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I think there’s something about British narration of nature docs that makes them more relaxing and engaging for American audiences. Especially those who grew up

by vrc 4y ago

I think there’s something about British narration of nature docs that makes them more relaxing and engaging for American audiences. Especially those who grew up in an era of Discovery Channel and PBS where the narration was usually British, or South African, or Australian, or in the Commonwealth-tinged flavor of English of that location. Perhaps it’s nostalgia.

twofornone 4y ago
I agree and I think part of it is nostalgia for a time when educational channels actually broadcast informative content, not semi-scripted, over edited, over dramatized reality tv. Did anyone else notice the slow boil of channels like History, Discovery, Animal Planet? Just irresponsible to coast on their reputation and start showing nothing but junk TV 24/7 to people who thought they were learning. I think it started with Pawn Stars and went downhill from there. MBAs saw $$$ and had no qualms about dumbing down their national audience and trashing the reputations of the channels in the process. American TV is unwatchable IMO.
- throwaway894345 4y ago
  I didn’t have cable growing up, but by the time I was in college History channel had already given up on history and was just running “Ancient Aliens” and its ilk along with reality TV. As far as I know, there is nowhere to find good documentary content on a regular basis (whether by streaming or legacy media). PBS gets close, but even their Nova and Nature programs have degraded in quality.
- CalRobert 4y ago
  It really is painful to watch. It's been so long since I watched anything that wasn't a streaming service that when I see old fashioned TV with commercials and horrible editing it drives me up a wall. I remember when my complaint about the History Channel was that it was WWII all the time. It was still massively better than today; at least I learned about the Battle of the Bulge over and over and over.
- vrc 4y ago
  I used to watch Discovery’s “Wild Discovery” animal series every night. Then they spun out Animal Planet, which was cool. Then they started putting filler programming on AP. Now it’s all gone Honey Boo Boo TLC with scripted reality shows that are animal-adjacent. Have to catch reruns of Blue Planet and Planet Earth on BBCAmerica if I want to unwind with a nature doc in the evening
bombcar 4y ago
For me at least, for no real reason and perhaps because of British narration of documentaries, the British accent "by default" sounds more learned. Now I'm sure there's variations of British accents, but the ones we were exposed to as children seemed to coincide with "scientific" or other educational content.
- frosted-flakes 4y ago
  > Now I'm sure there's variations of British accents That's an understatement.
  - quickthrower2 4y ago
    or: Tats en oonderstatement. or maybe: Thaaats and aaandastatement.

by vrc 4y ago

twofornone 4y ago

I agree and I think part of it is nostalgia for a time when educational channels actually broadcast informative content, not semi-scripted, over edited, over dramatized reality tv. Did anyone else notice the slow boil of channels like History, Discovery, Animal Planet? Just irresponsible to coast on their reputation and start showing nothing but junk TV 24/7 to people who thought they were learning. I think it started with Pawn Stars and went downhill from there. MBAs saw $$$ and had no qualms about dumbing down their national audience and trashing the reputations of the channels in the process. American TV is unwatchable IMO.

throwaway894345 4y ago
I didn’t have cable growing up, but by the time I was in college History channel had already given up on history and was just running “Ancient Aliens” and its ilk along with reality TV. As far as I know, there is nowhere to find good documentary content on a regular basis (whether by streaming or legacy media). PBS gets close, but even their Nova and Nature programs have degraded in quality.
CalRobert 4y ago
It really is painful to watch. It's been so long since I watched anything that wasn't a streaming service that when I see old fashioned TV with commercials and horrible editing it drives me up a wall. I remember when my complaint about the History Channel was that it was WWII all the time. It was still massively better than today; at least I learned about the Battle of the Bulge over and over and over.
vrc 4y ago
I used to watch Discovery’s “Wild Discovery” animal series every night. Then they spun out Animal Planet, which was cool. Then they started putting filler programming on AP. Now it’s all gone Honey Boo Boo TLC with scripted reality shows that are animal-adjacent. Have to catch reruns of Blue Planet and Planet Earth on BBCAmerica if I want to unwind with a nature doc in the evening

bombcar 4y ago

For me at least, for no real reason and perhaps because of British narration of documentaries, the British accent "by default" sounds more learned. Now I'm sure there's variations of British accents, but the ones we were exposed to as children seemed to coincide with "scientific" or other educational content.

frosted-flakes 4y ago
> Now I'm sure there's variations of British accents That's an understatement.
- quickthrower2 4y ago
  or: Tats en oonderstatement. or maybe: Thaaats and aaandastatement.