BBC's Reality TV Hits the USA
Chef Gordon Ramsay and Others Cater to an American Audience
Aug 21, 2008
Reality TV has taken a nose dive over the past several years, following its meteoric rise in the early 2000's with smash hits like Survivor and the Bachelor. Producers' seeming ineptitude in generating new ideas has led to sequel after sequel, along with new programs that are entirely lackluster. BBC America, however, has invigorated reality TV without necessarily reinventing the genre. With shows like Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, Dragons' Den, and You Are What You Eat, the world's largest broadcasting company has taken off the kid gloves and gone right after an adult audience, with phenomenal results.
Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares
A vast amount of reality television viewers tune in each week to see one thing: bumbling idiots who fall flat on their faces. Look no further than Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, chock full of inept restaurateurs in desperate need of assistance. The assistance comes in the form of world-renowned chef and restaurant owner Gordon Ramsay, and often comes with a heaping helping of expletives. American audiences have been treated to Kitchen Nightmares on Fox, a spin-off of the original, and while it has its moments, it feels almost staged at points, especially when compared with the BBC original. Chef Ramsay scurries about Great Britain rescuing (and insulting) business men and women who are in way over their heads. A fantastic insight into the business of operating a restaurant with splendidly comic results, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares is one of the BBC's best.
Dragons' Den
Imagine the Apprentice without Donald Trump's hair. Now throw in some British accents, cruel insults, abusive language, and some truly ingenious product ideas, and you've got Dragons' Den. One of the network's newest shows, the Den features, according to the BBC's website, "five successful British and American entrepreneurs and business leaders who’ve been there, done that" (www.bbcamerica.com/content/323/about.jsp). And these money-laden CEO's are ready to give a budding inventor his or her big break. That is, of course, provided the inventor isn't trying to pawn off a cheap parlor trick for some quick cash. As with most reality shows, the contestants that crash and burn are the most fun to watch, and they certainly do make for quality entertainment.
You Are What You Eat
Weight loss is a subject that most every American can relate to, and given that the U.S. is one of the most obese nations in the world, a subject about which every American should be concerned. You Are What You Eat is hosted by holistic nutritionist Gillian McKeith and focuses on altering the daily eating habits of obese Britains. As stated on the BBC's website, the show's goal is "to break a lifetime of bad habits in just eight short weeks" (bbcamerica.com/content/273/index.jsp). The show's unique twist on weight loss is to shock the excessive eaters back to reality by amassing all of the food they consume in a week and throwing it on a table in front of them. As excepted, tears and life-changing results follow, and most of the show's participants do go on to lead healthier lives.
Worth A Second Glance
There's something for everyone on BBC America, and all of the previously mentioned shows are not only part of a concerted effort by the company to spread its brand in the United States, but are also worth a chunk of any television viewer's time.
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