, and there is decent American programming, but I think you know what I mean and likely concur to at least some degree.
With British mysteries it isn't all shoot outs and car chases. It is thoughtful mind provoking who dunnits.
ReplyDeleteOften they allow the viewer to see how victims deal with their losses and so many other aspects of the story.
I'd rather watch British TV anytime. I also like the Brokenwood Series which is quirky and serious at the same time.
Yup, gorgeous young female detectives aren't real life. I've met a few female detectives and they are not glamour queens at all. Meaning, they are regular people.
The Brits often have a foot chase. Mercifully, they tend to keep it short.
DeleteSeldom watch US police shows...but Bosch was good.
ReplyDeleteYes, Bosch was OK. There are a few.
DeleteI couldn't watch those Vera programs, where the actor mangled my accent, making it so comical and crude. I know several people where I'm from who had the same reaction. Likewise the series where the real thinking is done by southerners and the northerners are clumsy comic relief. Names redacted to protect the guilty such as Yorkshire vets and Oxford detectives...
ReplyDeleteNot that I have any strong feelings on this, and I expect most of it escapes people who don't know the social assumptions and are unfamiliar with regional accents.
Back to your scheduled program now.
Yeah, so many British accents. What is the one in which 'me' sounds more like 'may"? I think it's a northern one. Is it Scouse, whatever scouse is?
DeleteI don't know what accent that would be, maybe a southern one? Scouse means Liverpool.
DeleteI couldn't agree more. I was kind of thinking about that last night when I watched the first of season four of Chelsea Detective. In the character development, the inspector, now more-or-less single, is reconnecting in the relationship world and guess what -- the woman looks like "real people" and his age. And somehow, the characters are more interesting! I'm with you -- and it's about all I watch, except for news and the late night guys (and PBS!)
ReplyDeleteWatched it last night. I found it comfortably believable and acceptable.
DeleteI have watched so many British mystery series starting decades ago on PBS. I have been going through the Vera series of audio books lately. I watched a lot of the series until I gave up BritBox. Mark has been watching with me during lunch, our habit is to watch something on tv during lunch. He has been hooked watching Midsomer Murders. I watched this years ago and am enjoying seeing it again. I don't watch American cop series.
ReplyDeleteYou could probably renew BB for a month or two to catch up one the newer shows. We just watched Blue Lights, but I think it was on Acorn.
DeleteI agree with you. British dramas tend to be short and to the point, probably because of financial restraints.
ReplyDeleteI was most disappointed that Ellis was only 2 episodes although they spit each into two.
DeleteI saw some of those episodes. A lot gets solved in Vera's brain and I think its cute how they address people as "love" so often. The ocean scenes aren't Kansas! Linda
ReplyDeleteVera was always fun to watch. I read some of the books too, bit I read mor eof Cleeve's Shetland series, which is great tv.
DeleteWe watch all the British mystery shows too. Just finished the 2nd season of Patience on PBS.
ReplyDeleteSome day I should subscribe to PBS again.
DeleteOne of the reasons I don't watch a lot of television these days. When I was a kid, one of my favorite shows to watch when at someone else's home (since we didn't have a television in ours) was Quantum Leap. So when the remake came out, I was so excited to watch it and so terribly disappointed. The production staff had gone out of their way to make sure one of every ethnic/social group was in the cast so that it just didn't feel believable at all anymore. If felt like they had made it so diverse simply to get people to watch it and didn't worry any about the story line. I think I stopped after the second or third episode because I just couldn't get into it.
ReplyDeleteI don't know that show. We usually watch something at lunch and supper, which we eat in our living room chairs.
DeleteHah! May I ask what the name of the US show was? I agree with you about the difference in US and British shows.
ReplyDeletePipeTobacco
Chicago PD, I think.
DeleteI concur to all the degrees. Substance over style ftw.
ReplyDeleteI love Brit mysteries because they aren't as violent or over the top as many American ones. The car chases and gun battles get to me! I'm not an expert on the accents so I've loved mostly everything I've watched although I have to depend on PBS for my fix since I don't have Brit Box or Acorn. :(
ReplyDeleteAnd I don’t have pbs at the moment. 😞
DeleteI hear you. Also, Americans are such good shots that the villains all fall over after one vaguely aimed gun goes off.
ReplyDeleteJust saw a series exactly like that. Not kidding.
DeleteI am able to see my favourite British shows on PBS (I have the two channels, one in New York, the other in Vermont!)
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy my British shows and you've mentioned ones I enjoy very much.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting. Real looking people are definitely more relatable.
ReplyDeleteI much prefer British shows for all the reasons you listed and more. They simply seem much better done, better character development, better plot development, and without violence for the sake of violence.
ReplyDeleteHi Little Fly
DeleteGood to see you again.
So very true. Which is why we tend to watch only British shows, when we watch at all.
ReplyDeleteI think British dramas often prioritise authenticity and character depth over glamour, making the people and stories feel more believable, while many American network shows lean more heavily on aspirational casting and longer-running formulas.
ReplyDelete