Roush on Life on Mars
Question: You recently published a
letter from Scott B. asking about subtitles for BBC America shows like
Life on Mars. BBC America's shows are broadcast with closed captioning, which almost all modern televisions support. It's not just for the hearing impaired! BBC America even shows cheeky little bumpers (voiced by
The Daily Show's John Oliver) explaining how to turn on CC on your TV and saying that you should do so if you can't understand what these characters are saying. He then blames American viewers' inability to understand British accents on the Boston Tea Party. I hope this helps!
— Annie B., Houston
Matt Roush: Thanks again to everyone who wrote in with this suggestion. I guess if I watched more things in real time — BBC America is very generous with its advance screeners — I would have picked up on this. Regarding the other issue in Scott's letter, about BBC shows being released on DVD, in the case of Life on Mars, I'm told any hold-up may have to do with music clearances. But Rachel writes in to suggest that this show and many other great BBC programs (like the excellent State of Play miniseries) are available via Amazon.co.uk in Region 2 format.
