Brits offer their own takes on life
Three new offerings with a decidedly British accent dominate the remote tonight.
Apparently, nobody in America knows how to raise children anymore.
Half of the parents appearing on “Wife Swap” speak in New Age gibberish, sleep late and write poetry. The other half are fitness-obsessed shopaholics. Who is raising the youth of America?
Fox chimes in with “Nanny 911” (9 p.m., Fox), a comic advice lifestyle series featuring a team of English nannies with differing styles and areas of expertise. Head nanny Lillian assesses each family’s strengths and needs and assigns the proper nanny to work her “Mary Poppins”-like magic.
Is it me, or are we being overwhelmed by British advice-givers? How different is “Nanny” from “How Clean is Your House?,” the Lifetime series featuring two dust-busters from across the pond?
Americans on TV seem to like being spoken to in harsh tones by opinionated Brits.
In a mix of “Masterpiece Theatre” and reality television, “Regency House Party” (9 p.m., KSPS) invites 10 thoroughly modern men and women to spend nine summer weeks re-creating a 19th-century social season. Plucked from their 21st-century stations and occupations, will the players be able to navigate the strict social mores of England’s Regency Era (1811-1820)?
Of course, having 40 servants around the stately country manor couldn’t hurt.
In the first installment, the men are taught the finer points of swordplay, horseback riding and falconry and, most important, the fine art of walking. The women’s lessons are more limited, but they do learn that, when held and wielded in the proper manner, a simple fan can speak volumes.
“Regency House Party” airs every Wednesday night through Nov. 24.
The story behind the 2003 fantasy “The Young Visiters” (8 p.m., BBC America) is remarkable. In 1890, when Daisy Ashford was 9, she decided to write a novel. And did. The manuscript to “The Young Visiters” sat in a drawer until 1919, when it was published. It has never gone out of print.
As you might expect, “The Young Visiters” proceeds with childlike logic, not unlike “Alice in Wonderland.” The “elderly” 42-year-old Alfred Salteena (Jim Broadbent) leads a dull life in a dull suburb until he becomes smitten with Ethel (Lyndsay Marshal), who believes Alfred can introduce her to high society and aristocracy.
Other highlights
Scheduled on “60 Minutes II” (8 p.m., CBS): violence between U.S. National Guardsmen at Guantanamo Bay.
Charlie goes cold turkey with unexpected help from Locke on “Lost” (8 p.m., ABC).
House-proud owners show how elbow grease and imagination turned ugly ducklings into swans on “Generation Renovation” (8 p.m., HGTV).
With Leo out of commission, the staff flounders on “The West Wing” (9 p.m., NBC).
A worker dies in a tunnel deep below the city streets on “CSI: NY” (10 p.m., CBS).
The embittered ex-wife of a social-climbing palooka is accused of his murder on “Law & Order” (10 p.m., NBC).
A fitness freak and a pleasantly plump Earth mother trade families on “Wife Swap” (10 p.m., ABC).
Cult choice
Jacqueline Susann (Bette Midler) attempts to complete her trash masterpiece “Valley of the Dolls” with the help of her husband (Nathan Lane) and editor (David Hyde Pierce) in the 2000 comedy-biography “Isn’t She Great” (7:30 p.m., WE).