E-bah-gum! (E4)

Member Name: bruffyboy

Product:	E4
Date:	27/10/09 (25 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great US shows

Disadvantages: Big Brother coverage

E4 has been around since 2001, and at the time was heralded as being something completely amazing. In reality, it turned out to be a decidedly average digital channel.

The channel is aimed at 15-35 year olds, and at its best includes American TV shows such as Friends and the Sopranos. These American shows are so well written that they really do put us Brits to shame. The channel shows lots of episodes of Friends, which is always a winning comedy. I applaud the channel having the guts to basically acknowledge that UK programming is rubbish, and buying in a load of imports. The Sopranos is (in my opinion) the best show ever, and it's a real joy to get into it on this channel. Having said that, it's a complex drama, and you need to follow it along from the beginning to really get it all. Friends of mine who have got into it half-way through have really struggled, so really the DVD box-sets are the best choice.

At its worst, the channel devolves into uselessness when Big Brother is on, showing almost non-stop live coverage of inside the house. As if this wasn't bad enough, they show the house and then censor anything interesting the housemates are saying, editing over it with the sound of birds tweeting (deary me!) This show is now finished, but these really were the worst couple of months for this channel.

All in all, this is a good channel for the US shows, although it should be noted that these are fairly adult in theme and content, with regular sexual references. At its worst, the Big Brother coverage is boring and pointless, yet it somehow remains the big draw for audiences.

Summary: do it!