Bollux! Bloody 'ell! Brilliant!

I have discovered BBC America. And I love it. I started watching accidentally by stumbling on 'Top Gear', a show about cars. The show is sometimes hilarious, the episode where the three stars are given a set amount of money, in British pounds of course, to each buy a used Alpha Romeo. They are then given challenges, such as a timed race on a set course with points given for certain accomplishments. A certain amount of cheating takes place, mind you. Anyways it's worth a look if you have a chance.

Another show I've found is Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares. Chef Gordon Ramsey attempts to help failing restaurant owners, both in Britain and here, to revive their dying business. Now personally I never liked Gordon Ramsey. I thought he was a pompous ass. Amazingly, by watching him berate slovenly kitchen staff and maitre'ds with more ego than charm I have gained respect for the man. I wondered "who does this guy think he is?" I found out he was a promising rugby player sidelined with a knee injury early in his career. After getting a job scrubbing pots in a kitchen he advanced himself to chef at 21 years old and has a string of successful restaurants in several countries.

By the end of the show the restaurants have turned the corner and everybody lives happily ever after. Or so one might think. Occasionally Ramsey returns to a spot to check up on them. Some thrive while some just sink back into ineptitude.

Another show is Gordon Ramsey's F Word. The show is part cooking and part variety show. The set is an actual restaurant seating 50 patrons. Groups of 4 guest cooks try to whip up a 'starter' or entree, a main course and a dessert. After each course the patrons decide if they feel the item was good enough to pay for...or not. In the end a tally is taken out of a possible score of 150 (50 starters, 59 mains and 50 desserts). Those guests who score highly earn a chance to return in a final. During the show Gordon follows the raising of his 4 lambs, one which meets a tragic end on the estate of David Beckham. They also follow the raising of some calves for veal. Along the way Gordon may explore why a certain food has fallen by the wayside, like tripe, or organ meats. Something I avoid, I can't stand the smell of liver cooking. C'est le guerre!

Towards the end of the F Word a guest diner, usually someone well known in Britain, but most are unknown to me, will challenge Gordon to a cook off. Be it curry chicken, chili or eggs and blood pudding the two dishes are offered for tasting to a table 5 and they decide the better dish. The winner is sometimes surprising.

One more tidbit of television programming is 'Survivors'. Not to be confused with the American show, this is about the lives of Britons who live through a world wide killer virus. Sounds predictable I know, but I like it for some reason. It could be because of Abby the central character who is looking for her son, Peter. The small group that is living in a country estate are lucky enough to have a wine cellar, grounds stocked with game and Range Rovers and BMW's. Not too shabby, eh mate?

Watching all the British shows has me thinking like a Limey.

"Now we're in the shit!"

"Bloody hell!"

"Hows yer mum?"

"Fancy a crisp?" Oh that's from the Geicio commercials, I think.

Anyhoo, if you're bored, give the BBC shows a try. You might find them brilliant.