Posted 26 Apr 2005 Right then, Since we had our dish restored to its former glory thanks to the excellent Grinner, I have just realised how much good telly I had been missing. Catching the old Dr Who was a pleasure, BBC news and simply clicking on those BBC1234 there's always something worthwhile on. Last night I happened upon a documentaryon the Beeb about Genghis Khan and his miltary campaigns. Having experienced Mongolia it was somewhat fascinating. But German TV is I am sorry to say, awful. Boring documentaries, RTL type celeb "Die Alm" insults to the intelligence, Big Brother (who the hell still watches thes poor sods couped up in their volutary prison)? I want to be proved wrong. I will say I do love "Wetten Dass...?" when it is on as I like the international stars which one might never see on prime time British Saturday TV (nearest we ever got was surprise guests on Noel's House Party, and they were always ancient half dead BBC celebs). Please tell me their telly is better. (Yes its bloody raining outside and I was wet on the bike today.) (and I had to get up at 5am this morning to calm down my little one) :huh: 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 26 Apr 2005 I think if you're German and get Premiere (loads of sport/movies/documentary channels) it's not so boring...remember the five free channels in the UK aren't exactly thrilling all the time. that said, I myself have Sky, the whole package in fact. :D 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 26 Apr 2005 Premiere sucks in comparison to Sky German free TV sucks in comparison to British Free TV despite the higher number of German channels. German-made content is sadly at a minimum, especially on the private channels. Having said that, there are one or two things worth watching. My favourites were Edel & Starck and Bewegte Männer. For the kids, i think Schloß Einstein seems pretty good. A short list, i know but... 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 26 Apr 2005 Dont waste your money on satelite, just download stuff. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 26 Apr 2005 shall i shan't i answer... i think it would be wrong to slag it off 100% but yep 80% is cheaply produced sensationalist content. since the introduction of commercial tv (mid-eighties) standards and commitment have dropped, no doubt about it, and the ability for the ard/zdf to have advertising has not helped them in the headless quest for better viewer figures. basicly too many polititians with their self interests, too many lawyers who are scared shitless of anything provactive, too many young managers who dont have the experience to take risks and the stamina to see a production through bad figures (the office is a good example of this) and give it time to settle. sadley what you end up with is this meaningless mash of nothingness, formats bought in and badly remade, comedy which is modern and provocative, not. the structure here is wrong, the remits are not there and nobody can sort it out. best german programming - BR, WDR and NDR. everybody else just manages to get the local news done. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 26 Apr 2005 Hey isn'T Edel and Strack the one with the tasty blonde in it? I watch that one for her if its on! 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 26 Apr 2005 but has anyone seen 'Pimp mein Fahrrad' ? Absolutely brilliant. MTV or not. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 26 Apr 2005 Must also admit I like Stefan Raab sometimes... 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 26 Apr 2005 You need to compare like with like, have you seen some of the SHITE that is prodiuced as TV in Britain? Here's the schedules for tonight, 5pm to 11pm on BBC1 and ARD1: News Lifestyle Magazine 2 Soap Operas A comedy Quiz Show Weather, Business News News 2 Drama / Romance series Business Magazine In Depth News Show Weather Childrens Shows Soap Opera News Reality Show Soap Opera 2 Drama / Romance series News Weather Bit hard to spot the difference, no? 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 26 Apr 2005 ... German TV is I am sorry to say, awful. Boring documentaries, RTL type celeb "Die Alm" insults to the intelligence, Big Brother (who the hell still watches thes poor sods couped up in their volutary prison)? I want to be proved wrong. I will say I do love "Wetten Dass...?" when it is on ... Must also admit I like Stefan Raab sometimes... Strikes me that you are contradicting yourself and proving yourself wrong on more than one occasion... 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 26 Apr 2005 Blonde she is not, but still very attractive. Good series that. And the thing on ZDF last night with Jürgen Vogel and Christiane Paul "Außer Kontrolle" was extremely good. There is a lot of crap on though but there is a load of crap on British telly. Slightly less crap on UK telly maybe, but still not the 200% quality that some would say. I can't have sat due to my landlord and protected building and don't even have cable PS "Die Alm" was Pro7 not RTL. Have noticed that RTL has now copied "Footballers' Wives" 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 26 Apr 2005 i have eaten a currywurst with her in Berlin on the Kuh'damm. mmmmm tasty. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 26 Apr 2005 And RTL copying Prisoner Cell Block H ! 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 26 Apr 2005 Dont waste your money on satelite, just download stuff. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> this assumes you already have access to a computer and broadband with a flat rate. if you don't, then downloading can be just as expensive as satellite. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 26 Apr 2005 Isn't that Hinter Gittern? I think that's a rip off of a British women's prison drama. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 26 Apr 2005 99% of all TV is awful, country of origin independent. Occasional kernels in the turd: The Sopranos Lost The Office Six Feet Under Arrested Development etc. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 26 Apr 2005 its funny how english speakers seem to have similar opinions,- im also a fan ( well i sometimes watch it) of edel &stark i too think german tv is terrible but for different reasons. Mostly its dubbed american shit or clones of american shit. so if its rubbish in the first place its even worse when dubbed into german. Having recently aquired a satelite system (self alligned sorry no reccomendation here:-)) i get the bbc as well and although its a vast improvement, theres still a lot of rubbish on it ( neighbours and eastenders plus gardening and antique shows). mindless gunk. However the BBC score very well in terms of documentaries and news. They are a cut above and they have doctor who 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 26 Apr 2005 You need to compare like with like, <{POST_SNAPBACK}> why is "like for like" only ARD v BBC1? Is this not a little narrow minded. Surely like for like is comparing all free to view channels in both countries and comparing pay tv in both countries. After all, the title of the thread was not "is the BBC better than ARD" but "is German TV crap". If you look at the freeview channels available on DVB-T (Free-to-view via satellite is still lacking a few channels that are free on the terrestrial DVDB-T platform) to the channels available here on either DVB-T, analog or digital cable or satellite, I think the British channels win hands down, on variety, quality (both of home-made and imported content). 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 26 Apr 2005 "Hinter Gittern" is "Prisoner: Cell Block H" not "Bad Girls" and is even made by Grundy (who made "Prisoner" in Australia). The German version of "Lost" is RTL's "Verschollern" which is God-awful, Pro 7 is showing the original dubbed. A lot of formats are sold or copied, particularly on non-state channels. Grundy is part of Freemantle is part of Endemol. Which does worldwide successes like "Who wants to be a millionaire?" or "Big Brother". Grundy also makes GZSZ. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
