Cutting the cord and negotiating cable event series

Broadchurch leads Olivia Colman and David Tennant

Quickly, because it's not the point of this post, let me just say Broadchurch episode one was solid, brilliantly acted (especially Olivia Colman) and sets up some great stuff for the remaining 7 stanzas on BBC America. I'd really like to know what was on that kid's computer that he deleted. And one more thing ... do you think American TV execs would ever choose two people who look like this to star in a series? This is why I love British TV, it's not about how hot you are but how hot your acting is, and these two have it in spades.

I love British TV so much in fact that the real hurt for me in cutting the cord will be BBC America and the other cable channels from IFC to Encore/Starz that license that content. This will require a shift in thinking.

I could buy Broadchurch on iTunes, of course. $20.99 for the eight episodes, making for a per episode cost of $2.62. For 42 minutes of content. A discount of 37 cents for buying the season pass. BTW, they're giving you the first one free if you want, just click here for that (limited time). And then of course I own the thing. Forever. Not that rewatching a crime drama is really a thing, you do already know who did it.

I could acquire one of those UK expatriate browser add-ons that I see advertised and watch it on ITV's catch up service, they're rent it to you for 1.29 UK, two bucks American. I'm not gonna try it, though. Not yet.

Of course, you could always torrent the sucker, but that's really a last resort that I wouldn't use unless, for example, you're Olivia Colman's American cousin and you can justify it with some higher calling to family pride or whatever. Pirating is illegal.

There is something else you can do, though, and it's FREE! It's difficult, though. Are you ready?

Decide not to care.

Yes, you gotta decide not to care. You don't have to be first and you don't have to watch it at the same time as everyone else. You can watch it when it goes to DVD sometime right after the final episode airs. You can watch OTHER shows. Other crime dramas. Other British dramas. Other shows that star David Tennant.

Here's a bunch of examples:

Tennant and another co-star, Doctor Who's Billie Piper

Crime dramas: Your broadcast network shows are still being broadcast! Surprise! Just ask your newfangled never-had-an-aerial-and-doesn't-even-know-what-that-is TV to search for broadcast channels. Check your TV's manual.

David Tennant: There's always some Doctor Who episodes to watch. That's where I met him. Netflix and Amazon Prime and iTunes has them, as well as DVD and Blu-Ray.

British Dramas: Netflix and Hulu are your friends in this regard. Netflix has 41 British TV dramas just waiting for you, including Luther with Idris Elba which is also a great crime drama.

Even if you bought Broadchurch from iTunes you would still be spending less for it, Hulu, Netflix and a broadband connection than you would paying the behemoth cable operators to deliver programming that interrupts you with commercials and costs a fortune.

NBC's Smash pilot episode free at iTunes, here's some kinda non-spoilery comments

Here's the link if you just wanna go watch it yourself. If you don't have iTunes on your typeylooky machine you'll have to download it.

Totes worth it, though. Fun show. Great music. Great musical performances from Megan Hilty (my Glinda from the LA company of Wicked) and Katharine McPhee (don't get me started on the whole "introducing" thing they're doing in the marketing and she's no Streep with the acting but it'll do for now).

Of course much of the show is about the two of them competing for this lead role in the Marilyn Monroe musical written by Debra Messing's and Christian Borle's characters, but frankly I don't care so much about them as I do the two competing for the role. They also both have relationships (husband, new assistant that will probably get slept with my someone soon) and blah blah blah and then there's Anjelica Huston of all things as half of a fictionally divorcing Barry and Fran Weissler with Michael Christofer. Their job seems to be to advance the plot with monetary complications for the principals, kinda like a Broadway version of the McCourts from the LA Dodgers.

If you have any interest at all in sex with men you'll probably wanna do Jack Davenport. The years have been wonderful to the Coupling star (you saw him most recently here in FlashForward two years ago). It's as if they've drenched him in hotness and pushed him out in front of the camera.

I liked it but will it play in Peoria? Dunno. This link will show they haven't reviewed it yet.

See what I did there?

Smash premieres on Monday Feb 6 at 10 pm.