Because its easier and probably cheaper to run a 22 episode arc and pad out the story.

R.A.Danny: Because British shows aren't any good until they are redone in Hollywood.

/ducks

Hollywood might have the better production values, but British shows rarely devolve into formulaic 7-year enterprises like American shows.

DamnYankees: Some are quite good, but the heights reached by great American TV blows the British stuff out of the water.

Some drama shows are served well by a longer format, but others seem to grasp for material: the main failing of every 24 season is the writers can only write 9-10 episodes worth of conspiracy material, the rest has to be filler, and include the SUPRISE MAJOR PLOT TWIST at the 12 hour mark. Every goddamn season.

DamnYankees: I disagree in regards to 24. The problem isn't that its 24 episodes - that's sort of necessary for the format. The problem is 7 freaking years. They do the same plot every single season, basically. They should have finished after 3 or maybe 4 years.

Season 2 is where that series ended in my mind. I don't know why I watched 3-5, but I'm not watching 6 and won't watch 7 unless a hot nun strips in the street preaching its virtues.

Regardless, I don't like formula shows. I loved the few episodes of House I've seen, but I can't watch more without getting bored. Same with The Office. I like my TV to keep me on my toes.

not for nothing, but some of them -are- home already.

DamnYankees: But the real great TV shows are those that are about characters and a story which goes somewhere. Lost, Battlestar Galactica, The West Wing, The Sopranos, Deadwood. That's great art, frankly.

The Sopranos and BSG I've seen, and I agree with you on. Lost I never really got into.

I think when most people think American TV they think shows plodding on and on and on far past their welcome (The Simpsons, Friends, Star Trek, etc.) whereas with Brit TV the shorter series arc allows much less potential for bloat to creep in.

NuttierThanEver: Bored Horde: Hollywood might have the better production values, but British shows rarely devolve into formulaic 7-year enterprises like American shows.

cough*Dr. Who*cough

You could have brought up Coronation Street, which was (IIRC) the longest running show in history.

Because American corps are desperate for as much ad money as possible, so they stretch the seasons out so that this week's episode can be brought to you by Brawndo.

dramboxf: Oh, and 24 should have ended after 2 seasons. I've watched them all, but those that say it's the same thing every year are correct. There's got to be a way to threaten the country aside from terrorists + betrayers inside the gubmint.

Could you imagine Jack Bauer going after major polluters?

WHY DID YOU RELEASE THE DIOXIN! WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME! CHLOE, ACTIVATE THE ATMOSPHERE SCUBBING PROGRAM!

The British model is such that the core skeleton of the entire series is mapped out before presenting it to the producers. The Office was not cancelled - it reached the end of its run, period. That's why they're usually so good - they don't get stale. Of course there are exceptions to this, but give or take an episode or two, the entire plot is written before the show starts.

In the profit-driven world of Hollywood, that wouldn't work because you would need seven years of pre-fabbed plots to take to the producers, and that doesn't work.

It's because in most cases on cable and British TV that the creators are the only writers. When you have dozens of writers, you can figure out 22 hours of stuff. When you just have the creators trying to figure it out it takes much longer and they sometimes get tired of it after a couple years wanting to move on to something else (ie. John Cleese). A lot of the network show creators don't really do much hands on work on the show beyond the pilot and a maybe a couple more episodes.

Treygreen13: 6 of them, yeah.

And Walt. Michael went home too, but is now so much exploded fish chum. And Desmond (sorta).

Because American broadcasters won't do anything that doesn't instantly generate a zillion percent profit, and once it does, they ride it until it falls off a cliff.

Because we apparently have an attention span...

DamnYankees: I can't agree with this. British TV isn't "usually so good" - most of it is pedestrian to bad. We have a selection bias here in America - the only British shows which make their way into American culture are the best ones.

Most US TV is pedestrian to bad, too. But the best of British TV is better than the best of US TV.

Bored Horde: You could have brought up Coronation Street, which was (IIRC) the longest running show in history.

For English shows, maybe, but "Meet the Press" is the longest running show (1947 and still going), and I believe "The Guiding Light" (1952 and still going) is the longest running scripted show.

hockeyfarker: Yeah, subby, why can't that lowest common denominator crap be shorter! Distill "Ow My Balls!" into it's finest essence, so that we may waste our time in the most efficient way possible!

It's called America's Funniest Home Videos.

whatever, I just want captain star (pops) to come out on dvd stateside.

Why can't American broadcast TV adopt the British model of six- or eight-show seasons? That way the nuts on "Lost" would be home already instead of wherever they are now
===============================

Cable show seasons are usually about 12 episodes long. And it sucks. Why the hell should we have to wait 10 months for a new season every year? (Or for the sopranos OVER a year)

That'd be horrible!

hockeyfarker: Yeah, subby, why can't that lowest common denominator crap be shorter! Distill "Ow My Balls!" into it's finest essence, so that we may waste our time in the most efficient way possible!

But how do you know it's all so bad - after all, you don't even own a television.

24 should take note.
As it stands now, Lost is more believable.

BUT BOTH SHOWS ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!!

Good thing the people on Lost can recover the time they miss.

That's what I love about Japanese shows. They're like 11-14 episodes. Sometimes they make another season, sometimes a special episode that might be double length...but they're almost always self-contained and play out start-to-finish in one season.

DamnYankees: The Icelander: But the best of British TV is better than the best of US TV.

This is, IMO, a rather ridiculous statement. But its your own taste.

I don't know the extent of British programming you get in the states; I think we do some things very well, others not as well. The difference in model means that US TV, when it gets it right, can really go into depth with their characters over the season, whereas British TV can't as much. Like The Wire or The Sopranos.

On the other hand, when it's not brillaint, merely 'good', the short run of British seasons means you don't get stupid padding, like Heroes.

That's not to say we haven't had some great shows - but my favourite British shows tend to be miniseries, like The State Within, House of Cards or Caligula.

The rest is a matter of personal taste - I prefer Spooks (MI-5) to 24, but that's just home team bias.

I like series that have a beginning, a middle and an end preferably in one series. Japanese anime is good for that.

12349876: It's because in most cases on cable and British TV that the creators are the only writers. When you have dozens of writers, you can figure out 22 hours of stuff.

IT Crowd is like that. They have 6 shows a season and 1, maybe 2, are really funny. They could never hope to do 22 in one year.

Don't you just hate it when something in one country is different than in another country?

I'm sorry. Like America, British television has a few shining examples of good television the rest is trash. People are fooled into thinking that British television is vastly superior because the good ones are the shows we get to see across the pond.

But thanks to the internet, I am finding out that they have the same horrible programming as we do. (I am looking at you, "Demons".) How many different quiz-comedy shows based on trivia and news can one nation have? And most of the British programming is filled with American programming. That's why when we go over seas, everyone seems to know so much about us. It's not that they read about us in the newspapers. It's that they watch our shows religiously.

And a six episode season is not enough to tell a proper story on the scale that American audiences are used to. 24 episodes may be too much, 13 is descent but 6? Again, too short.

/currently watching "Being Human"
//pissed that it's only an six episode season