Every review I try to write about a British teen TV show seems to inevitably come back to the things British series do (or do well) and American series don’t that make them more enjoyable, more realistic, and/or just better shows. (As such, I will postpone writing about British supernatural teen series The Misfits to get this rant out of the way.)
Here are a few (incredibly generalized) examples:
1. Unlike American teens, British teens swear. A lot.
Here’s the thing, all teens swear, or use inappropriate language, hassle each other, or generally goof around, but listening to the language on American teen television, you’d never know it. By including this significant aspect of youth language use, British depictions of teens boost the realism and believability of dialogue and as a result characters become much closer to real people, and further from caricatures reciting lines.
2. While American teens wonder whether or not they love each other, worry about whether or not they’re ready for a sexual relationship, or are shamed for their “easy” sexual openness, British teens just have sex – or don’t.
This style of representing teen sexuality – frankly as part of a narrative, rather than as some dramatic climax (pun intended) – pulls series away from the American “after school special” zone of didactic morality lessons and opens up the space for characters to act as people might. It’s a style that emphasizes just showing us what happens and moving the story forward, rather than amping up relationship drama at every turn.
3. Ditto for drugs and (to a lesser extent) alcohol.
American series seem to like to turn everything into lessons, with dramatic changes of faith or crises resulting in changes of heart. On an American series, recreational drug use will become dangerous, will result in accidents, overdoses, or addiction, and will be recanted as wrong. In contrast, British series tend to represent the rampant, recreational drug use that teens engage in in the casual manner in which they do so. It’s refreshing not to be forced to look through the lens that frames any drug use as “deviance.” In contrast to the crisis – lesson learned model, these depictions deemphasize the (frequently illegal) actions of teens as things teens do, not dramatic issues teens face.
4. Unlike American teens who must be rich, plastic-looking, and stylish to be featured on a TV series, British teens can be penniless, homeless, and wear the same grubby t-shirt everyday and still be the centre of a really good story.
It seems that American teen TV cares far more about the visual aspects of television, emphasizing colour, style, fantasy lifestyle, rather than interesting narrative. In contrast, British teen TV focuses on telling good stories.
Ultimately, the impression I get from this disparity is that American TV sees teen characters as vehicles for soap-style drama, while British TV sees teen characters as people. It’s a huge difference when you think about it. On the one hand, you have shows about drama, and on the other you have shows about three-dimensional, fleshed out, realistic characters. I know what I’d rather watch.
Of course there are many cultural differences represented within such teen shows that may also affect my enjoyment of any particular series, but it strikes me that the little things I’ve pointed out go a long way towards my interpretations of quality. Beyond my personal Anglophile enjoyment of adorable accents and fascinating British idioms, I can’t help but feel drawn to the superior emphasis on realism, character development, and story.
