Anyone else watching BBCA?

[kiva]

About a year and a half ago I got an upgrade on Dish Network so I could get BBC America, and they had some great programs--MI5, Wire in the Blood, the Sharpe movies--but not any more. For a short time they went to a sort of theme: Mystery Mondays, Wicked Wednesdays, etc., which was nice because you knew what sort of programming would be on each night.
Alas, that was then; now they have a few good programs (most of which are repeated ad nauseum) but a whole lot of garbage. The worst offender is Dancing With the Stars. That's right, that program run on ABC for free (last year? year before?) is now on a channel that I pay extra to watch. Anybody else getting ready to pull the BBCA plug?

[Raven]

1. Me too. I did the same upgrade and have been disappointed except

for my all time favorite program "How clean is your house." Now I know I'm a little twisted but I think that program is a hoot! Anyone who is worried about their housekeeping skills only has to watch this program to feel like Martha Stewart!

[Cleita]

3. I love that program and find the little cleaning tips very useful in

my life. The program is done with wonderful humor and who wouldn't want to welcome those two English daffers into your dirty house to clean it.

[Cleita]

2. No.

They still do an hour of international news everyday with stories that don't make it to our USA media. I like their Saturday programming with Dr. Who and Torchwood. Robin Hood is coming back soon. Also, I love Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares but maybe that's because I once owned a restaurant and love to see how the master chef, Gordon Ramsey, sets failing restaurants to right with a lot of humor in it.

On edit. I don't pay extra for it though as I get it through DirecTV as part of the package. Maybe I would think differently if I had to pay for it.

[enlightenment]

8. They do some good stuff - but

it's the constant repetition that grates. I love Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, also - but how many times do I need to see him save the same 6 restaurants? Dr. Who and Torchwood are great (Robin Hood doesn't impress me; I guess I'd prefer my heroes to look like they're grown and the constant pop-culture references don't work for me. Either play it camp or play it serious - trying to do both is annoying).

Still, it's the repetition. I realise that British programming does shorter runs and more one-offs compared to US programming - that means you need more "stuff" to fill in the gaps instead of repeating and repeating and repeating.

I do pay a premium for BBCA, because I have to upgrade my Dish package to have it included - so I am paying for it (along with another 20-odd channels I have never watched).

I agree about the Sharpe films. That was a super addition to their line up in 2006. The original shows weren't brand new (I'd seen many of them before on PBS years ago) and they did cut them up abominably to fit in commercials and comply with US censorship - but it led up to a brand new episode that September, which was great!

The point with the Sharpe's is that they were different from the regular stuff - they were great British costume drama, which is what I think of when I think of British programming (not unscripted reality shows) - and they were wonderful fun to watch.

I don't need for BBCA to dumb down the programming. One of the reasons I subscribed was because I was disgusted with the drivel that passes for American TV entertainment. Very few "smart" shows anymore - most apparently are catering to people with the IQs of grapes. Now, BBCA is doing the same thing; from those ridiculous "use your closed caption button to understand the accent" shorts, which manage to insult both Americans and Brits in 30 second shots; to crap like Dancing with the Stars, which is only on BBCA because they produce it for ABC and can replay the old seasons on the cheap.

I understand that there is going to be a new episode of Sharpe in the fall, but BBCA won't show it. I guess they need more time for repeats of Dancing with the Stars.

sigh.

[rurallib]

4. I too have been sorely disapointed by BBCA - try FreespeechTV

They and LinkTV and UCalTV all have some very interesting programming. (9415 FSTV, 9410 Linktv, 9412 UCTV)

[sybylla]

5. I'd keep it for Life on Mars alone

But that's me. They also have the best news around - though I usually skip the last half hour of it. I agree, they've screwed up their programming too much but I wouldn't give up on it just yet. I've had BBCA for 8 years and the quality has always had some fluctuations. They make frequent adjustments and it will likely be entirely different in a month or two - perhaps more to your liking.

[teenagebambam]

6. Worth it for the News, IMHO

[Warpy]

7. Not a chance, but they run the good stuff during the day

I absolutely adore Kim and Aggie, the "How Clean is your House?" cleaning mavens. I am a slob, but the rubbish tips they take on make me feel positively antiseptic. The shows are entertaining and give great tips on cleaning things like ground in grunge on linoleum and tile (holy shit! It worked!).

