"Taboo" is a BBC One and BBC Two television series, created by Tom Hiddleston and Bryan Elsley. The show premiered on December 7, 2017. It is set in 1814 and follows James Delaney, played by James Norton, who returns to London after 12 years abroad, only to find his father's trading company on the verge of bankruptcy and his family in turmoil.
Second pass – Technical QA
Third pass – Playback QA
Sign‑off
| ✅ | Action | Details / Tools |
|---|--------|-----------------|
| 1 | Obtain source material | High‑definition video files (master, no water‑mark), original audio track, any existing subtitle drafts. |
| 2 | Confirm legal clearance | Verify that you have rights to translate & distribute subtitles for this series. |
| 3 | Select subtitling software | Recommended: Aegisub, Subtitle Edit, or professional TMS (e.g., memoQ with subtitle plug‑in). |
| 4 | Create project folder structure | Season_XX/, Season_XX/Raw/, Season_XX/Final/, Season_XX/QC/. |
| 5 | Set technical specs | – Font: Arial‑Unicode‑MS, size 24 (or platform‑specific).
– Line limit: 2 lines, ≤ 42 characters per line (including spaces).
– Frame rate: match source (commonly 23.976 fps). |
| 6 | Gather reference material | Existing English subtitles from earlier releases, style guides from the network, and a list of recurring “taboo” terms used in the series. | Subtitles Taboo American Style 1 2 3 4 6golkes 3
| Aspect | What to watch for | How to handle it |
|--------|-------------------|------------------|
| Humor & sarcasm | Rapid‑fire jokes, double‑meaning wordplay, cultural references to U.S. politics, pop culture, and regional slang. | Preserve punch‑lines; if a joke relies on a foreign pun, replace it with a comparable English one (maintain tone, not literal meaning). |
| Taboo language | Mild profanity, slang, and “off‑color” references that are part of the show’s brand. | • Follow platform rating (e.g., TV‑MA allows stronger profanity than TV‑PG‑13).
• Use standard censored forms: f‑word → “f—”, s‑word → “s—”.
• For highly explicit words, consider “softening” only when required by the rating; otherwise retain the original word. |
| Cultural references | U.S. sports teams, political figures, regional foods, etc. | Keep the reference if the audience will recognize it. If not, add a short clarification in parentheses (e.g., “(the ‘Gatorade‑handshake’ gesture)”). |
| Visual gags without dialogue | Physical comedy, on‑screen text, memes. | Insert a descriptive subtitle in brackets: [laughs], [text on screen: “No refunds”]. |
| Episode‑specific terminology | “6golkes” (a recurring in‑joke/fictional product). | Keep the term unchanged; add a footnote or brief on‑screen note the first time it appears (e.g., “6golkes – a fictional energy drink”). | "Taboo" is a BBC One and BBC Two