Being a trained observer from my police days, it has not escaped my notice that many of my fellow SleuthSayers are fans of British television mysteries. It helped that several of you wrote articles on this very subject--these were my first clues. I suspect that many of SleuthSayers' readers are fans, as well. I don't have enough evidence to make an arrest, but I think that it's a reasonable suspicion. So, knowing that I am in good company, I am ready to confess without benefit of counsel, that I, too, enjoy these programs from the misty home of the English language.
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| English TV Policemen with authentic accents |
I've heard, or read, several very good reasons for liking the Brit mysteries (as well as some of their other programming such as "Call The Midwives"), and I have a few of my own which I'm anxious to share. Firstly, everybody speaks with these really great accents, though sometimes they are difficult to understand. I have advocated subtitling, but this has not yet been enacted. What is it about their accents, anyway? There are dozens of "English" accents being spoken around the globe, from the U.S. to South Africa, but not one of them sound as smart as Englishers themselves. That's just not fair. I want to sound smart, too. But since I can't, I like to watch the British being cultured and savvy. Sometimes I try on an English accent at home, but Robin either studiously ignores me, refusing to respond to any of my extremely pithy observations, or tells me to stop embarrassing myself. I feel smarter when I do this, though she says that I don't sound, or look, smarter at all. She is of Irish descent on both sides of her family and is unreasonably hostile to the English, I think. Things only get worse when I switch to an Irish accent.
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| Dreaming Spires |
So, the accents are cool, but that's not the only reason I like British television. There's also the locations. My absolute favorite is Oxford, the setting of the Inspector Morse, and latterly, the Inspector Lewis, series. Notice how I worked in "latterly"? That's how they talk. Besides being an incredibly beautiful city with its "dreaming spires" (don't ask), it also puts the lie to British weather being lousy. It's sunny nearly every episode--and this show (in both its manifestations) has a decades-long history! I can't understand why all the Brits want to move to Spain when they've got Oxford. If you follow the adventures of Rosemary and Thyme, you'll find that they too walk in beauty beneath a glorious sun and flawless sky. As soon as Robin retires, we're saddling up for some of that gorgeous English weather! To hell with Ft. Lauderdale!
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| Rosemary and Thyme |
But the main reason that I like British programming may surprise you. Yes, the wonderful acting is certainly a draw, but that's not it altogether. It has to do with the casting. Have you ever noticed that, unlike American television, British actors are not uniformly attractive? In fact, in many cases even the actors and actresses in the leading roles of British shows are not in the least bit glamorous. They're allowed to look like me over there, and still work. Inspector Robbie Lewis would never be confused for an American television detective. He might, however, be mistaken for an actual police officer. Neither Lewis and Hathaway, nor the inspector/sergeant duo on Midsomer Murders appear as if they run ten miles a day and spend an hour every morning in the gym. I've never seen any of them beat anybody up, which is a daily requirement of their American TV counterparts, and very calorie-consuming. And since they don't carry guns, they can't shoot any villains. They actually say that, you know--
villains. As for R and T, they spend all their time investigating murders at various castles, hotels, and estates across England while doing some light gardening, and taking numerous breaks to snack and drink wine. These Brits appear to drink a lot of wine! I always thought they were big on warm beer, but no, it's wine for these folks, and it's always being served at things called fetes, which no American knows the meaning of; though they look a lot like parties. They seem to be held mostly on village "greens" or in gardens. Though, when the weather doesn't permit (which is almost never--see above) they are held in drawing rooms. No American knows what kind of room that is either, but it doesn't matter. This is another thing I like about English life on the
telly (sorry, Robin, old girl); they do a lot of partying! The down side is that the guys almost always have to wear a tux, though they call them something else, I think. Anyway, it's kind of nice to see men and women who could pass for what I call "normal" populating the screen, with nary a "six-pack" ab between them.
So there you have it, all the good reasons to watch British television. Oh...were you thinking it was the clever writing and convoluted plots that form the centerpieces of these programs? How the hell would I know? I can't understand half of what they're saying. I just like how they say it.
