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The IT Crowd US Pilot (2007) [video]

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Re: The IT Crowd US Pilot (2007) [video]

#161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not at all. There's a cadre of people who enjoy British television programming in America, but they don't count. I'd estimate that the number of people that have watched for example the UK office is maybe 1% or less than the people that watched the US office in the US.

You wouldn't have look very hard to find an American who has seen Downton Abbey, Doctor Who, or Bake Off. The biggest problem keeping Americans from watching UK TV is access, not some inherent dislike or disinterest in compelling television whenever British people are involved. A show has to be wildly popular before Americans even get the chance to be exposed to it, which really limits the amount of viewers for UK pr…

Have any of the US talk shows started to copy Graham Norton's "all guests on the couch together" style?

For anyone unfamiliar Graham Norton hosts a late night style talk show but instead of inviting guests out one by one and talking to each in turn he brings them all out together. He still focuses in on each guest at times but he jumps between and encourages them to engage with each other like a good dinner party host. Here's an example of British comedian Greg Davies telling a story while Ryan Gosling next to him dies of laughter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuXGpUR7fXA

It essentially copies the best parts of panel shows and since he started doing that a lot of folk (most notably Jonathon Ross) have started to copy.

Re: The IT Crowd US Pilot (2007) [video]

#162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The IT Crowd was actually aired on Channel 4, not the BBC. Channel 4 is publicly owned (for now…) but is fully funded through adverts. The ad break timings likely don’t match what you have in the US though (at the start and end and a single break in the middle over a 30 minute runtime).

Fully funded? I was under the impression that they get a small slice of the licence fee?

Only the BBC gets money from the license fee. Part of the strong objection to the license fee is that BBC’s international arm already is a huge cash cow, so BBC UK could still remain ad-free.

Re: The IT Crowd US Pilot (2007) [video]

#163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The IT Crowd was actually aired on Channel 4, not the BBC. Channel 4 is publicly owned (for now…) but is fully funded through adverts. The ad break timings likely don’t match what you have in the US though (at the start and end and a single break in the middle over a 30 minute runtime).

Fully funded? I was under the impression that they get a small slice of the licence fee?

No, they are fully funded by adverts and licencing their programmes to other channels and platforms. See the 4th question in this FAQ:

https://www.channel4.com/corporate/about-4/operating-respons...

There's been a fair bit of misunderstanding around Channel 4 since Nadine Dorris (ex Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) aanounced plans to sell off Channel 4. A lot of people never reaslised it was publicly owned and then assumed it was the same model as the BBC, but with some adverts.

Re: The IT Crowd US Pilot (2007) [video]

#164
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The guy is a legend. Travel Man is excellent and a great format. Rewatched during lockdown and completely recommend.

The formula for Travel Man was genius. The producers just have to pick various people who are a good pick to play off Richard Ayoade being himself, and send them off places to film how they get along with each other. Ideally, picking people who love to travel and have a good time to slightly annoy Richard. TV that produces itself. The curve ball, which defied all expectations, was the episode in Madeira which paired…

What do you think of Joe Lycett's series of Travel Man? I've only watched clips rather than full episodes but while he's very different to Ayoade I've still enjoyed it. I'm perhaps biased though because he has James Acaster for an episode and I could watch that man do anything.

Re: The IT Crowd US Pilot (2007) [video]

#165
post #145

As an absolutely fan of the original show, this hurts. E.g. Denholm Reynholm was SOOO good that I always had the impression that he got replaced for another type of character because someone up there felt personally attacked lol

The actor, who was a friend of the show's creators, only signed up for one season.

Chris Morris is brilliant, I'd say Brass Eye and The Day Today are essential viewing.

Re: The IT Crowd US Pilot (2007) [video]

#167
post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had to read your comment twice, I first mis-read "pom" as being a badly kermed [1] "porn", which made the entire thing hard to parse. Then I realized I wasn't sure what "pom" means (not a native speaker, and from the northern hemisphere) either, so had to look it up [2]: "(Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, mildly derogatory slang) An Englishman; a Briton; a person of British descent". It's more of the rhyming s…

Mild derogatory slang in Australian english is not derogatory at all from the local perspective.

[deleted]

Re: The IT Crowd US Pilot (2007) [video]

#168
post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had to read your comment twice, I first mis-read "pom" as being a badly kermed [1] "porn", which made the entire thing hard to parse. Then I realized I wasn't sure what "pom" means (not a native speaker, and from the northern hemisphere) either, so had to look it up [2]: "(Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, mildly derogatory slang) An Englishman; a Briton; a person of British descent". It's more of the rhyming s…

> Mild derogatory slang in Australian english is not derogatory at all from the local perspective. Indeed. Derogatory would be "Pommie bastard."

And affectionate slang would be "pommie " - or, at least, that's the impression I get as a pom! :)

Re: The IT Crowd US Pilot (2007) [video]

#170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s ridiculous how much money they are leaving money on the table in the US. Taskmaster (UK) has a huge following among US teenagers, at least in my area.

The CW tried licensing Taskmaster and it got abysmal ratings. They'd be better if they did same day broadcasts, but any later wouldn't be enough to replace those teenager's current watching methods.

> The CW tried licensing Taskmaster and it got abysmal ratings

While I usually like Reggie Watts' work, his persona on the show was too cerebral. Felt like someone at The CW got afraid of the word 'master' but figured they could balance it out with a nice black guy role playing a psychotherapist for the competitors.

Also Lisa Lamponelli was just 100 percent angry the entire season, as if Alex Horne was personally responsible for all childhood leukemia. As a bit gag during an obnoxious task it can work but if thats all you do it fundamentally rejects the premise.

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