Series 3 recording tickets available now: http://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/shows/shows/cabin_pressure_2011
Dan
Cabin Pressure - Series 2 Page 3
This thread is locked. No further replies can be posted.
I enjoy the series so much. Stephanie Cole is a delight and is so well paired with John and the rest of the cast.
I believe Cabin Pressure, Hut 33, and Clare in the Community ARE THE ABSOLUTE BEST in British comedy.
Wish American radio could produce this quality but they can't!
Does American radio do sitcom? I assumed it must somewhere but it would nice to hear what it does well. Is there an equivalent of Radio 4 out there?
Dan
I like Garrison Keillor's books, but have never listened to his show. I like that he's an odd looking man, too.
The short answer is no we don't have radio sitcoms in the US. We have no radio dramas in the US, all we have are music stations, talk stations, religious stations and sports stations.
Radio was a dying format thirty years ago or so. That was the age of the Walkman and the boombox. People were carrying their own music mixes on cassette tape, FM radio was on a more sure footing than AM. It was the advent of a new type of "talk radio" which brought AM back from the brink.
We have no equivalent to Radio 4 on a national or regional level. The only government subsidized radio here is NPR and they are mostly "news" and "talk". NPR did do some dramas in the 1980s (Star Wars, A Canticle for Liebowitz) but they only do The Prairie Home Companion and a couple of quiz shows. They can barely afford to put the shows they have on. To do radio drama they would need to be given more money
Even if we had anything like Radio 4, it would be no where near as good as Radio 4. Our attempts would pale in comparison. There is a different type of acting style used in radio performance and American actors just aren't schooled in that style any more, not since the 1950s anyway.
Cabin Pressure is one of the reasons I have become addicted to BBC radio. I don't specify Radio 4, because I listen to the entire array with the exception of Radio 1 and 1xtra. Life has become less depressing because I am not caught in an echo chamber of American radio. I can listen to BBC radio and forget I even live in the US for a bit.
Thanks usbritcomfan. Much appreciated and very interesting to hear.
I often bemoan that there is only (really) one station that generates all the radio comedy but even that is infinitely better than none at all!
And they do generate more comedy than any other station (TV or otherwise) per year here in the UK.
Enjoy your little slice of Britland!
Dan
Quote: usbritcomfan @ July 1 2011, 3:56 AM BSTRadio was a dying format thirty years ago or so. That was the age of the Walkman and the boombox. People were carrying their own music mixes on cassette tape.
It seem strange that the cassette has lasted as long as it has, but if you look elsewhere on this forum, people are discussing vinyl...
I found a shop in Guildford still selling cassettes. It was quite the oddest experience.
Dan
Quote: swerytd @ July 1 2011, 11:13 AM BSTI found a shop in Guildford still selling cassettes. It was quite the oddest experience.
Dan
Surely you've had odder?
Yes, you're right. Inappropriate use of the superlative there. I apologise for turning all Katie Price...
Dan
Just listening to ep 1 of the new series and it's as wonderfully daft as ever. Lemons and polar bears. Where does he get this stuff from?