British TV

[xris]

Being Human was okay.
Ideal was really good. Looking foward to new seasons of both. I hope to watch Dead Set soon.
Anything else that's newer I should know about?
Do you still need a licence for a TV?

[BIL]

You've got to have a TV license to watch any broadcast television programmes, as well as internet broadcasts (eg BBC / ITV World Cup games). A television itself doesn't need a license, eg for watching DVDs, gaming etc.

[xris]

It's basically an additional tax? Do you have to present a licence when you sign up for cable? I would imagine this has created a large DVD blackmarket. Do you have to declare how many tv's in use?

[neorichieb1971]

You only need a TV licence if you own a property that has a TV. If you rent ask your landlord.

TV licence is about £145 a year and covers up to 8 TV's I think. Nobody asks questions.

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/


Go there, register online. But only if your sure its your property. If you are renting ask your landlord first since he might have already paid for you.

If you don't pay a van will come round your house at a random time (probably around 19:30) and scan via some sort of dish to see if your receiving or decoding signals. If they find you guilty you will get fined approx 4x a yearly subscription + having to pay the TV licence on top of that.

You do not show the licence to anyone except the van man when busts your ass. In which case you won't have one to show him because you got busted.

Freeview which comes with almost all new TV's has 99 channels, its only worth getting cable if you want subsciption channels. If you get cable they just want your money. It is not there problem if you have a licence or not, same goes for Sky Satellite.

People in the UK don't buy DVD's anymore. Educated people rip stuff off the net and the fan boys like me buy blu rays.

Whatever you pay for cable or satellite will be in addition to the TV licence. But honestly, its better just to pay your TV licence and take advantage of 99 digital channels. Rent movies from lovefilm or buy blu rays from amazon.co.uk, play.com or hmv.co.uk.

Your question about the TV licence being a tax.

It is a tax, it pays for the BBC (British broadcasting corperation). It is under scrutiny right now because the way they spend those billions of £££££. Mostly because they invent positions that no other broadcaster has. Also, they have several radio stations which benefit from handouts from the TV side. Since its tax driven the other corperations cry foul as they rely on advertising in a slow economy. But BBC is quite incredible with some of the work they do, world leaders in wild life, science, news and sport coverage. All aired without commercial breaks.
Lots of Love,

Richie.

[Lordstar]

I thought the rule was ifr you own a TV you have to get a licence (one licence per household) As people use the internet to watch TV a lot now.

Its shit but we do get some quality programing.

I recomend Spaced its aged a bit now but it really is fantastic.
Also 4th season of the IT crowd has started up

[ROBOTRON]

Are you being served?
Keeping up appearances

2 old Brit shows that are 1000% funnier than anything comedy-wise on American TV.

[cools]

You only need a license if you watch or record live broadcast TV. You do NOT need a license just because you own one or many TVs.

You need to be covered by a valid TV Licence if you watch or record TV as it's being broadcast.

BBC iPlayer is currently exempt from this, apart from the "Live" section.

[RGC]

.

[BrianC]

I know this isn't what the topic is about, but I have been watching Dr. Who (classic and newer, too bad only a few of the Patrick Troughton ones survived. He's one of my favorite doctors so far), Fawlty Towers, some Sherlock Holmes, Black Adder, The IT Crowd (just started), The Office, and have Monty Python, Torchwood, and Red Dwarf in my Netflix streaming queue.

[oli_lar]

Glad you liked Ideal - excellent stuff there. No more series coming out though.

Check out Monkey Dust (especially funny if you were here during the Blair years - why does BBC 3 only put out dross now?), 15 Stories High, Mighty Boosh, Have I got News for You, etc for comedy, then Blue Planet, Planet Earth, Horizon and BBC 4 for usually great documentaries (been some great ones on science recently, can't remember the names though sadly). Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe/Newswipe are essential viewing imo, gives rare insight into TV. Sadly his recent output has gone downhill (along with his hair cut - I blameyou for that Connie Huq!)

