Watching The Telly

TV in the UK is different than the US.  The first thing we noticed was the language.  Shows regularly drop the f-bomb after 9pm and basic nudity is no longer a shock on evening shows.  Another interesting piece about television is that reruns are not a common thing for popular shows.  Once the season is over, you won't commonly see it back on the air until the next season premiers.  In the last two years, we've come to enjoy several shows.  I tried to embed videos from some of the shows, if they don't play in your country try searching YouTube for them.
  

Gogglebox - Easiest way to explain this show, it's a show where you watch families watch TV.  While that sounds like watching paint dry, it's highly entertaining.  Each week the same families sit in their own homes we watch them watch TV.  The entertainment is in their commentary.  The varied personalities of the regulars make the show: the traditional family of four, the family of three, the two flamboyant best friends, the salon owning partners, the old married couple, the odd stodgy country couple, the foreign couple with their son's ex girlfriend, and the always entertaining pretentious drinkers in the grand house.  I hear this show is coming (or already started & canceled) to the US, but it will not be anywhere as good as the original.  America will try too hard.  The Brits just say it like it is. 

Graham Norton - Graham's weekly show is the highlight of our week.  He's sassy and says whatever comes to mind.  The Taylor Swift & John Cleese clip is just one of many hilarious clips.  Look up the shows with Bill Murray or Lewis Hamilton for more hilarity.  

Great British Bakeoff - Truly must see British TV.  It seems as if the whole country tunes into the competition.  The creations made with flour, sugar, and eggs astound us each week.  Mary Berry & Paul Hollywood are culinary celebrities, and the hosts Sue & Mel bring the color commentary.  On a side note, Sue has done two phenomenal BBC documentaries (the Mekong River & India) and written an autobiography.     

Through the Keyhole -  I LOVE this show.  Keith Lemon is the alter ego of comedian Leigh Francis.  When in character he tours celebrity houses and the panel has to figure out who lives in the house.  I usually have no clue who the celebrities are, but I love how Keith tours the houses.

Downton Abbey - Must I explain?  I'm sure tears will be cried when the final episode airs.  No spoilers in the video below, it's just the preview for the final season.  

Documentaries, documentaries, documentaries - Britain wins the award for documentaries.  Pick any topic and there is a documentary about it, probably on right now.  The documentaries we gravitate toward relate to WWII, WWI, the Underground, the Royal Family (are you surprised?), and David Attenborough's splendid nature documentaries.  Fun fact, I think David Attenborough is my grandfather's celebrity doppelgänger.  

Those are just a few of the shows we try to watch during the week.  When none of those are on, we can always catch a rerun of Friends, Big Bang Theory, or How I Met Your Mother.