BBC

So, I've been having the worst time finding something to watch on television OR the movies that is created in Hollywood.

I mean, really.

The ONLY thing in the past 8 months that has been worth seeing is Saving Mr. Banks.  American movies can be placed in the following categories, each with a prefab, formulated plot:

1. Sappy Romance
2. Star Crossed Romance
3. "Edgy" Independent (which generally is code for celebrating sex, drugs, and poor life choices)
4. Frat/Slapstick Comedy
5. War and Fighting
6. (And let's not forget) "Science Fiction" which is really now synonymous with disaster and horror.

Occasionally, you'll see a foreign film picked up by the major theaters and shown, but then it's usually some art film that is so esoteric that it's difficult to find the plot line.

There's pretty much nothing else out there.

And what's worse:  all of the Hollywood stars seem to be scuzzing down a bit.  There's no style.  There's no panache.  There's only 3-day old beards and crass behavior.

The best that TV has to offer fits into similar categories...though the Romance is combined into what we call "drama", with plots featuring convoluted family relationships, lots of quick facial close-ups, and thematic music (duh, duh, duh... Don't believe me?  Try READING the summaries of some of the episodes of Once Upon a Time- which WAS a good TV show until it went past one season).

In fact, I've started watching more BBC programs that anything else, which I find ironic because the Brits are known for REALLY bad TV and horribly understated acting.  (Ever seen/heard Eddie Izzard's skit on British Films?  He likens the climax to arranging matches).

Anyhoo, I don't know what has gone right suddenly with the BBC, but they have some kick-ass programming now:

1. Timmy Time (gotta love Aardman animation)
2. Downton Abbey (if you haven't seen it, I don't know where you've been.  Target even has a spoof book called Mouseton Abbey)
3. Call the Midwife (excellent, though scary look into 1950s childbirth in London ghetto)
4. Foyle's War (the Murder, She Wrote of the BBC)
5. Top Gear (setting aside my disgust of their destruction of the Serengeti, it's generally a good program)

Well, now they have ANOTHER intriguing series coming out:  Fleming.  

► Fleming   Official Trailer

It's about Ian Fleming (that would be the man who wrote and created James Bond)

Way to go BBC!  

Hollywood:  WTF!  We don't all like comedies of people getting drunk or condoms left on the front lawn or war gore.  How about a quality show?  How about some of what made Hollywood so great back in the day