My editor wants a piece on how bad . . . sorry, different Spanish TV is to British. Anybody want to give their opinions on what life is like without Corrie, Eastenders, Big Brother, X Factor, Ant and Dec, Trisha, This Morning, What Not To Wear?, Wife Swap, Colin and Justin, The Bill, Teletubbies?????? Or what they think of Grand Prix, Operacion Triunfo (or whatever), Salsa Rosa, Ana Rosa, any bleeding Rosa, Pasapalabra (not too harsh, one of my favourites), soaps, Aqui no vive thingy . . . anything?????

C'mon, Soooooze, Englishpilot, Scooter et al, it's telly. We're British; everyone has an opinion!

Besides the shows that are just dubbed, there are a lot of copycat remakes of shows in Spain from both the UK and the US, etc...

British to Spanish:
Hermano Grande = Big Brother
Diario de Patricia = Trisha
Teletubbies = Teletubbies
Operacio Triunfo = X Factor / Pop Idol
Pasapalabra = Brainteaser
Sifras y Letras = Countdown
Fuentes & Co. / Buenafuente= Jonathan Ross / Frank Skinner
Millionario = Who wants to be a millionaire?

USA to Spanish:
Ana y los Siete = The Nanny
Un Paso Adelante (UPA) = Fame
El Comisionario = The Commish
Policias = NYPD Blue
Hospital Central = General Hospital / Chicago Hope
Urgencias = ER / Chicago Hope

With no comment, Madrid Insider? Most unlike you . . . What's "Brainteaser", is that "Countdown"? And aren't some of the others just dubbed versions?

You've got Sky . . . whaddya think? There's a text message helpline for the quiz in it for ya

Having seen a fair bit of tv in Spain over the years, I think I quite like some of it, but not all of it of course, but I certainly don’t find much of it quite as nauseating as I do some of the stuff that I have seen puked out onto British tv, especially the news reports and weather reading too.

I find that I much prefer the way in which the weather is presented & delivered in Spain, I think it’s much better than that load of old toffee that they give you on many weather channels in the UK, (or should that be, the YUK) as far as the weather reading goes, I mean it’s pathetic, man, in Spain they take you around a 3 dimensional virtual simulation of the entire peninsula, and give it to you straight, just as it is, no unnecessary theatrical waffle, which tells you exactly nothing, the British channels come on and tell you what the weather was, with a bucket load of exaggerations thrown in for good measure, but they simply cannot stick to giving some kind of clear indication as to what the weather is going to be, they beat about the bush and waffle on so much, and tell you so little about what is really going to happen, it’s just so bloody annoying to me personally, because I get absolutely nothing out of their reports, but in Spain, they just seem to give me a much clearer and more realistic idea about what to expect the next day, or through the week, and I find the weather reports in Spain much more accurate, articulate, straight forward, to the point, based on ‘known to be facts’ and without all those ridiculous little bits & pieces of totally unnecessary coloquial & theatrical sounding waffle, that the britts like to use as filler, when they haven’t got anything of much use or interest to tell you, they babble on, they don’t speak clearly, and in my honest opinion the weather reports in the U.K. have been a roaring joke for far too many years now, and it’s been getting worse lately, basically, a lot of what they are giving out, is just plain bullshit.