Agree with what other people have said about BBC decline - sadly it is the fact that since Greg Dyke took over and started the drive for 'tax payer value' innovation went down and clone programs are just aired. Sad to think until recently UK led the world in quality TV, especially drama - stuff like the Wire & Deadwood put any recent UK drama to shame easily. Comedy is still king (IMO, but then again I don't really get the american sense of humour) but there seems to be less and less coming out, especially on C4 (though looking forward to IT crowd Series 4!). Quiz shows still remain a healthy export, but it is being done to death over here.

The Observer last weekend had a good comment on how TV execs chase exporting TV formats rather than content.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

Hey, checked some of the IT Crowd and thought it was funny. I'm an IT guy myself so I can relate sometimes .

[xris]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'm going to look into them. The nature programs were super popular here. Comedy is pretty well recieved also, with series being shown on a few different stations.

[neorichieb1971]

My favourites are -

Father ted
Red Dwarf
Only fools and horses

Probably not your cup of tea, but there is some good antique roadshow programs.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

In the USA, there's none of that TV licensing stuff & assorted fees to pay upfront.

However, there are talks about having to pay up front to view free off-the-air HD programming but I'd personally like to see it remain free just like how it was with the old analog TV signal airwaves. The conversion from analog to all-digital HD TV airwaves in the USA was a long and arduous process -- taking many years to finally adopt/implement.

Still no dedicated USA region Blu-ray recorders machines with built-in TV tuners to record the free off-the-air USA based HD programming on the market whatsoever. The emergence of the personal USA region DVR machines (using HDD as a storage medium) have encroached on the dedicated installed DVD recorder machines marketbase which has affected the upcoming dedicated USA region Blu-ray recorder machines to not have a TV tuner built-in which sucks big time. If you look at the Japanese and European dedicated Blu-ray recorder machines, they do have their respected TV tuners installed to record off-the-air TV programming without any fuss. In the USA, it's a different story altogether. Sony still hasn't sold any USA region dedicated Blu-Ray recorder machines whatsoever, yet they still continue to market their dedicated DVD recorder machines.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Skykid]

Lol, TV License.

You only pay a TV license for the BBC. All other channels are free because they feature advertising. The TV license is becoming increasingly hard for the BBC to maintain because of the wealth of new free channels brought about by digital TV.

You are expected to pay a license because you have the 'option' to view BBC broadcasts - that's it. Whereas in reality if you had the option not to watch BBC broadcasts the whole scheme would die instantly.

The scare tactic advertising for TV licensing doesn't appear to be associated with the BBC as they trick you into thinking that it's a requirement for owning and watching a TV and any channels, which isn't the case.

Basically, it's more bullshit British theft, only this time it's backed by the government because by charging £140 a year for every TV user in the country, it pays well into the pockets of all of the beneficiaries in parliament (it's still government tied I believe.)

[Slump]

Hey, checked some of the IT Crowd and thought it was funny. I'm an IT guy myself so I can relate sometimes .

I enjoy that show as well. Throw in The Mighty Boosh and Garth Marenghi's Darkplace and ya got yourself a hilarious evening.

**EDIT**
Oh yeah, and one of my favorite shows right now is Top Gear which while British may only be shown on BBCA. Not sure though.

[xris]

I can't lie, I've watched alot of Antique Roadshow. Plus stuff like, Red Dwarf (awesome), Ab Fab, Look Around You, How Clean Is Your House (yuck, never eat while watching this!) Kitchen Nightmares.

[oli_lar]

[Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

Watched the Apes of Wrath episode the other night - the chase scene always cracks me up

If you like that, Mighty Boosh and IT crowd, you may want to check out Snuffbox & Man to man with Dean Learner.

@Skykid
I agree that the license fee is somewhat flawed, but I'd hate to see what TV would be like without the BBC. You only have to watch Sky, ITV and even C4 to see what utter dross is pumped out 95% (100% with ITV) of the time due to commercial interests. Its a good thing to have a fundamentally different aspect to the industry.

