American TV in UK

[EngTeach]

Just curious... How far behind do American shows (LOST,Prison Break, etc.) debut there? Are some shows seasons behind? If so, is it hard not to look up info on the internet? Do American Soaps air there? Which ones?

Just being nosey.
Tracy

[TEAK36]

It varies from show to show.
Lost was originally a few months ahead of the UK, but this past series was only aired in the US about 4 days ahead of the UK. A really good series called Heroes debuts tonight on BBC, but the whole of the first series has already been aired in the US.

A really good website to look at is www.tv.com. Just type in the shows name and it will give you all the info on the show, and also dates episodes are aired in the US.

[LeMarchand]

Not my fort�, but we don't get a lot of the soaps. Some shows are seasons behind (and some shows we don't get at all, though we do tend to get most of the "big" shows, like the 2 you mentioned), but recently the gap has been much smaller, as Teak36 says.

In the UK, shows tend to run in one "block", so if a show has 24 eps, then it will run over 24 consecutive weeks (though the "main" five channels - particularly BBC2 - will take breaks for sport etc). In America the scheduling is much less rigid, and as we are not generally allowed to "get ahead" of the US the shows tend to start later in the year.

It depends on your willpower and the manners of those around you as to how hard it is to avoid looking up what's happening on the internet. One forum that I visit tends to have 4 (or more) threads for each show: US paced and UK paced, with each pace having "spoilers allowed" and "spoilers not allowed" . (Though there can be heated discussion on whether the trailers for next week's ep count as "spoilers"!)

[EngTeach]

Thanks for the answers. Heroes is great. I started watching it late in the game and had to catch up on reruns. I was warned that it's a little slow at first. It is, but stick with it, there are A LOT of characters and settings, be patient it all comes together. and is very good.

Thanks again.

[Whickerman]

...although Heroes has been on the Sci-fi Channel (satellite & cable) for months.

[nina-nana]

Anyone in the UK can watch the US airing shows online. Probably the site with the most episodes is http://www.FavoriteTvShow.com There is a fee for the downloads but it's small and a one time thing only. After this you get unlimited access to downloads of the most popular shows. They also give you for free the software to convert episodes to DVD format so you can watch them your TV with friends and build your collection. The downloads are pretty fast too. The best part is that it doesn't matter if you are in the US or Australia or wherever in the world!