BellaOnline Forums TV and Movies British Television Article ideas anyone ?

Hi everyone,

Hoping to come up with some fresh ideas each week, in between updating existing features.

I'd love to have your input on possible feature ideas, shows and stars you'd like to see covered etc.

Any ideas ?

Cheers.

Pam,

Well, the thread where you had us all say what shows were our faves is a good place to start. A feature article per show would give you a lot of content. I wouldn't suggest just doing one per week, but one per month would be a great series over time, sort of how I do that with movies and tattoos over on body art. That's one of my biggest draws.

The next place to get article ideas I find is the good ol' email in-box. The most asked question is usually a great candidate for an article.

After that, what do you really want to share or tell that you love that no one else is talking about? That can often spur further ideas from responses or feedback.

Personally, a lot of Americans I know are baffled by British telly's idea of a season versus the 22 weekly shows they are used to the in States. I remember one of the most startling things I learned about British tv was how you pay a license to receive tv broadcasts and how guys in vans really do drive around and look for people receiving tv illegally.

Hi Rae,

Great ideas !

It is true about the British idea of a telly season being very different- and the good old detector van is not a myth. I remember holding my breath as a student if we saw the van go by, and making sure the box was off ! (naughty us)

I'd just love to have more feedback- and get some more action going here on the forum.

Thanks, you've been really helpful.

Pam,

About four years ago, you'd find me in the body art forums going "hellooooooooooooooo? anyone there?" so I know how it feels to get a topic going.

Or as we say as editors, "if you keep talking to yourself in your forum, they WILL come...."

Hi Pam! I'm a huge Brit television fan (Brit anything, actually). British mysteries have a fairly strong following in America - that might be something to cover. British soaps are also quite fun. Maybe a piece on the longevity of shows like EastEnders and Corrie? I was just thinking today that EE will probably still be on in twenty years!

Another possibility is a feature on British programs and their American remakes - the recent (and now cancelled) Teachers, for example, or The Office or What Not To Wear. Apparently Fox has ordered six episodes of an Americanized version of EastEnders! I'm not sure how well that's going to go over if in fact it makes it on air.

I also credit the American fascination with DIY and other similar programming to the Brits - Changing Rooms bred Trading Spaces, for example. Even American Idol was an import!

Hi Poppyprincess, and welcome to the forum !

I'm a huge Brit mystery fan too...in fact, look for an article by next week on one that has become very popular..

Eastenders is now 20, if you can believe it, and Corrie is 46. I remember very clearly sitting down to watch the very first episode of Eastenders as a teen. We thought it was pretty radical back then- some of the storylines were pretty wild. (Dirty Den, anyone ?)How could they Americanize that show ??? Now that defies belief.

Also, I have watched both the American and Brit versions of most of the DIY shows, and I have to say that the Brit versions win every time. I loved Life Laundry complete with the Crusher. It always made me feel better about my own mess.

Whether it's something to do with the personalities involved, I don't know. I cringed at the US What Not To Wear...urgh. And how could anyone possibly hope to replace the oh -so- sexy -luxurious locks and ever dangling cuffs of Lawrence on Changing Rooms ?

Great ideas, all. Great to meet you !

Cheers,

I agree completely about the Brit originals versus their not-nearly-as-good American counterparts. Even The Office, which is a big hit here and even boasts Ricky Gervais as a producer or something, doesn't appeal to me in the same way the original did. (Did you ever watch Extras? I thought it was hilarious!)

I wish I had seen the first episode of EE back then! I've seen it since but obviously it's not the same when you watch it about 18 years after it first aired <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I'm not sure how they plan to Americanize it, but I can say with almost complete certainty that it won't be a hit! I believe they're planning to make the American version of Walford a small suburb of working class Chicago. I'll believe it when I see it!

Nobody compares to Lawrence - unfortunately there are no decent counterparts to the Brit personalities! There isn't even a decent Handy Andy, haha!

Handy Andy- God Bless...I even like the wacky women designers (even though some of their designs are a bit, ummm..well...odd ??!!)

I've seen a bit of EE recently, but I haven't watched in so long it'll take me a while to catch up. Can't believe Dot Cotton and Pat Beale are still on (been on since the beginning) They don't look much different !

Cheers