當(dāng)不成王室成員，看看也好

今年3月，又有一部以英國(guó)王室為題材的電視劇面世。以卡戴珊姐妹、紅毯報(bào)道著稱的娛樂(lè)八卦臺(tái)E！電視頻道制作了它們的第一部原創(chuàng)電視劇—《王室》。

美國(guó)人為什么對(duì)王室情有獨(dú)鐘？是因?yàn)橛?guó)口音，還是兩個(gè)可愛(ài)的王室小寶寶，或者純屬八卦？一起來(lái)看個(gè)究竟。

America’s long national love affair[強(qiáng)烈興趣] with British royals has grown to the point that it even embraces[欣然接受] fakes.

Bored with PBS注 documentaries[紀(jì)錄片] about the queen？ Want more Downton Abbey？ Network execs[執(zhí)行官] have just the programming for you：

—I Wanna Marry Harry， a Fox reality show about a dozen easily-confused[糊涂的] American women competing for the heart of an Englishman they’re told is the prince himself， Harry.

—The Royals， E！’s first scripted series[系列劇]， a Gossip Girl style series about a fictional[虛構(gòu)的] and troubled British royal family， starring Elizabeth Hurley.

—Almost Royal， BBC America’s comedy about a pair of funny aristocratic[貴族的] siblings[兄弟姊妹] （fake relatives of the British royals） on their first trip to the US and their curious[不尋常的] interactions[互動(dòng)] with the locals.

Why now？ Programmers say the wildly popular young princes William and Harry， Duchess Kate and baby Prince George have changed everything.

“Suddenly royal is cool again，” says Jeff Olde， executive vice president[執(zhí)行副總裁] of programming and development for E！ “The royal family has moved from the stuffy[古板的] older generation， and suddenly you’ve got the hottest couple on the planet.”

America has long been interested in titled types， says Perry Simon， general manager of BBC America， who remembers the massive ratings[評(píng)級(jí)] for the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer in 1981.

“There’s no limit to the fascination[入迷] that Americans have with the British royal family，” Simon says.

Why？ Maybe because it’s the one thing that America doesn’t have， says Danny Fenton， an executive producer with Zig Zag Productions， which is behind the Marry Harry show.

For E！， with its young audience， it’s a “natural extension[延伸] of our brand，” says Olde. “Our ratings go up around royal events. Our viewers would love to be inside of that party， inside a world as glossy[徒有其表的] and beautiful and fun as they can imagine.”

And there’s something for every audience in these shows： Smart British comedy for the highclass BBC America crowd. Palace-and-servants fantasies[幻想的情境] for the Downton Abbey lovers. Family drama for the soap-loving audience. And opportunities to feel superior[有優(yōu)越感的] to those snooty[傲慢的] Brits， whose classy[上等的] accents hide the fact they can be clueless[無(wú)知的] too.

What’s not to like？

美國(guó)國(guó)民長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)對(duì)英國(guó)王室的強(qiáng)烈興趣有增無(wú)減，甚至到了歡迎“贗品”的地步。

厭倦了PBS的英女王紀(jì)錄片？想看更多《唐頓莊園》？電視網(wǎng)的執(zhí)行官們已經(jīng)為你準(zhǔn)備好各種節(jié)目了：

—《我要嫁給哈里王子》，福克斯電視臺(tái)的一檔真人秀節(jié)目，節(jié)目組對(duì)一群傻里傻氣的美國(guó)女人說(shuō)某位英國(guó)男士是哈里王子本人，于是這群女士為了贏得他的青睞而使盡渾身解數(shù)。

—《王室》，E！電視頻道第一部原創(chuàng)電視劇，這是一部《緋聞女孩》風(fēng)格的電視劇，故事圍繞一個(gè)麻煩不斷、虛構(gòu)的英國(guó)王室展開(kāi)，由伊麗莎白·赫莉主演。

—《王族美國(guó)行》，BBC美國(guó)臺(tái)的一部喜劇，講述了一對(duì)搞笑的貴族兄妹（虛構(gòu)的英國(guó)王室親戚）第一次到美國(guó)所發(fā)生的事情，以及他們和當(dāng)?shù)厝烁鞣N不尋常的互動(dòng)。

為什么是現(xiàn)在呢？節(jié)目制作人說(shuō)，年輕而極受歡迎的威廉、哈里王子，以及凱特王妃和喬治小王子，是他們改變了一切。

“突然間，王室又變得酷起來(lái)了，”E！頻道規(guī)劃與開(kāi)發(fā)部的執(zhí)行副總裁杰夫·奧德說(shuō)。……