[monkeyman]

**EDIT**
Oh yeah, and one of my favorite shows right now is Top Gear which while British may only be shown on BBCA. Not sure though.

That's one of the BBCs flagship programmes here in the UK. Glad the rest of the world is getting in on the Clarkson love too!

[Jon]

Kitchen Nightmares.

The British version of Kitchen Nightmares is 1000x better than the American one.

[monkeyman]

Kitchen Nightmares.

The British version of Kitchen Nightmares is 1000x better than the American one.

You mean because Ramsay is actually being himself as opposed to becoming a characature of himself and acting up to the cameras for the entire show?

I'm no fan of UK reality TV but when I see the disclaimers before the US shows that some scenes have been faked for 'dramatic purposes' it makes me wonder what the point is. We're not too far behind here in the UK either.

[neorichieb1971]

In the UK Top gear's latest season starts this Sunday at 20:00 on BBC2.

It airs on BBC America about 6 months later, but it seems to be that they don't show the series in the correct order apparently. Usually there is a torrent within 24 hours of the first UK showing anyway.

[Slump]

/quote]

Watched the Apes of Wrath episode the other night - the chase scene always cracks me up

If you like that, Mighty Boosh and IT crowd, you may want to check out Snuffbox & Man to man with Dean Learner.

Haha yeah that's a good episode. Thanks for the tip, I'll have to check out the other two you've mentioned. Never heard of them.

That's one of the BBCs flagship programmes here in the UK. Glad the rest of the world is getting in on the Clarkson love too!

Yeah I figured, I knew it was one of the more popular ones especially since it seems that have a crazy budget to do some of the stuff they do. And yeah lol, Clarkson great. Although I usually find James more amusing. His personality just cracks me up.

[thegreathopper]

People in the UK don't buy DVD's anymore. Educated people rip stuff off the net and the fan boys like me buy blu rays.
Richie.

Everybody i know buys Dvd's, Maybe it is a Bedford thing.

[Zeether]

Do they still show reruns of Knightmare on TV in the UK? I watched a few episodes and it's a pretty damn good show. "Oooh, nasty!"

[Khan]

are u talking about the kids show? that is yonks old! lol

[xris]

I guess I've watched British programing all my life. Danger Mouse as a child (wasn't Duckula also a Thames production?)
Doctor Who was good as a kid, it seemed mysterious. The new stuff has heart.

[Mero]

Do they still show reruns of Knightmare on TV in the UK?

Not to my knowledge, unfortunately.

(wasn't Duckula also a Thames production?)

Yes it was, and his voice was also done by David Jason (like Dangermouse)

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Ah yes, I used to watch Danger Mouse on the American based Nickelodeon cable channel back in the mid-1980s with the proper British accents and all. I never did see any Danger Mouse toys or related merchandise imported from the UK to the USA when it did air on the "Nick" channel though. It was an acquired taste to watch it as British animation fare really wasn't high up on American TV broadcasting lists...it was more of the Japanese anime series like Harmony Gold's Robotech, Voltron, Transzor-Z, etc.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[monkeyman]

Ah yes, I used to watch Danger Mouse on the American based Nickelodeon cable channel back in the mid-1980s with the proper British accents and all. I never did see any Danger Mouse toys or related merchandise imported from the UK to the USA when it did air on the "Nick" channel though. It was an acquired taste to watch it as British animation fare really wasn't high up on American TV broadcasting lists...it was more of the Japanese anime series like Harmony Gold's Robotech, Voltron, Transzor-Z, etc.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Yeah sadly Nickelodeon were desperate to Americanise the show to increase ratings in the US, hence the crow goes from having an italian accent to a new york one (I think that's one of the few things that was agreed to). The makers at Cosgrove Hall got fed up of Nickelodeon trying to change everything and just pulled the plug on the whole thing because they didn't want their baby to become just like all the other US cartoons.

That said, the humour is VERY English so I can see how it was seen as an acquired taste stateside.