The Sad State of British TV - An Updated View

I wrote about three years ago on the poor quality fare being served up on our TV screens here in the UK and I went on to praise the intelligent and entertaining programmes that were coming to our screens from the USA ('The Wire') and Scandinavia ('The Killing' and 'The Bridge').

Not a great deal has changed in those intervening years I'm afraid as far as UK TV is concerned. We still appear to be obsessed with reality programmes many of which deal with the lives of the super-rich or, at the other end of the social spectrum, those on benefits. Or soap operas which all appear to be bloody miserable, and now, to the myriad of cookery programmes we can also add baking. Yes, baking!

Good grief!

Thankfully we still get some great shows from the US and to those I listed last time, I can now add the wonderful 'Breaking Bad'. Possibly the best of all the great dramas to hit us from the states.

Of late, some relief has come in the form of some dramas from various parts of the world under the broad umbrella of 'Walter Presents'. Screened to us via Channel 4, the shows have included 'Deutchland 83', an espionage thriller set in the early 1980's at a time when East and West Germany were still divided and so called Cold War tensions were very high resulting in a strong belief that the nuclear button could be pressed at any time. Also I am currently engrossed in a French political drama that has been given the English title 'Spin'. We are now into Series 2 and it is coming across like a sexier version of 'House of Cards'. Well, it is French, so it would wouldn't it?

Getting in on the act of their Scandinavian neighbours and filling the same Saturday evening slot on BBC4 is the Icelandic crime drama 'Trapped'. It concerns a male torso pulled from the sea and believed to have come from a Danish ferry. The ship with its passengers and crew all have to be detained while an investigation is undertaken. The problem is that the investigating team are stranded in Reykjavik because of adverse weather, leaving the initial enquiries to be made by the overworked local cop. Having only seen the first two episodes I am totally gripped.

Of course it is not all bad in the UK. The BBC are always excellent at period dramas and they have excelled themselves with the twenty part 'Dickensian'. This is a kind of prequel to the great novels of Dickens, most notably 'A Christmas Carol', 'Oliver Twist' and 'Great Expectations'. The whole thing is centered around the murder of Jacob Marley and with just the right amount of tension and humour, and of course, the trademark BBC attention to detail - beautifully recreating the gas-lit, cobbled streets of Victorian London, it just had to be a winner. And it was, If that doesn't encourage more people to read the works of Dickens, then nothing will.

With the BBC adaptation of John le Carre's 'The Night Manager', the second series of 'Breaking Bad' spin-off, 'Better Call Saul' and of course the return after 13 years of 'The X-Files'. things are indeed looking up.

The trouble now is trying to find the time to watch them all.

The Sad State of British TV - Revisited

Back in May last year, I bemoaned the fact that British TV seemed to be in the doldrums with a repetitive stream of soap operas, cookery and makeover shows and a host of so-called reality programmes. Where, I wondered, were all the intelligent dramas?

The answer seemed to lie in Scandinavia as fortunately the BBC brought in programmes such as 'The Killing', 'The Bridge' and 'Borgen'.

The sad plight of UK TV was highlighted I believe on Saturday night when ITV screened a new show named Splash!  Although I managed to avoid seeing it, the show essentially revolved around Olympic diver Tom Daley teaching a bunch of so-called celebrities how to dive. It must have been bad as even the tabloid press described it as 'a new low for TV'. Strangely it still managed to attract 6.3 million viewers!

Thank goodness that on the same evening, BBC4 began screening the second series of the superb Danish political drama 'Borgen'. As I was out, I didn't manage to watch it then, but have recorded it to watch when the British TV screens are filled with the usual tosh. Thank goodness for the Scandinavians.

The Sad State of British TV

I don't know what it is about UK TV at the moment but we seem to be in a sad state. Unless you're a fan of soap operas, period dramas, so called reality TV, makeover programmes, cookery or antiques, there is little to entertain you regardless of how super-duper your state of the art HD plasma-screen box might be.

I mean, let's face it, Eastenders is bloody miserable, Corrie hasn't been the same since Stan Ogden snuffed it and how many TV chefs do we need for Pete's sake? Even the current series of The Apprentice seems disappointing somehow. I don't know if it is becoming repetitive or if the current contenders are a pale imitation of their predecessors (come back Stuart Baggs - all is forgiven). All in all, it's a sad state of affairs.

A few years ago I turned to the American HBO dramas such as 'The West Wing', 'The Sopranos' and in my opinion the best of all, 'The Wire'. Possibly the best drama ever to appear on the small screen. Now, I am turning my attention to Scandinavia.

I first became acquainted with Scandinavian crime drama when a work colleague (thanks Linda) recommended and then loaned me 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' by Stieg Larsson. I devoured that as well as the other books in the 'Millennium' trilogy but as we all know, Larsson died and therefore there is no more good Scandinavian drama. Or so I thought until I discovered the work of Norwegian writer, Jo Nesbo. I have spent the last few months working my way through his Harry Hole novels and I can wholeheartedly recommend them. The violence in some of the books may not be to everyone's taste but they are well written and cracking stories. If you are more familiar with the books of Ian Rankin, then I would cautiously suggest that Harry Hole is a Norwegian equivalent of John Rebus. A great detective but a rather flawed human being.

So what you might ask has this to do with TV?

Well, Scandinavian drama is now invading our TV screens courtesy of the BBC. 'Wallender' set the tone but was followed by the superb Danish drama 'The Killing'. Featuring the quirky female detective Sarah Lund, the first series rapidly became compulsive viewing. A second series followed and a third is on its way. Next to grace our screens was a Danish political drama 'Borgen'. All I can say is, more please!

The current offering, this time a joint Swedish/Danish production called 'The Bridge', is now nearing its climax on BBC4. Featuring Saga Noren a socially inept female detective, it is certainly giving the others a run for their money. What sets all of these series apart from the rather dull fare we are usually served, are the slow moving but compulsive story lines, intelligent scripts, atmospheric settings and brilliant, interesting characters. I strongly recommend that you catch these whenever you can. They offer a genuine alternative to falling asleep in front of 'The Voice'.

I even feel that I'm starting to understand bits of Danish. What I don't understand is why British writers and producers can't come up with something as good.