BbcAmerica-related stories
Posted Nov 8th 2009 10:30AM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Reality-Free, British TV
Think of the most popular American daytime soap. Then, multiply that by a factor of 10. That's the ongoing craze known as the BBC's immortal
EastEnders. Premiering in 1985, the working-class melodrama remains one of the U.K.'s highest-rated series.
Now,
EastEnders is set to kick off its own web spinoff series next year. According to a Beeb press release, the online BBC Vision Multiplatform commissioned
EastEnders: E20 to go live in January, 2010.
In addition to taking advantage of TV's online evolution, the web series will help to celebrated the
EastEnders 25th anniversary.
Now, the question is if anyone in Hollywood can catch on to moves like these and adapt more successful U.S. shows into big name web series. Shows like
24 tried brief web dalliances, but nothing this ambitious has yet to take flight from American networks.
Continue reading BBC's legendary EastEnders soap goes online
Posted Nov 1st 2009 1:01PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Doctor Who, Reality-Free
The next
Doctor Who special, The Waters of Mars, will be broadcast on BBC America on Saturday December 19th at 9 P.M. For those like myself whose cable company doesn't carry BBC America, we're S.O.L.
Of course, the BBC British broadcast date is November 15th. In that gap, I'm sure even the less technically adept fan in the United States can snag a copy of the show, and fans of the show tend to be more capable when it comes to technology. Not that I'm encouraging such behavior. I'm simply saying that a gap of a month is a LONG time in the digital world. The companies involved would have been better off with a gap of 24 hours. At that point, it's less likely that piracy will occur.
However, for those who are sticklers about this whole "copyright law" thing, you have your opportunity to see the program on December 19th. Hopefully you can wait that long.
(P.S. For those who need more David Tennant as the Doctor before his departure, he's currently appearing on the spin-off show
The Sarah Jane Adventures in the U.K.)
Posted Oct 14th 2009 3:29PM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Celebrities, Documentary
You wouldn't think a guy nicknamed Captain Slow by his co-hosts on
Top Gear would have a deep-seeded fascination with journeying to the Moon.
But super car presenter James May (right) has held a childhood dream to experience how it feels to fly to the edge of space in the upcoming BBC America special,
James May on the Moon.
According to a Beeb press release, the special follows May as he connects with the astronauts who ventured into space, as well as the engineers and mechanics who built the vehicles that took them there.
And, in keeping with that
Top Gear spirit, May takes a virtual test drive in those vintage space vehicles -- recreating the tests and journeys of the original space pioneers.
Continue reading Top Gear's James May takes his new special to the Moon
Posted Oct 9th 2009 4:20PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Music and Variety, Celebrities, Reality-Free
It's been a good week for Barbra Streisand. Her new CD,
Love Is the Answer, debuted at number one on the Billboard Top 200 chart, beating out Mariah Carey, Madonna and Paramore. Not bad for a lady who had her first chart-topper in 1964 with
People. Well, tonight on BBC America, you'll have a chance to hear Streisand talk about the CD and sing two songs from it as well.
Friday Night With Streisand & Ross airs on tonight at 9 p.m. on BBC America, a special edition of the UK talk show starring Jonathan Ross.
Continue reading Streisand Tonight: On Jonathan Ross's BBC America Show
Posted Sep 29th 2009 5:25PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Cancellations, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
When ITV canceled their hit series
Primeval, I was baffled. This was the top-rated show on BBC America, and it was a pretty solid hit worldwide as well. Apparently, I was right about that, though, as BBC Worldwide and German ProSeiben are part of a complex deal that enabled the show to go back into production.
If only there were an organizaton like that that could step in every time a network axes a sci-fi show on a massive cliffhanger, like
Primeval was. Even better, the renewal gives the series
two new seasons at 13 episodes each. We're going to have to wait until 2011 to find out how Connor and Abby get out of that tree, but that's better than never finding out.
