Plastic Passion

The Michael in the American Office is more womanly, and is a more typical American metrosexual. Gay jokes ensue.

It's just localization.

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To adress your second point, I think that may be because of what I said earlier. "If I wanted to look at real people I'd go outside, not watch a show."

That's what the people who cast the actors think we want, I suppose. Except I see prettier people in real life every day. It's all variable.

I'd honestly prefer to see people I'd see in real life in dramas, rather than pretty people I'd see face to face once a millenia. It just adds to the realism of it.

Take the English soaps Eastenders and Coronation Street, for example. Both are about a small neighbourhood in London and Manchester respectively, and it's easily believable that I might bump into any of the characters if I go walking around either city:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders/char...rs/index.shtml

http://www.itv.com/Soaps/coronations...s/default.html

EDIT: Well, five years ago they were definitely a rough lot that I'd expect to meet in the street.

There's a lot of hot chicks in the first cast.

Agreed. I think what Lenny is trying to say, though, is that they aren't plastic. Pretty =/= Plastic. In the Who would you rather thread I don't find either woman attractive. Honestly, Talented Hamster is more attractive than either of them. Women publicized in the US aren't really... Realistic. And that takes away a lot of the attraction.

While I do agree with Lenny for the most part, I do see a number of shows that tend to break the "abnormally attractive people" mold.

The Wire and Deadwood are two that come to mind.