BellaOnline Forums TV and Movies British Television British television series have so few episode

British television show has about six, seven, or eight episodes per series, while US television shows have 22-24 episodes. I'm not saying that one is better than the other, but I just want to know why shows like "Coupling" have so few episodes per year.

I've been watching Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and it's hard to find a new episode anymore. They are all repeated often on BBC America. The American version did not have many shows either.
Does anyone know how many shows or seasons were done in Britain?

It does depend on the series and if it is BBC or one of the independant channels. Usually about 8 though.

Although this may be disloyal, this is precisely the reason that I love American shows - once I got into the Gilmore Girls, I knew I had at least another 21 episodes to go in the season, the equivalent of 3 series in Britain. With British comedy, there's never any guarantee that it will be re-commissioned after the first 6 eps, and although this did lead to infamous the Steve Coogan/Alan Partridge "Smell My Cheese" episode, it's still disappointing!

and in case you're not sure what i'm referring to - check out the link - alan partridge trying to convince the bbc to give him another series :-D

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I can see the pros and cons of both systems. With a show like Life on Mars, I enjoyed every single episode and was disappointed that I wouldn't get to spend more time with those characters. However, I have seen great American series overstay their welcome with the 22 episode commitment and the open-ended nature of shows here. The Hollywood mentality is to milk the show premise until it is dry instead of crafting a tight story.

For instance, I think that Lost would have been a better show if the writers were given an end date before they started. I think they are just throwing stuff out there because the show is popular. It feels like they are trying to stretch a 45-episode story into a never-ending mystery. Then one day the show will get axed and they won't have time to tie up the loose ends. It's that kind of scenario that attracts Americans to Brit series because it seems like almost every Brit show ends its season as though it weren't coming back. We're tired of the filler episodes and unresolved cliffhangers.

Those are really good points, I remember being extremely disappointed about Twin Peaks season 3 not happening because the second series ended with the forces of evil triumphing over good - not at all cool! I'll be scared of Kyle Maclachlan forever now.

The shorter format also gives the chance for commissioning editors to take a risk on a programme that they aren't sure would work long-term. I doubt that we would have programmes like Spaced or Red Dwarf if they had been required to flesh out a 22 episode story arc.

And we never have the nightmare situation of seasons being cancelled partway through like they did with Firefly (wail!).

Have you not seen Ashes to Ashes then?

Set in the 80's with the same charactors and actors. The first episode was so funny I nearly wet myself;)

i am just enjoy the series, it doesn't matter how may shows.

I've been saving up my Ashes to Ashes episodes and I started watching them this week. So far, I don't like it quite as much as Life on Mars. Sam Tyler had an ally that he confided in, but Alex Drake doesn't have a similar counterpart. I also seem to remember that Sam started to play along with the fantasy pretty quickly, while Alex has no fear of embarrassing herself by making outrageous statements about the future. I'm not ready to abandon it yet, though

I must say I found ashes to ashes a bit difficult to get into after the first ep, due to Alex shrieking "Aargh, i'm in the past!" every two minutes. must go back to this at some point. Does anyone else have a to-do list for telly?