Yes, he’s very attractive.
I do not like “dark” stuff. I’m in the theater in NYC and am always fighting against the dark to bring light and beauty back to the stage. I avoid disgusting films = American, British and German. I watch Kurasawa movies at night with my husband who is a film teacher. Kurasawa brought great light to the world. The rest of the time I watch either cooking shows or American television classic tv. You’d probably distain Bilko. I’m a member of the British Bilko Society run by a good friend of mine out of Coventry.
That said, America has plenty of gritty dramas - The Sopranos, of course, being a main example. Followed by The Wire, Oz and numerous other shows that freepers here could tell you about. (I generally am behind the curve on the new ones.) Watch HBO not BBC America. I only found Grantchester from stumbling across it on PBS.
Benny Hill was funny. Monty Python was funny and so was Faulty Towers. Stereotypes are the basis of good comedy. I don’t know any American who think the average Englishman is anything like a Benny Hill character.
1—Depends on what you considering disgusting I suppose. For me, its gross toilet humour and ‘torture porn’ horror films like Hostel.
2-I consider Kurosawa to be the greatest director of all. I recently watched Yojimbo on the big screen at a Glasgow arts cinema: the GFT.
3—I love Bilko. Its been said that Bilko is more acclaimed still in the UK and loved by Brits more than its own country. Its recently reappeared on British Forces TV, god no, millions of Brits grew up with it, and we love it. 60 years old and still genius.
4—Yes, America does and has changed the TV map in the last 20 years or so. Both for itself and how its raised the game for TV worldwide. As you know, the UK gets every big new drama and sitcom from the US, across a range of channels. The majority are hits, a few flop. Occassionally, a big one you’d think would be a hit will flop (House, Letterman, Seinfeld) and others come out of nowhere to be cult hits or massively popular.
5—You should watch BBC America, its shows the best of current and recent British TV, not just BBC, but ITV, CH4, CH5. There are some terrific shows on British TV at the moment, from swashbucklers like The Musketeers to darker dramas like The Missing.
6—I loved Benny Hill (his earlier, cleverer stuff). I know people dont think every Brit is Mr Bean, what I meant was that a certain slightly stereotypical show might give the idea that its the epitome of UK comedy.
In the US, Are You Being Served and Keeping Up Appearances are hugely popular. As is Benny Hill. Now, I loved the former. BUT whilst its rated by the UK public as a classic and top 20, its not top 10 let alone top. And Benny Hill whilst loved was never and isn’t the favourite comedian of the British public.
I find Freepers and RightNationers I chat with on UK films, TV and comedy are usually surprised that AYBS or Benny aren’t considered no 1 in their own country. And that those who ARE considered the best of British usually didn’t make it big in the US.
Britain’s favourite classic comedians are Eric Morecambe, Ernie Wise, Norman Wisdom, Ronnie Barker, Frankie Howerd and Tony Hancock.
Our greatest classic sitcoms are Porridge, Rising Damp, Dad’s Army, Blackadder, Only Fools and Horses, Open All Hours and Fawlty. Only two of which have any meaning to US audiences. Not to mention Morecambe and Wise or The Two Ronnies, both of which had 15-20m (and more) viewers at their peak.