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BBC stands for British Broadcasting system. I realize a lot of the shows considered nerdy in the US are popular shows for the British. I just thought it was funny that things like Dr.Who makes you a dork in US but is normal tv in the UK.
I cannot speak enough of the BBC documentaries - they are in my opinion one of the best documentary producers in the world. It is probably the main reason why I got satellite tv so I can watch their shows in New Zealand. I seen a couple of the BBC shows that have been reproduced by the local American networks but it isn't as good as the original.
Another network is Deutsche Welle (German wave) they also make pretty good programmes too and there is a good range of them available in English. Another highly recommended network to check out.
And I realised... I'm probably showing my age :(
BBC provides a different point-of-view with little bias and obligation to agenda oriented points of view.
There's an endemic of BBC fandom-ism on the internet at the moment. From what I can see it's almost entirely fueled by Doctor Who and Sherlock. I guess it's part of the whole "nerd chic" thing. It's kind of annoying, because the BBC produces lots of stuff I don't like (soaps, generic reality shows) that is no different to any other channel here. Although I can echo dinz: it makes some bloody amazing documentaries which I make a point of watching. So it's not all bad, I suppose. It's our best TV, and I do love it.
I don't think Doctor Who is considered exactly normal here in the UK; it's a cult sci-fi show; but it is certainly more popular. I know plenty of people who think it's very nerdy (including people who watch it).
Actually most science fiction is considered nerdy too. I love science fiction though. That and horror films it kind of goes together. I never liked Dr.Who mainly because it just seemed to like start and they don't explain anything. So I watched it and had no idea what was going on.
I've never heard it referred to as nerdy..? All of the best British shows seem to be from bbc, here they are also played on pbs, which I guess is kind of a "nerdy" channel since its mostly educational programs... But there's nothing wrong with that... I guess the "typical American" considers smarter people to be nerdy... :/
BBC.
British
Broadcasting
Corportation
Not service! BBS? Nope
P.S Top Gear is the best BBC Series ever produced. LOVE that show.
It's British Broadcasting Corporation. It's a C not an S. : / And maybe in general British people don't care as much if they are or their tastes are viewed as nerdy or eccentric. Who really cares? It's about the art and the production etc. of a programme, not about the social stigma and/or the perceived status attached to it. Personally, I like watching what I like watching and if people want to form views on what kind of person that makes me and whether they're 'nerdy' or not, then they can go ahead and waste their time! I'd say about half of what I watch is on a BBC channel. Not that I watch that much TV. I prefer to read under an English apple tree with a jug of Pimms in the Summer and by a log fire in the Winter. lol... sorry, just adding a touch of British stereotypical behaviour in there. : )
I don't see what's wrong with being nerd especially with such an amazing show as Doctor Who.
I don't know about "nerdy," but recently, the seemingly never-ending TV show "Broadchurch" was just plain BORING! It went on and on and on, and it wasn't a "classy" murder like most of those on "Midsomer Murders." One of the main characters had such a thick Scottish accent, it was extremely difficult to understand what he was saying, the female lead constantly bitched and complained because the Scottish dude got the job to which she believed she was entitled, and the ending was a MAJOR letdown.
I made the mistake of ordering this "yawner" from Amazon.UK because I believed the twaddle I read on various British websites that it was one of the greatest shows of all time. It took me more than a week to finish watching it because I could not understand what the characters were saying and had to turn on the subtitles and even then, I had to re-watch scenes to figure out what was going on; and I feel asleep several times while watching it. And even after I had invested so much time (watching it) and money (purchasing it), the ending made absolutely no freaking sense!
Now, according to what I've read on British websites, this yawner extraordinaire is going to be turned into a series -- one without MURDERS! Many of the characters in this electronic sleeping pill are council trash (the British term for "low income and nothing about such people is "interesting" unless one or more of them is murdered. Removing the murders from "Broadchurch" makes about as much sense as giving a sleeping pill to a freaking corpse!
I totally agree with you about the pace of Broadchurch. Soooo slooow. It was made by ITV, which is another British channel and production company - not the BBC. The acting and the writing were both good, though. And David Tenant has quite a clean Scottish accent, surprised you had trouble with it.
It was very popular, but that's in the context of British television. I think people were excited by it because we seldom have long series with a broad narrative arc, a mystery to be solved, and one with good acting and a reasonable budget. We don't have the financial support to make epic and brilliant shows like The Wire, Breaking Bad or The Sopranos. So companies favour one-off dramas of between 1 and 3 episodes, unfortunately. That's what made it stand out.
Broadchurch certainly was NOT one of the greatest shows of all time. I never read that in any newspaper or website but hey. It was good TV. You can't compare it to rubbish like Midsomer Murders, the 'Murder She Wrote' of British telly. That show is awful.
Actually, I like Midsomer Murders -- not so much after Neil Dudgeon replaced John Nettles because I hate that goddamn dog Sykes and the fact they're now including token minorities!
I have all the Midsomer Murders episodes on DVD and some of them are excellent and we watch them over and over again. The difference between Midsomer Murders and Broadchurch is that the characters on Midsomer Murders are (were) of a higher social status than the council trash on Broadchurch. Additionally, the scenery in Midsomer Murders is beautiful.
Most people do think British shows are nerdy, except for Top Gear, which a lot of people watch, including me. Its the one show considered cool.
'BBC stands for British Broadcasting System' - how fucking stupid can you be?
I wish you were intelligent enough to bother arguing with. Instead I shall cheer you like a seal "arff arf arffff"
What Americans consider nerdy are usually the fanatics of certain shows, not really the shows themselves. Like Star Wars- great movies, geeky fanatics. It wouldn't be so frikkin popular if it in itself were considered geeky. Or here's something old school- The Crow. The fanatics were just.. ugh... but the movie was great.
I think it's understandable. Most of the BBC shows you get abroad are quite highbrow - documentaries and verbose dramas - especially the costume ones. And of course cult favourites like Dr Who and Sherlock - both unexpected successes abroad, both quite clever and creative.
You don't tend to see our worst television. I mean, lest we not forget the BBC also produce Eastenders:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgUf9hlTnnU
So most people abroad (especially the US) have a fairly filtered view of British TV and specifically the BBC productions. Which, in a way, is quite good!
Unfortunately for us in the UK, we get an equal amount of the worst of US TV and the best. Wish we could just have the latter.
Also, there's a lot of diversity on the BBC, which is good. Dramas, documentaries, period dramas, wildlife programmes (David Attenborough!) Loads of stuff. Oh and the news, which is just depressing most of the time. And there's BBC 1, 2, 3 and 4. All seem to have different target audiences but a lot of people watch a bit of all of them. Mad Men used to be on BBC Four here until Sky bought it! Grr.