Dateline Pasadena: The English Channels, plus news from Oxygen and your Tori Spelling update

Look, I know that American TV has always owed a huge debt to British ideas. "Monty Python," "All in the Family," "Masterpiece Theatre," "Millionaire," "The Office," Charles and Diana … the history of Anglo-American television is a long and happy one.

But what's the deal over at Discovery Networks? The operator of several top-rated channels including Discovery, TLC and Animal Planet, a cable powerhouse headquartered — allegedly — in suburban Washington, D.C., rolled out a truckload of new shows Wednesday for TV critics gathered here. It was a British invasion from start to finish.

First, Travel Channel's general manager came out ... and he's a Brit. So, I would soon realize, are the folks who run TLC and Discovery Channel. Meanwhile, Animal Planet has a new show out called "Spring Watch USA," a six-week series that will track the arrival of our favorite season, with cameras rolling "just prior to broadcast each week to capture the rites of spring as it unfolds in near real time." Cool idea — but Animal Planet didn't think of it first. It's been a BBC tradition for years, done in collaboration with England's leading conservation charity and the help of thousands of volunteers. Animal Planet's version, which will begin April 14, will feature mainly the channel's own stars, including Jeff Corwin and Philippe Cousteau.

Turning to TLC, run by another Occidental type, a reality series called "My Life as a Child" will follow the lives of 20 fascinating children chosen on a nationwide talent search, from a boy who's pursuing his love of ballet to an 8-year-old girl who's already published one book. The kids are given camcorders and learn to make video diaries.

The result is a compelling program that looks like a winner. And it should be, since "My Life As a Child" is already a hit on the BBC.

And then there's Discovery, now run by a former Beeb executive, that simply hired away a whole BBC crew to make its newest high-definition extravaganza, "Planet Earth," which offers unprecedented looks into the workings of nature. (We won't even get into BBC America, which is also under Discovery's roof.)

What gives? I asked Billy Campbell, who oversees the Discovery family in the U.S. and who, despite his Anglophonic name, is actually a southerner. He assured me that it was more appearance than reality. He pointed out that Discovery had also announced a new Ted Koppel special, "The Long War" (March 11), about the conflict between Islamist radicals and the United States. And he noted that Travel Channel, with its mutton-eating FM, had done something original and uniquely American: It adapted the bestselling book "1000 Places to See Before You Die" into a series and chose a cute couple from Colorado, Albin and Melanie Ulle, to visit about a tenth of the book's destinations for a new series that begins March 29.

Fine. I'm placated. But I won't be surprised if Time Warner Cable starts letting me pay my bill in pounds sterling.

Other news from the winter press previews:

• You      probably haven't heard, but a few months ago the New York Times quietly      bowed out of its joint venture with Discovery on the Discovery Times      Channel. Campbell      said Wednesday he hasn't decided where it is heading, except to say it      will be about news and documentaries because "so few cable networks serve      that audience."
• BBC      America unveiled its new logo, that will begin appearing on its air      January 17. It looks like a bullseye — I'm sorry, "bulls-A," as the      channel's general manager Kathryn Mitchell called it. Not coincidentally,      an ambitious 13-week retelling of "Robin Hood" begins on BBC America this      winter.
• A      National Geographic Channel crew was ambushed in November while filming an      upcoming special, "Inside the Green Berets," in Afghanistan. The channel's      president Laureen Ong said Wednesday, that producer Steve Hoggard and      other injured crew members "are expected to make a full recovery," and to      have the program ready to air in April.
• Oxygen      will roll out a series of documentaries about girls in America      and around the world beginning March 25 with two films. The series will be      hosted by former "View" correspondent Lisa Ling and will explore such      themes as mothers in prison and the exploitation of girls in India.
• And on      another cultural note, former "90210" actress Tori Spelling, who was left      a measly $800,000 by her dad, the late megaproducer Aaron Spelling, shot      down rumors she was escaping Hollywood      to open a B&B with her hubby Dean McDermott. The two will appear in an      Oxygen reality series, "Tori and Dean Inn Love," starting March 21, but      they see their new property — in which Spelling invested her entire      inheritance — as a business venture. "We want to brand it and branch it      out," said McDermott.