Brit Fix

One of the many fantastic BBC shows.....

David Suchet as Agatha Christie's "Hercule Poirot." Possibly the finest character actor I have ever seen. Brilliant. And I absolutely use no exaggeration.
Mr Rumbold, the manager of Grace Brothers Dept. Store
Dr. Siegfried Farnum D.V.M, of course!

Okay. Here is why I am so cool: I wear a pocket watch. I have a collection of scully caps from England and Ireland. I don tweed jackets to school. I have a netflix queue which is largely comprised of shows from England.

Did I mention I am a 31 year old male who loves to ride a bicycle?

So....what is wrong with me? Why am I so different? Am I really THAT different....or do I just ADMIT what I think is great about television, instead of hiding behind a horde of people watching "Dancing with the Stars?" (no offense to those dancers....kind of).

Amanda and I love things usually only old people or museum curators would love--as I write this blog, Amanda is doing a jigsaw puzzle, for crying out loud. In the room we're in, there is an antique mahogany music cabinet behind Amanda. After I finish writing, and Amanda finishes separating the "edge" pieces of her puzzle, we'll go watch a black and white Sherlock Holmes mystery starring Basal Rathbone. Most people my age have never said the word "Basal."

I love it. We love Agatha Christie mysteries, All Creatures Great and Small, Fawlty Towers, Keeping up Appearances, Bangers on the Lorrie, Are You Being Served, Grace and Favour, and a million other BBC favorites. Dont get me wrong: We are fanatics of "The Office" (AMERICAN version), NCIS, "The Unit," "Arrested Development," and "Glee." But, sometimes, we just like our British fix. It really is just good quality television......plus, everyone drinks tea, beer, and whiskey all the time, and its fun to count how many they are downing throughout a 30 minute episode....

My buddies rip me to shreds on a daily basis over this. But I am 84% okay with this. Here's an email I got from a "mate" today:

"british shows in ja's queue:
Dingleberry Gardens
Bangers in the Lorry
Suppository Manor
Admiral Bixby's Bum"

British shows DO have a certain sound to them, dont they.....?

How do you classify British television? Well, if I were to teach a "film class" on the topic, here are some superlatives:
-Hardened, un-emotional people
-privileged individuals contrasted with NON privileged
-low-brow "potty" humor made funnier by the fact that the "upper crust" is making the joke
-a disciplined resolve to pause throughout the rigor of daily responsibility in order to drink tea
-dressed up individuals, even in their own home, at night, with all the shades shut, and the closest onlooker 56 miles away
-sexual innuendos aplenty
-small portions of food
-no dental hygiene is ever mentioned
-ascot ties and tweed hats
-a reverence for manners and morality--ironically enough, since there is so much crude humor
-whiskey, brandy, and gin in these beautiful crystal decanters
-the usage of the word "decanter"
-no one under the age of 67 tuning in to watch all these things.......