Brit TV show recommendations

[DanaC]

Just started on Monday night, an 8 part crime drama: Broadchurch

The first part was excellent!

Stars David Tennant amongst others

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by DanaC

Just started on Monday night, an 8 part crime drama: Broadchurch

The first part was excellent!

Stars David Tennant amongst others

writhing in anticipation for part 3 tonight. It's funny, I'm starting to recognize a lot of Brit actors from Greenwing, Smack the Pony, and other shows. I keep seeing Olivia Coleman and I'm really impressed at her range.

I just power disked through House of Cards and noted the huge disparity between British story writing and US story writing. It would be a fascinating study to compare the cultural and economic forces that shape TV in each of our countries.

The feeling I get from American TV is the heavy reliance on the cliffhanger ending to entice the viewer to tune in next week. This goes on and on with no end ever in sight. It's why I won't bother tuning in the the next season of House of cards.

The feeling I get from British TV is that there is a story and it is divided into 5 parts. My desire to tune in next week is driven by good writing and story telling, not cliffhangers. Sure, in Broadchurch there's more to be learned but there seems to be a larger story arc at play and not just and endless series of rises and falls like a moebius roller coaster.

I suspect there may be a certain freedom that show writers have at the BBC that the writers in this country don't have, vis a vis corporate masters. I don't really understand the economics of British TV though.