The Yuletide TV Culture Clash Log

The little child I once was loved to watch holiday programming. I loved counting the number of branches on Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree (Three? Six? Five?) or watching Bing Crosby and David Bowie sing an improbable duet with “Little Drummer Boy/Peace On Earth”:



As I got older, I changed, and so did my feelings about Christmas. It wasn’t any one thing that triggered it, just an erosion of little things throughout the years during the so-called “holiday season” (John Lennon’s murder, the Die Hard movies, my niece’s passing). I became cynical, and treated the holiday as just another day off.

Yet something small is changing that for me: British television programming. Christmas day programming this year in England has something for everyone: "Doctor Who" for sci-fi fans, "Downton Abbey" for historical drama buffs, even "Top Gear" for motorheads. What’s on the tube in the United States Of America? Sports and repeats.

Television programming is based on revenue. The low turnout of viewers in the US on Christmas leads to lower advertising rates prompting programmers to not waste new material. However, this is different in the UK, with the BBC mainly funded through a television license fee paid by its citizens. In this fashion the BBC can provide Christmas day programming without taking a major hit on cash flow.

And for someone who doesn’t seem to have a lot of cash during the holidays, watching television is the perfect way to pass the day in an engrossing (if cheap) manner. It's perfect for managing expectations. Just as the little things chipped away at my love for Christmas, the little things are building that love back. Like putting a Santa hat on my Gigi character, or watching a British television show on Christmas day here in the USA!