And as for the news readers, well, put it this way, don’t even ask, it’s a real mess, the news is put across in Spain somewhat differently, and again I like how it is presented, they’ve got it just right as far as I’m concerned, it’s more graphic for sure, more bloody etc, you do get to see the bodies of crash & traffic accident victims, and shootings sometimes, and other things which would (with absolutely no question whatsoever) would not make it onto the screen in the UK, (and I'm not saying that I personally like to see all the gory stuff either) but in the UK, they have to chop out so much now, for fear of offending, of being sued, and because of the mind blowing political correctness to which we are now all forced to subscribe to, they don’t want to upset anyone, or be accused of being insensitive, and because of some archaic laws that prevent the showing of many things, and as a consequence, the news reading/reports, just comes across a crap, they talk a load of old toffee in a desperate attempt to try & ham it up, and make it sound more interesting & for real, but it’s the way they dish out the rubbish, that’s what is the most irritating thing, I can only imagine half the population of the British Isles not being able the understand a frelling word sometimes, they just will not stick to speaking straight forward easy to understand plain English, they will insist on using all kinds of weird & nonsensical expressions, terms of reference, semantics, and things that many if not most non native English speakers in the country have less than zero chance of understanding, I mean, sometimes they even use words or terminology that even I don’t know what the hell they mean, and I really don’t like that, they are not making the effort to accommodate all the people that might likely be tuned in, and of course many of whom are not native britts, but are British citizens, who understand plain English, not coloquial rubbish and general filler thrown in to fill the gaps in the lousy reports.

No, I think that I actually get on quite well with that side of Spanish tv, and some of the programmes are kind of okay too, but I wouldn’t allow myself to become addicted to any of them, and for me, I feel that there is just too much rubbish on UK tv, and depend heavily on American programmes & movies exclusively to keep me happy & sane, no, the only thing that I would like to watch over again in any country is the Sopranos, in either Spanish or English, that’s a laugh either way.

Sorry but I have to give the thumbs down for UK tv, and thumbs up for Spanish (and American) tv in general.

I saw this somewhere a while ago, can’t remember where, but it’s catchy, and quite true, so here it is :: ‘’El problema no es la televisión, sino cómo se utilice’’

Now there’s food for thought for ya.

There ya go……..


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Ok, I know I am going to get razzed for this, but I really do enjoy "Gran Prix". I think it's a really funny program that promotes teamwork and good clean fun. Not full of violence, blood and gore. My (Spanish) husband thinks I am crazy when I insist that he leave the remote control alone when this program comes on. For me it's kind of like and escape.

I also like Aquí no Hay Quien Viva. I am not sure if it is a "copy cat" program since it really is centered around the life of living in a Spanish "comunidad de vecinos". Perhaps it has gone a little off the wall lately, but it is good for watching to gain a perspective on a lot of the "tópicos" (clichés) of Spanish living.

Pasapalabra and Cifras y Letras also interest me. Then again, I was a big fan of Jeopardy in the USA.

BTW -- Big Brother is Gran Hermano (not Hermano Grande ). I think all the reality TV programs are excessive and really downright ridiculous.

Apart from the above mentioned, I really don't get to watch too much TV aside from the news.

Gran Hermano/Big Brother. I believe this started in either Holland or Germany. It may even have started screening on Spanish tv before it did in the UK, so it can't be classified as a British to Spanish export.

My opinion is similar to Santiago's point - you have to be selective to get the best out of the box. There are nature and history programmes around that are absolutely fascinating - but you have to keep your eyes peeled for the next time they appear.

I must admit I prefer Canal Plus when I'm in Spain, purely because of its extensive coverage of football. Also, there is another sport - cycling - that seems to be far better covered by Spanish tv.

Of course if you're an aficionado of Flamenco or Toros you're only going to want access to Spanish tv. Another oddity - Spanish tv (especially the local channels) cover traffic jams and difficulties a lot more comprehensively than in the UK. Perhaps the authorities in the UK know that we'll be in a traffic-jam regardless?

Best programs on British tv for me - Question Time (political show that involves audience questions), QI (funny but informative), Have I got News for You (incredibly funny topical quiz prog)

Spanish advertising. For years this seemed to be a throwback to US advertising of the 1950s. Buy this product - it's very good! How many times can the word increible be used in a Spanish ad?

Lately though, the quality seems to be improving, and one or 2 ads come across as amusing or entertaining. Cruzcampo and 1 or 2 other beer ads spring to mind.