Unlike the
Jericho renewal of a few years back, this deal doesn't include any reductions in budget of any kind, so not only will they be able to keep the entire cast intact, the effects budget remains untouched. I'm glad to hear that, as I don't think I was ready for men in rubber suits chasing the crew around.
Posted Aug 31st 2009 10:03AM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Programming, Animation, Doctor Who, Reality-Free
Before
Doctor Who fans say good bye to David Tennant in the BBC's final three specials of 2009, they'll get a little extra colorful bonus Tennant from the Beeb's Red Button service and the
Who website.
Doctor Who: "Dreamland" is the show's first venture into "3D" CG animation, and that makes for a stylistic representation of the Tennant's tall, skinny Time Lord. Writer Phil Ford (a veteran of both live action
Who and
Torchwood) takes the The Doctor to a diner in Roswell, New Mexico where all manner of alien shenanigans are going on.
American fans won't get to see the six-part series in its first run, as they're blocked out of video feeds on the BBC's websites. If only there were other websites that showed online video (illegally) posted by fans. Oh, well.
Continue reading Tennant's Doctor Who hangs on in Dreamland
Posted Aug 31st 2009 8:07AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
It's almost impossible to fathom a six-episode run being a full season of a series, but in the case of
Being Human, it is. Granted, it's a show that came from the UK, where shorter seasons are the norm. And yet, in only six episodes we got so much character and world development, it's amazing the installments didn't feel rushed.
In those episodes, we learned a little bit about the world of ghosts, explored werewolves and uncovered a lot about the secret society of vampires plotting a mass conversion of humanity into their undead world. We also had time to become intimately familiar with our three main characters.
Saturday night saw the season finale of
Being Human on BBC America. In it, we got the resolution to Mitchell's staking, Annie's decision about the door to the afterlife, and George's latest transformation, which saw him do something he'd so far managed to avoid.
Continue reading After a short run, Being Human ends its first season strong
Posted Aug 30th 2009 9:54AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
The plan from the beginning was that every two years the cast of
Skins would be completely overhauled (almost) to keep it fresh and young. As I started watching the second generation several weeks ago, I realized that most of these kids were so unlikable.
As it progressed, I remembered that I found the first cast almost as unlikable, and realized the pattern of
Skins. The first season of each generation shows us their weaknesses. They are children who've discovered sexuality, but have no comprehension of real world consequences. They don't think about their futures or much of anything beyond the next rush.
Then, in the second season we finally get to see them transitioning into young adulthood. I think it was the jarring slap back to to the uninhibited children that threw me. But still, I needed someone in that young cast to care about. Someone to root for.
Continue reading I've finally found someone to root for on the new Skins
Posted Aug 28th 2009 8:42AM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Reality-Free, British TV
The third and final (and darker) season of
Robin Hood is set to hit BBC America Saturday, Sept 12 at 9pm E.T./P.T.
The original BBC production kept the classic character in the correct period and location, but it "Buffy'd" the show up a little with younger actors and occasional soapy plot elements intermixed with the required (and satisfying) action.
Series regulars Jonas Armstrong, Richard Armitage and Keith Allen remain and are joined by Toby Stephens (
Die Another Day) and David Harewood.
The show gets a little darker in its final run. That's not surprising as Robin Hood legend's usually end with the hero sacrificing himself and picking his burial spot with a final random arrow shot.
Continue reading Robin Hood tucks back into BBC America with third season
Posted Aug 25th 2009 9:03AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
I was a huge fan of
Skins long before it came to the US. When you follow television like I do, you sometimes become aware of shows from other countries that the U.S. isn't keen to yet. Which is how I found
Skins when it was first making waves in the U.K. Immediately, I was drawn to it as something I'd never seen before in a teen show.
The show worked so well because of its authenticity, achieved by having a group of real teens write the stories. All the actors were little known real teens, as well. No young-looking 35-year-olds faking it here. To keep it fresh, they rotate out virtually the entire cast every two years.
