In the two centuries that followed, the citizens of those united former Colonies earned a reputation for plain speaking to the point of bluntness, as well as for a love of central heating and chilled libations, while the British continued to be known for their cold manners, colder houses and, of course, their warm beer.
Fast-forward to summer 2007.
On Fox, Scotsman chef Gordon Ramsay, who hails from a part of the world where oatmeal and suet boiled in a sheep's stomach has long been considered a delicacy, is putting the hell in "Hell's Kitchen" for a bunch of American would-be chefs, one (bleeped) F-bomb at a time.
On ABC's "Supernanny," British nanny Jo Frost can be seen teaching hapless American parents how to cope with everything from violent outbursts to bedtime. And while far less rude about it than Ramsay, she's pretty direct - and all too capable of cowing her subjects.
On ABC's "American Inventor," which is produced by "Idol" 's Cowell, the hanging judge is clearly British entrepreneur Peter Jones, who's also a producer.
On NBC's "America's Got Talent," which Cowell also produces, two of the three people judging "America" are Brits - Piers Morgan and Sharon Osbourne.
Yes, that Sharon Osbourne.
The British invasion's not just a summer thing.
ABC's "Dancing with the Stars," which is clearly modeled, like most "reality" TV competitions these days, after the phenomenally successful "American Idol," has its own Simon in the person of London native Len Goodman, whose caustic comments have been known to cut celebrity dancers off at the knees.
And though it would be easy to blame Simon for the Cowell-ization of American TV, he wasn't the first.