A few weeks ago, they ran a special called "A Real Doll," on the subculture of men who buy high end, realistic sex dolls. It was done in an entirely deadpan manner and had me laughing hysterically and left me grateful these guys are off the dating market.

I agree that their special programming nights exist more as a warning than an enticement, though. They're still worth keeping for Kim and Aggie, alone.

[m_welby]

9. I watch more on BBCA than on most networks

Let's see..

BBCA News
Dr. Who
Torchwood
Life on Mars
Jekyll (mini series)
Robin hood (occasionally)

..that's more than 5 hours a week of shows I watch regularly on BBC America. I can't think any other single station I watch that often.

CBS?... Maybe a CSI or a criminal minds. That's an hour or 2 a week
FOX?... House and the simpsons. That's only an hour and a half.
NBC?... I got nothing (unless you count olbermann on msnbc, I'll catch him one or twice a week)
ABC?... nothing


On a good week, I probably will spend more hours on Turner classic movies, but it really depends.

[kiva]

10. I do like a lot of their shows

which is why I got the channel. Love to watch How Clean is Your House (makes me feel much better about my house), and Ramsey is a hoot. My problem with BBCA is that after they've shown a season of a series, they just keep showing it instead of bringing over different programs. I know there are a lot of really good shows on BBC that I'd like to see, instead of reruns or retreads (DWTS). For all my grinching, I'll probably continue to keep the Dish upgrade, but would like a bit more variety.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

11. I dropped that level of cable about a year ago, and I haven't regretted it

When I first got digital cable (the level required for BBCA) in about 1999, it was great, lots of fine contemporary dramas and interesting reality shows and especially---mmmn, Mystery Monday, with fine shows like Waking the Dead, McCallum, Murder in Mind, Messiah, and Wire in the Blood. Other dramas, too, such as State of Play, Life on Mars, The State Within, Hex, Bodies, Bad Girls, and Viva Blackpool.

Then, all of a sudden, things began deteriorating. Reruns of Benny Hill (who wasn't that great when he was first shown on U.S. TV forty years ago)? DIY shows the whole live-long day? Dancing with the Stars, i.e. reruns of the U.S. version from two years ago?

I keep watching their schedule to see if they'll ever show anything I might like to watch, but no. Not only are the fine dramas nearly gone, but they have been replaced by shlock.

Judging from the discussion boards on BBCA's website, viewers are REALLY angry about Dancing with the Stars.

In the course of the discussions, it has come out that BBCA' current programmer is from the WB network and wants to attract a more WB-like audience.

Great, just what we need. Another dumb channel.

It's especially frustrating because if you look at the websites of BBC Canada and UKTV Australia, you'll see that they get a greater variety and quality of British program than BBCA offers.

[environmentalist]

12. Dr. Who, Torchwood

and have to admit a fondness for Cash in the Attic...

The other, better shows, have disappeared and that's worrisome, but do like the newest Dr. Who.

[semillama]

13. I watch it when we visit my in-laws and my mom

I really only watch it to catch Torchwood and Doctor Who, but if Coupling is on, my wife and I are glued to the TV. That's one of the funniest shows ever made.

[mwooldri]

14. Get ready for Newsnight...

Now this is something worth watching. If you've seen the clips in the trailers it shows that there will be a lot of promise. Paxman asking Ann Coulter "do you believe the world was made in six days?", asking John Bolton about the state of iraq and stating well you've made the place a haven for terrorists, haven't you? and asking Tony Blair if he and George W "prayed together". He was also famous for asking a single question 13 times to the then Home Secretary, who gave an evasive answer each time. Turned out Paxman was "buying time" but heck it worked :)

This will be must-watch TV if they don't butcher Newsnight.

Personally the cable companies should be carrying BBC World so we can have more "straight reporting" 24/7 instead of just the snippets during the week and nothing at weekends.

Mark.

[kiva]

15. Seen the clips too.

Have they run the one yet with Coulter? I'd really love to see her answer that question.