As an increasing number of viewers get comfortable streaming their TV shows, along comes a new service that offers a fresh boatload of British programming.
Yes, yes, I know. As if we didn’t already have enough choices on TV these days. But it turns out there’s even more British programming that’s never crossed the pond, and some of it should have.
The new streaming service is called BritBox (www.britbox.com) and it offers well-known Brit classics like Doctor Who, Eastenders, Fawlty Towers, AbFab and Coronation Street in addition to newer shows probably less familiar to U.S. audiences.
New shows become available every week, with the complete run of a series if it has completed its overseas showings.
The cast of Inside No. 9 strikes a natural, relaxed pose.
A good example, and a good show, is one that becomes available this Wednesday: Inside No. 9, an off-center title for an off-center comedy.
It’s a half-hour that’s quite unlike anything on U.S. broadcast television and even unique by British standards. Monty Python this is not, though it has familiar elements like rapid-fire exchanges and frequent descents into straight-faced absurdity.
Trying to explain Inside No. 9 is much harder than watching it.
Every episode of the show is self-contained, with a mostly different cast that can include guests as well known as Derek Jacobi, Jessica Raine and Fiona Shaw.
The common thread is that every episode takes place in a place with “No. 9” somewhere in its address. It’s a thread flimsy enough so that if you think it’s someone’s idea of a goof, you’re probably right.
The episodes tend to focus on conversation inside that venue, so if you’re looking for sweeping Jane Eyre-type British countryside visuals, this is probably not your show.
If on the other hand you enjoy clever, sometimes ridiculous and often hilarious banter, it’s worth a shot.
Episodes, the current batch of which includes ominous titles like The Devil of Christmas and The Twelve Days of Christine, often start with what seems like a small seed that blooms into a major showdown.
Jessica Raine in The Devil of Christmas.
One Inside No. 9 episode available Wednesday is titled The Bill and revolves around four men arguing over the check after a pleasant dinner at a restaurant.
Kevin only wants to pay his share and he points out that unlike the others, he did not have a drink. The others all want to pay the whole check, for various reasons that sound silly on their own, but make total sense in the context of the characters we see developing.
Archie at one point says he wants to pay the bill because he has an inoperable brain tumor, so this is probably the last time he will see everyone.
This stops the conversation for a moment, until Craig says he has a friend who also had an inoperable brain tumor and went to a clinic where he was treated by one of the top specialists in the world.
Did he survive, Craig is asked.
“No,” says Craig. “But he had a private room, a 52-inch plasma and all the channels. It was a nice touch.”
That captures the tone though not the full scope of Inside No. 9. Before the half-hour ends, we also have a gasping moment with the waitress and several other revelations that emerge from the argument over the check.
We’ve all argued over a check. None of us has ever been where these guys go.
BritBox was created two months ago by BBC Worldwide and ITV, two of the biggest television producers in the U.K. The website lists its available shows and offers a free seven-day trial, after which a subscription runs $6.99 a month.