to hate how British people are portrayed in American TV programmes?

[500DaysofAutumn]

I've just finished watching an episode of Desperate Housewives, and it the one where Ian who is English has his English parents come and visit him and Susan.

They have a barbeque and Ian's father says -

"So one puts one meat on top of the burning coal? How wonderfully primal"

.... erm ... we may not have hot weather all year round but I'm sure most of us in the UK know what a barbeque is.

Also Ian won a poker games with a hand of "sevens and knaves" to which Carlos replies "we call them JACKS!"

• I've never known Jacks as Knaves.

Don't even get me started on Emily from Friends.

(I know it's just fiction but still )

Going back to the late 80s/early 90s there was an American version of the British sitcom Dear John on US TV. One of the characters in the US version was made (somewhat randomly) English, and one of the very few episodes I watched revolved around her family (parents and a couple of siblings) coming to visit her. Every single family member had a completely different regional British accent (perfectly plausible with the parents but rather unlikely with the siblings) and I found that very funny certainly a lot funnier than anything else about the show while the American family I was staying with were nonplussed; they couldn't hear any difference at all.

(I will cheerfully admit that I probably couldn't pick up subtle variations in US accents either, although I can distinguish some of the more obvious regional accents)

And Castle portrays English people as Australian, for some reason (seriously, he didn't even try to make an attempt at an English accent. And they could easily have made the character Australian if they particularly wanted to cast that actor).

Yy Casey, my American friends can't differenciate between regional accents, which I found quite odd. They couldn't hear any difference at all between Cockney and Scouse.

I LOVED Mr Nigel Murray! There are no words to describe my devestation at his exit, I literally bawled my eyes out! His accent was lovely, although I don't think it was his real accent? He was one of the better portrayals of a Brit on American tv.

I suppose we do the same when we portay Americans as loud, fat and obnoxious. Thinking of that Fawlty Towers episode!

I think they tend to cast An American Who Can Do A "British" Accent. Rather than a native Englishman iyswim. They obviously only cover posh 1900s or comedy cockney (hello there Mr Van Dyke) at stage school!

Irish accents are always a piss-take too, all drunk broad indeterminate brogue.

Disney channel is the worst. Wtf is a British accent ?

Precisely Maureen

The worst is the endless reality competitions like American idol or America's got talent. The nasty and sarcastic judge is invariably British.

And piers Morgan has only been able to reinvent himself over here as a serious journalist by being oh so very British. But it's starting to crack and loads of Americans are going wtf about him!

Oh coola I was delighted when Mr Vincent Nigel-Murray popped up on BBT! I love him...

SPsFanjoIsAsComfyAsAOnesie lol Cos tha's how we tork lass!

I'm sorry and the American guy with ill fitting trousers and a sports coat (that no one has worn since 1987) with trainers shouting about how "quaint it all is" while asking why whatever 16th century cottage they are in isn't air conditioned... that's an accurate portrayal of an American?

Bollocks - we had an Empire

Ahem, yes had an empire.

They couldn't hear any difference at all between Cockney and Scouse.

That's because it is pretty much all white noise.

The most classically awful 'British' accent has to be Dick van Dyck's in Mary Poppins.

Ryan Cartwright (Mr Vincent Nigel-Murray) is British, from the Midlands, but has lived in the US for a while, so I think his accent in Bones was probably fairly genuine, his US accent in Alphas isn't too bad either.

A certain section of the US do see the British as strange bumbling fools, not helped by the GOP calling Brits (or anyone with a national health system) communists, and Gen Petraeus slagging off the British Army etc etc. Americans tend to be thought of as fat, stupid, parochial, rabidly right wing, gun-toting imbeciles. Neither view is completely correct, but as it prevails, so is it portrayed on TV and in film.

Jacks have always been called knaves, as in the nursery rhyme 'The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts all on a summer's day. The Knave of hearts he stole those tarts and took them clean away etc etc'

Well, to be honest, I've lived in the UK for about 9 and a half years and it's only in the past year or so I've been able to identify various regional accents.

You all do sound the same to a foreigner. Sorry.

I'm American, BTW, for those that do not know.

But I hate how Scottish people are usually portrayed on British tv, nevermind US tv. Usually drunk, violent and obnoxious. And all have central Glaswegian accents.

I'm intrigued about all regional accents sounding the same to an American. I'm from England and find some regional British accents e.g. Glaswegian, strong Geordie or scouse, almost impossible to understand. Do Americans have some super listening power, so think these sounds the same as RP? Or do they think RP sounds like Glaswegian? In which case, can they understand anything any of us say? (My experience is they can, hence puzzled).

News flash: there are outdated stereotypes on tv shows!!! People from different countries don't understand the nuances of each others cultures!!! Many Americans do not know that Leeds exists and many Brits have never been further than Florida!!!

It's not like British tv portrays Americans as many faceted characters either--remember Jennifer French in absolutely fabulous?

Surely nobody says "knave" nowadays though.

Maybe they're the same uberpedants who insist on saying "die", and are so quick to point out your perceived lack of knowledge when you choose to use the more commonly accepted form "dice".

I remember watching a John Wayne movie where he played a cop that comes to London. The Scotland Yard superintendant was a Sir, his sidekick was some chinless twit and the Judy Geeson detective character was the DD of a Lord. Yup, fairly typical examples of the Met.

And Castle portrays English people as Australian, for some reason (seriously, he didn't even try to make an attempt at an English accent

Not something I've watched, but when I lived in the US I'd quite often be asked if I was Australian - I think it just sounds 'British' to most US ears. You'd think though, there's lots of Brits in California, the studios could hire one to do an accent check.

Most British people can't tell apart Australian and Kiwi accents, or different regional US accents. I must admit I can only identify the massively different ones like New York/California/Texas (or South in general) and it's apparently difficult for most British people to identify a Canadian accent.

The only Scots I can think of as portrayed by American tv are Greenskeeper Willie and Shrek. So no stereotypes there then.

Canadians are easy, they say 'a boat' for about and similar for all other ou sounds. Kiwis have different (much more amusing) vowel sounds from Aussies. Subtle variation in American regions may be trickier.

I have Canadian relatives and their accents have become much more American over the years, so that some would be indistinguishable. My grandparents generation sounded far less American, less broad and drawling, more clipped, almost a bit more Scottish.

I met an american lady who was genuinely that we have black people here

The english/scottish/irish accents on murder she wrote (shut up, I love naff telly ) make me howl and / or cringe!

Watched one the other day and I had to mute him. Worst attempt at some sort of east end gangster I have ever heard

because brits are portrayed as something that the victorians churned out hate it, and English people always sound so much more ENglish on american tv, I can't say I have heard or seen a scot on US tv bet they would have bagpipes under1 arm yanbu it is annoying