I forget the name of the cooking show I saw on T.V. in Madrid, but this guy is fabulous. He took time out to have a demonstration on the tongue and nose, and "how" we taste things. Then he'd invite a guest over to help cook, and sample his dish. He'd even go into detail about regional gastronimical specialities, which, I noticed was a very important distinction to have in Spain (i.e. baguette bread topped with tomatoes and olive oil (and lacon) is typically served with tortilla for breakfast in Barcelona -- Madrid it is sipmly served with bread.)

I didn't like the very graphic news stories, or the strange childrens show at 10 o'clock at night (aren't kids in bed at that time?), playing silly games between a blue and yellow team, dressed up as huge hands tripping over each other, simply to win (not even a free gift certificate at the end!!).

Seeing "Desperate Housewives" in Spanish was a hoot!

That chef is Jose Andres. He started out cooking with Ferran Adria and now he has a slew of restaurants in Washington, DC that are quite good. His show is--I think--called Vamos a Cocinar. It's on at 7:30pm.

I agree 100% with what Chica says about those so called "reality TV" shows, big brother and the like, I think that they are totally Gross, (with a capital "G", and if that is what they have been feeding to young people through the TUBE over the last X number of years, and they've been glued to it, sucking it all in like it's for real, then all I can say is God help us all in the near future when those youngsters are old enough to join the adult world, with all their crazy mixed up ideas of what reality in the adult world really is.

I've got one young guy working in my office who seems to have based his entire philosophy of life on what he has learned from those programmes, he really belives that what goes on in the big brother camp is for real, and that the way some of them behave and relate to the others (and the outside world) is the normal way of things in this world, and trys to emulate his Idols, as do (I've no doubt) the many millions of teenage boys & girls all over the world.
(shakes head, in disbelief) (rolls eyes in disgust)

The other big reason that I don't like those shows is, the fact that they are a constant reminder to me and many others over here, of the fact that we are living submerged under a sea of cameras, and literally cannot escape them wherever we go in this society, the way it has become, governed, dominated and controlled by bloody cameras all over the place.

It used to be that you only ever found them in banks, but now you see them in the newsagents, shoe shops, childrens toy shops, sweet shop/candy shop, grocery shops, basically every place that you go into now has got cameras.

Well anyway, that's another thread on which the subject of public surveillance cameras and what you really think about them can be discussed.
I hope they don't go and ruin Spain with them, the way they have ruined the whole country here in the UK.

Saludos

quote:

or the strange childrens show at 10 o'clock at night (aren't kids in bed at that time?), playing silly games between a blue and yellow team, dressed up as huge hands tripping over each other, simply to win (not even a free gift certificate at the end!!).

Sylvia, that "
strange childrens show" is Chica's "gran prix" (de verano), see http://www.elgrandprix.com (if you dare) and believe it or not, it is not aimed at kids.

gran prix is meant for families and is on in the summer when kiddies have no school and can stay up late. it is, imho (sorry chica), arguably THE WORST show i have ever seen on tv, anywhere in the world (i'm with you Angel, you da man, fight for that remote!).

ok, off the tv and onto the spectator. i think that we can't really blame the tv producers as it is the tv viewing public here in spain that has horrid taste in tv and is to blame 1,000,000% for asking for the crap they dish out.

as for me, i will stick to the documentaries, news, select u.s. tv series and my dvd movies as well as some of the movies they put on tv here.

saludos,
jer...

In the summer, most kids are just leaving the playground to have dinner at 10:00pm...

Late on at night, on the new channel Cuatro is a show called Hache Noche. It's presented by Eva Hache, who is brilliant. For those from the UK, think of a cross between Have I got News for You, Jonathon Ross and Rory Bremner (although Eva does`'t do impressions).

There is a show in the morning on the same channel called Todos contra el Chef, or something like that. It´s actually really interesting to watch. It´s a show where average people can go up against a chef with a favorite recipe in a cook off. I think BBC has a similar program, but I´m relieved to see something more interesting to watch in the mornings here than Mexican soaps. I hope they put out a trading spaces/changing rooms type show. I loved watching those programs, both in the States and in Holland on BBC. Oh, and a version of Flog it would be really cool as well.

Bonnie