Now co-creator
Bryan Elsley is looking to apply that same formula to an all new U.S.-based Skins, and after a tense bidding war, MTV has secured the rights. I am glad it's on cable, as the original has some racy content. I just hope MTV doesn't get tempted to turn it into
The Real World: Scripted. Even the fake kids of
Skins are more real than those bozos.
Continue reading Bryan Elsley is bringing the amazing Skins stateside
Posted Aug 21st 2009 3:02PM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Doctor Who, Reality-Free, British TV
With 2010 edging closer and the Russell T. Davies era of
Doctor Who coming to an end, the BBC is in the midst of revamping the show's website.
With 2009 offering only a few
Who specials and turning the series into a sporadic event until it returns full-time in 2010, the BBC has time to revamp the show's image and identity online.
The effectiveness of their efforts so far are debatable as they seem to be looking backward more than forward to the new Matt Smith/11th Doctor era.
For example, the re-engineered
Doctor Who website added a blog by Davies in which he discusses the new David Tennant-voiced, 10th Doctor CGI cartoon,
Dreamland.
Continue reading BBC almost revamps Doctor Who website for new era
Posted Aug 14th 2009 6:01PM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Reality-Free, British TV
The Thick of It is not only one of the funniest shows in the history of British TV, it's the smartest most insightful political comedy in the history of the medium anywhere on the planet.
The news earlier this year that it's coming back for a second season on BBC2 after its original six episode run (and a Christmas special) trumps any announcement American TV comedies can muster.
In this new
video -- shot while promoting
In the Loop (a movie based on
The Thick of It) -- series creator Armando Iannucci discussed the series' return to production.
Continue reading Armando Iannucci talks up new season of BBC's The Thick of It
Posted Aug 12th 2009 9:03AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Doctor Who, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
In a victory for nerdy Brit-philes everywhere, BBC America
has announced the acquisition of U.S. broadcast rights for the fifth season of
Doctor Who starring the 11th Doctor, Matt Smith. This is on the tail of announcing record ratings for the American broadcast of the
Doctor Who episode Planet of the Dead and the mini-series
Torchwood: Children of Earth.
This is all the more reason to curse my cable company for not actually carrying BBC America and having to resort to other means to watch one of my favorite programs of all time. You know when a network tells you to call your cable company to carry your favorite stations? I will personally testify in a court of law that it accomplishes jack squat.
There are no other television stations that could correctly carry
Doctor Who in the states. SyFy? Oh please. Their first run with the series was lukewarm at best. The Doctor is home, and I look forward to catching his new adventures however I can.
Posted Aug 11th 2009 3:02PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Industry, Programming, Interviews, Game Show, Reality-Free, British TV
John Hodgman's public lambasting of the BBC for not bringing
QI to America didn't explain the network's reason for their decision, other than Dumb Ol' America is so dumb (how dumb are we?) that when we go to a sperm bank, we ask the teller for a BLANK.
Thankfully, Hodgman isn't the only man coming to the U.S.A.'s defense. John Lloyd, the show's executive producer, feels the same way so much so that he was willing to interrupt his vacation in Turkey to chat with me about it.
"Garth Ancier (BBC America chief) is convinced that Americans 'won't get it'," Lloyd said in an email. "We disagree (of course!)."
Continue reading Executive producer John Lloyd explains BBC's import impasse of QI
Posted Aug 9th 2009 11:00AM by John Scott Lewinski
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Celebrities, British TV
Richard Hammond, the diminutive co-host of BBC's
Top Gear bottomed out this weekend when he banged up his retro super car in a traffic accident somewhere along the wrong-side roads of the U.K.
Hammond was driving his Morgan AeroMax -- a concept super car built to look like a 40's roadster. Except it packs a BMW V8 and tops out at 170 mph. That's a picture of one over there. It sells for north of $120,000 in the U.S.
Hammond -- who co-hosts the hit car show with Jeremy Clarkson and James May -- had a run in with a Nissan on a roundabout and suffered damage in the thousands of pennyfarthings range -- or whatever backward play money they use over there.
Continue reading Top Gear's Hammond wrecks his super car in U.K. accident
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