The one word that separates American and British TV viewers

One big difference between US and British cultures is the use and acceptance of the word Fuck on TV and in films,

This was brought home to me again the other night when I was watching a re-run of The Graham Norton Show on BBC America.

On the talk show, which was originally shown in the UK, Extras and Ugly Betty actress Ashley Jensen told a story with a punch line of a child telling her to Fuck Off. The audience tittered – it wasn’t that funny - and Norton went on with the next silly segment.

In the US, BBC America not only bleeped out the word but the powers that be even flashed on screen a warning beforehand that the show contains adult material and may be offensive.

Like almost every network in the country, BBC America treats its viewers like children when they actually tune in; as if they are mortally offended to hear one of the most commonly used words in the English speaking world.

The network must have a massive cast of censors because the British programs it shows are littered with the word as viewers across the Atlantic aren’t too bothered by it. The bleeping of Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares must be a full time job in itself.

In the US only the so-called Premium Channels such as HBO and Showtime don’t bleep and as any viewer knows they love the word and can’t use it enough in programs like Dexter and Deadwood.

At the other end of the scale if someone on live television says the word Fuck, it still rates an actual “shock, horror” news story in some newspapers. In the last month or so an American football coach, a basketball player and a late night comedienne have been singled out. Even those stories don’t use the word itself but instead substitute F-bomb.

Honestly, who the Bleep cares nowadays?