Putting the "America" in "BBC America"

So guess what show BBC America has added to its schedule--twice each weeknight, no less--in some of its valuable prime time lineup space?

No, come on, guess. What series did the American Beeb decide to share with all of us Anglophiles hungry for quality "new to us" programming?

You guessed it: "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

OK, you probably didn't guess it. I hope you didn't. After all, who could expect BBC America to add a show that's not British, has already been played to death, and is already on other networks, anyway?

It's time for us to START expecting that kind of maneuver because it's about time to write off BBC America as a viable source of British entertainment. Oh, there will be occasional treats like "The Inbetweeners," and if you're a fan of "Top Gear" and "Doctor Who," you'll have reason to tune in for the endless edited reruns on the American Beeb, but the slow, steady decline of this channel is becoming an...an...an avalanche (I was trying to think of a cool British expression there, but I just decided to say "avalanche" with an accent instead).

Seriously, "Star Trek"? And not even the classic one, but the fake one? I'll spare you the story of how I learned to hate "Next Generation" at college when a group of students rushed into the TV lounge each night after dinner to reserve the TV for it instead of "Beavis and Butt-head." No, I'll just tell you that the other day I watched "A Piece of the Action," the old-school "Trek" episode featuring Vic Tayback as Roaring Twenties-style gangster. Did the "Next Generation" ever have an episode with Vic Tayback, period? No. End of discussion.

"Trek" is wildly inappropriate for BBC America, or at least the BBC America I want to have. It's moves like this that make me wish I had the guts (and the indifference to sports and TCM) to cancel my cable service. What, the show "fits" because some British dude plays the ship's captain? In that case, I have some other programming suggestions for the network. How about "The Jeffersons"? It had that weird British neighbor that walked on George's back. Or why not show "Friends"? They went over to London for a few episodes, right? And, hey, why not add reruns of "American Idol"? They sing British songs on there all the time!

I will give BBC America credit for filling 10 hours a week without Gordon Ramsay, but this is just too much. I know that on weeknights, I'm going to boldly go where so many others have gone before: to other channels.