Gems in American Television

When it's good, American television is very, very good, with writing that routinely surpasses its silver-screen competition for sheer quality. Whether it's the recently-retired President Bartlet running an inspirational West Wing, or the stressed-out and soon-to-be-retired mob-boss Tony Soprano attempting to keep order in the New Jersey ranks, I've been surprised to find myself drawn to television over recent years in a way that I never expected. I think that to an extent we're lucky here in the UK for generally only receiving the best American exports, with critical reactions in the US in some ways acting as a quality-control filter. The recent return of Doctor Who to British television (and subsequently the world after its stunning success), gave our industry a much-needed shot-in-the-arm, although we're still inundated with banal medical dramas and anything kitchen-sink in style that can be done on the cheap and still find itself winning National Television Awards.

One of the problems in the UK is that we have so little money in either film or television, especially in contrast to the studio-funded stateside productions. Before the rebirth of Doctor Who, perhaps the most imaginative British-made TV series screened in recent years was a Channel 4 production called Ultraviolet, a kind of vampire thriller that's since been remade in the US. That lasted one solitary season (and that's six fifty-minute episodes, as opposed to the dozen or so that usually form a minimum production commitment in the US). Ten years of creative stifling followed, with Doctor Who finally representing something a bit different, although still risky despite the programme's rich history and global fan-base. There is an audience for material beyond the everyday and the banal in this country, but I believe there is a prejudice towards it. Further, when the Americans have more money to throw at exciting new ideas, networks on this side of the pond would rather shell out for broadcast rights to established hits, than take a risk with something new of their own.

Recently, I've had to search around to route out the gems amongst the usual American imports. Luckily, I've found two massive winners. Firstly, crime drama The Wire is perhaps one of the best pieces of screen-drama I've ever seen, on film or TV. There are three seasons currently available on DVD in the UK (criminally ignored by the major networks, the series has only been picked-up by obscure cable-channel FX in the UK), with each telling the story of a single case stretching over twelve episodes, a crime novel told on-screen. The story is told fully from the perspective of both cop and criminal, and all the ingredients come together to form a hugely rewarding viewing experience.

My second discovery took me from left-field and I truly never saw it coming. As a 25 year-old, I never expected to be thrilled by Battlestar Galactica, but it's happened. The original series was axed almost thirty years ago and is best remembered for being regarded as a cheap Star Wars rip-off. Which it pretty much was. Four years ago it was given a radical makeover and became a mini-series, which in turn became a full season, which then became one of the highest-rated shows on US TV. As a sci-fi 9/11 allegory, it's perhaps one of the most topical and relevant television shows around right now, although many have been put off by the spaceships-and-lasers surface sheen. After all, sci-fi is for geeks... right?

The 2002 mini-series dealt with a devastating terrorist attack (the terrorists are androids named Cylons in the context of the show) that leaves fewer than 50,000 humans alive. As the survivors flee into the depths of space, they discover that the enemy, ironically created by Man in the first place (read what you like into the Iraq War), have evolved to impersonate humans, and that there are enemy 'sleepers' living among them, willing to sacrifice their own lives in their relentless pursuit to destroy humanity. As the situation intensifies aboard the military space-vessel Galactica, suicide bombers are endured, and suspected Cylons are stripped of their rights and tortured, in increasingly desperate attempts to preserve the remnants of the human race. It is, indeed, a brave new world. This is adult drama of the highest order; we've come a long way since the camp theatrics of the 70s.