Every once in a while, I run across an imported tv show that just makes me happy.

I enjoy seeing the world through another country’s eyes (okay, I have yet to get outside Western, English-speaking countries in this regard, but I’m not sure there’s a lot of other television available from the international community at the moment). The humor is different. The storytelling is different. How characters look and act is different.

So, I thought I’d share my current favs when it comes to not being made in America…

Slings & Arrows (2003-2006, all seasons available on DVD). O, Canada! I gotta love you for this one. Two things got me to rent this series from NetFlix: (1) I read a really smart review of it in Entertainment Weekly when the third season became available on DVD, and (2) I’ve been enamored with Paul Gross since his Due South days. Set in the New Burbage Theater Festival in a smallish Canadian town, this dramedy follows a resident theater company and its new artistic director (played by Paul Gross) through the ups and downs of producing its theater season. I know…doesn’t sound all that great, but trust me. Along with managing to assemble some of the best comedic and dramatic talent Canada has to offer, this show is quick, merciless in its wit, sometimes surprisingly moving, and can be, at times, quite grown up in its themes (warning to sensitive viewers: if they were going to broadcast this show in America, it would have to be on HBO or Showtime). If you’re a fan of The Bard and/or live theater (as I am), well, you are never going to find another show like it. Oh, and did I mention there’s a ghost?

Corner Gas (2004-2008, not as easy to find on DVD, but it’s out there).  Their tagline reads, “Forty kilometers from the middle of nowhere and way beyond normal.” I got introduced to this comedic gem (thanks again to Canada!) by a friend who gave me the first season on DVD for my birthday. Talk about a tv show about nothing…and it’s just about as funny as that other tv show about nothing. At the center of it all is the Corner Gas owner, Brent LeRoy (played by Canadian stand-up comic Brent Butt), who is surrounded by a bunch of quirky yet lovable crazies in the small, small, small town of Dog River, Saskatchewan. The humor is sometimes obvious, sometimes very clever, sometimes wicked, sometimes simple, but I almost always find myself laughing out loud at some point during an episode.

MI-5 (2002-present, seasons 1-5 available on DVD). Okay, you 24 junkies, if you need a fix, this British import is for you. Filled with all the adrenaline-pumping action, political complexities, and moral ambiguities you’ve come to love in Jack Bauer (although not constrained to the 24-hour storytelling device), this series (titled Spooks in its native land) puts us in the middle of domestic terrorism in England. It’s fascinating to view terrorism from another country’s perspective (and America doesn’t always come off smelling too good), and at the heart of this show are agents you come to know and care about (and who can be killed off at any moment, a la 24).  And, oh my stars, the accents! I have thoroughly, thoroughly, enjoyed the rollercoaster ride with this series. (My appreciation to A&E for broadcasting this show stateside, which is where I first discovered it.)

I’m going to keep my eyes open for more tv imports. It’s great to get out of the “the whole world revolves around America” mode that’s pretty easy to fall into, particularly when you watch as much tv as I do.

I’m also thinking it’s great to get out of that mode when I’m not watching tv as well.