Come Dine With Me

Dave and I have been learning more about British television. We latched onto BBC America, as I mentioned more than a year ago, long before we ever imagined moving to England. Now that we're here, we're expanding our roster of shows.

I mentioned several favorites in that last entry. I eventually watched all the episodes of "How Clean is Your House?" so I gave up on that one, and Jonathan Ross' talk show went off the air. Graham Norton seems to be on hiatus now. Gordon Ramsay just got too foul and mean-spirited for my taste.

Now we've moved on to "Come Dine With Me," which seems to be on every five minutes or so. It's a pretty brilliant concept: Get four (or sometimes five) very different people together and have them host each other for dinner. Each night a new person hosts, and the others comment on their menu selections, the execution of their meals, their personal habits and decor, and their entertaining skills. On top of it all, there's a rather sarcastic narrator who contributes punchy comments when needed -- he's a hoot.

We love this show. Why it hasn't been adapted for American markets I'm not sure. (Or maybe it has and we're just not aware.)

There's a quiz show called "Eggheads" that we sometimes watch, when different teams of challengers take on a standing group known as the "Eggheads," said to be Britain's brainiest quiz show participants. (I'm a fan of Daphne, who seems like a sweet old grandmothery type but has a brain sharp as a tack -- although she can be a little fuzzy on pop culture.)

There's "Heir Hunters," which I sometimes watch in the mornings, about teams of researchers who work to find living heirs for people who die without wills. (For a commission, of course.) The reporter in me likes all that research. Maybe I should get a job at one of those firms?

That's followed by "Homes Under the Hammer," a show about bedraggled houses sold at auction and then restored (or torn down) by their new owners.

Those are our favorites so far. We did find "Hoarders" episodes here, but they all seem to be reruns. And while folks in the states are enthralled by a new season of "Project Runway," it unfortunately doesn't seem to be available on our cable system at all.

(Photo: A colorful row of houses on Lancaster Road, not too far from our flat.)