Good news: Spaced is out on DVD. The BBC show was a very intelligent comedy that served as a launching board for director Edgar Wright, plus Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, all of "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz."
Of course, lots of the show is already available on YouTube. I reckon the BBC have worked out how to deal with YouTube in a way that's good for both parties. Here's a little taste of episode 2 (picked only because it's funnier faster ... feel free to go back and start with episode 1 of series 1).
But getting started on YouTube is pretty dangerous if you're me. French and Saunders interviews; the Mighty Boosh; Dead Ringers. I'll go out on a limb. British comedy is just much funnier than anything produced here -- I can't imagine how good it would be if I actually understood all the references. My other favorite thing to explore on YouTube is the original Ali G show. Below, please find a travelogue Ali did of Wales ... which, as everyone knows, is "the fish with the biggest dick in the ocean." That Cohen is one funny bloke.
Showing posts with label French and Saunders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label French and Saunders. Show all posts
21 July 2008
07 July 2008
BBC 7 / BBC Heaven
It's annual report time for the Beeb, and just like every year, there's a kerfuffle over the licence fees. According to this report from American Public Media's Marketplace, the the networks take in $6 billion -- 6 thousand million. And the bulk of that money still comes from the license fee.
The license fee is a mandatory fee for anyone in the UK with a television set, and it's been going on for decades. Instead of fund drives, the authorities have developed all kinds of technologies for
detecting if a given household has a telly and they cross reference that to make sure they're not freeloaders.
It's amazing to me, in the age of Sky TV and cable and dishes and Internet that this is still going on. But they must be doing something right. Just off the top of my head, look at what they've produced over the last few decades -- and this isn't even mentioning the news:
Doctor Who
Monty Python
Upstairs Downstairs
Red Dwarf
As Time Goes By
French and Saunders
The Vicar of Dibley
Coupling
... I could keep going for pages ...
Yet, today, when I've been lucky enough to get to somewhere carrying BBC America (my local cable company doesn't carry it and I can't get the dish) it's all been reality shows and games shows -- not my cup of tea.
And don't they get money from BBC America and the exports of all the great shows over here (I'm including the documentaries that they co-produce with the Discovery Channel and PBS)? I guess not enough, not if they want to keep making the amazing documentaries and other expensive programming that rarely makes it across the pond.
The license fee is a mandatory fee for anyone in the UK with a television set, and it's been going on for decades. Instead of fund drives, the authorities have developed all kinds of technologies for
detecting if a given household has a telly and they cross reference that to make sure they're not freeloaders.
It's amazing to me, in the age of Sky TV and cable and dishes and Internet that this is still going on. But they must be doing something right. Just off the top of my head, look at what they've produced over the last few decades -- and this isn't even mentioning the news:
Doctor Who
Monty Python
Upstairs Downstairs
Red Dwarf
As Time Goes By
French and Saunders
The Vicar of Dibley
Coupling
... I could keep going for pages ...
Yet, today, when I've been lucky enough to get to somewhere carrying BBC America (my local cable company doesn't carry it and I can't get the dish) it's all been reality shows and games shows -- not my cup of tea.
And don't they get money from BBC America and the exports of all the great shows over here (I'm including the documentaries that they co-produce with the Discovery Channel and PBS)? I guess not enough, not if they want to keep making the amazing documentaries and other expensive programming that rarely makes it across the pond.
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