What British TV series are people watching and enjoying?
Asked by
glacial (
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)
November 6th, 2013
I’m all Sherlock-ed, Downton-ed, QI-ed, and Doc Martin-ed out, and am hoping for some recommendations for good series that have had limited exposure in North America.
What should we know we’re missing?
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33 Answers
Sherlock. Doctor Who. Watched all of Broadchurch over the past weekend in a marathon. All awesome.
The Fall and Peaky Blinders I sat through. Good, but not great.
I tried Copper, but that might be BBC America. Started strong, but now I have to talk myself into watching it.
You should all watch Derek, outstanding work.
@Imadethisupwithnoforethought I’ve heard of Broadchurch and will investigate.
@ucme I don’t know what it is with Ricky Gervais, but I have somehow managed to not watch anything he’s ever done, despite the fact that I find him hilarious. It might have something to do with the fact that I didn’t find the US version of The Office funny… but perhaps not. Maybe it’s just a fold in the fabric of the universe or something. I’ll look out for Derek.
@glacial Derek will have you crying with laughter & sadness in equal measure.
QI, Would I lie to you and 8 out of 10 cats.
@glacial I finished watching it(Broadchurch) and looked up whether they would do another season. It seems like an American company bought the rights and will be redoing the whole thing as an American series, complete with Tennant. So I don’t know to tell you to watch the British version or not.
Graham Norton show is also funny. It is like an American talk show, but the British seem to have a mean streak.
@ragingloli Rich Hall has appeared on 8 out of 10 cats. I’m in, obviously.
Have you seen The Tudors?
@Imadethisupwithnoforethought I’ll likely skip the US version of anything… I don’t really enjoy remakes (except, apparently, of Israeli shows? In Treatment and Homeland are favourites).
A friend of mine recently told me about Graham Norton’s show (I know him from QI) – I thought it was nightly, but I see from looking around a bit that it’s weekly – I could probably manage that.
@Jeruba Nope, I missed it on the original run – I should go back?
Absolutely. The whole thing, from start to finish. That’ll keep you going for a little while.
Disclaimer: I only watch stuff on DVD from the library, so I’m anywhere from one to twenty years behind. Haha.
I’ve enjoyed:
Broadchurch
Black Mirror
Being Human
Midsomer Murders
Bleak House
Mistresses (did that every come back for a second series?)
Doctor Who and Torchwood
Inspector Morse
Inspector Lewis
Inspector Lynley (ok, I’m a bit of a murder mystery addict)
Marple
Shakespeare Retold
Jekyll
The IT Crowd
Extras
A Bit of Fry and Laurie
Jeeves and Wooster
Blackadder
Dalziel and Pascoe
How to Look Good Naked
An Idiot Abroad
The Ricky Gervais Show
…that’s all I can think of right now. I’ll probably pop in with a few more.
Season after season of Midsomer Murders. 1997–2013 although not worth bothering after the original DCI Tom Barnaby leaves the show. This series alone can keep you busy for months.
“This series is TV at its best. The plots are full of twists and turns, none of the predictable formula plots of the American hour long dramas. The attention to detail is extraordinary, from the costumes, the cottage interiors to the whiskers on a character’s face.
One of the pleasures of watching a British drama, such as this one, is the quality of the acting. The actors are not chosen for their flawless white smiles or their silicon enhanced bodies but for their acting talents.
The scenery and the quaint English villages are idyllic but underneath the seven deadly sins fester. The viewer can enjoy piecing together the clues to uncover the main villain but it is also fun to guess who is going to be the next victim.”
^ I haven’t been able to bring myself to watch an episode with the new DCI, though I liked his character well enough on the guest appearances.
Perhaps after I see every episode. (I’d say I’ve seen about 40% of them)
^^^ Don’t bother. He is Tom Barnaby’s cousin and charming enough but the series becomes formulaic and droopy, unlike Lewis followin on Inspector Morse’ s heels.
I’ve just seen “Last Tango in Halifax” with the great Derek Jacobi; it’s not bad. B+ (Halifax, England and not Nova Scotia) and “The Paradise”, a soap about a British department store, based on a novel by Emile Zola. Takes place, I think, in the late 19th century and has sumptuous costumes, settings, carriages, and hairdos.
“Foyle’s War”
“Last Tango in Halifax” which just ended was fun if not spectacular.
Did you ever see “I, Claudius”?
One of my favorite Brit series of all time does not seem to be available:
“A Family at War”
I watched it with my husband in the 1970s and we loved it.
Oh – how about “Call the Midwife”?
If you want to watch a young David Tennant, I recommend Takin’ Over the Asylum. For general fun times, Spaced. Loved Jessica Stevenson and Simon Pegg in their respective roles.
On the other hand, I gritted my teeth through a few episodes of Lark Rise to Candleford and then gave up and canceled the rest from my queue.
So glad about these news on ‘Broadchurch’... Definitely watch that, @glacial!
@Kardamom – I’ll be trying out Doc Martin today. ;-)
^^ Be prepared to become an addict. Martin Clunes is the male version of what the French call “une jolie laide.” The story and all of the characters are bewitching, the scenery of Cornwall is enchanting and there is not one air-brushed Hollywood type to be seen. 56 episodes…ration yourself.
Any fans of Karl Pilkington should check out his new show The Moaning of Life.
It does exactly what it says on the tin, so to speak.
I wish I could be starting on the first season, but that would mean waiting for it to get to my library. I have Series Two now. Everyone’s so into it, I’ll have to make do.
^^. You can’t find a substitute diversion while you wait for season one? is there any kind of begging or groveling that I could do (or bribery) to change your mind? Anything that Milo could bake for ‘dinger?
@Jeruba: I too gave up on “Lark Rise for Candleford” even though it was free on PBS here. The actress who played the very heavy, always fecund mother of many had been charming as the Vicar of Dibley. Not so here.
@johnpowell Ahhhhhh!!! Thank you, this is what I’ve been hoping for. A lot of the series that have been mentioned above are things I was aware of, even if I hadn’t watched them.
@muppetish I’ve heard good things about Spaced – that’s going on the list!
@Seek_Kolinahr You will love Doc Martin. I, too, recommend waiting for Season 1 if you can manage it.
Hm… Well, I do have a few episodes of Marple lying about that I haven’t seen yet.
OK, request placed for series 1. My local library doesn’t process hold requests on the weekend, so I will likely have it approximately 3:00pm Monday.
@gailcalled, the number of things not to like about that series was so much greater than the likes that I won’t even try to list them.
On the other hand, tastes do differ. I watched the first episode of Doc Martin, starring an actor who looks perpetually as if he not only were sucking on a lemon but had a number of actual lemons in his family tree, noted the annoying dynamic between him and his uppity assistant and the likelihood that we were going to see a lot more of it, and bailed.
Doctor Who and Broadchurch come to mind immediately. Also, the original Being Human (not the SyFy Channel copycat) and Torchwood are quite enjoyable. If you have BBC America on your cable service, check out what they have to offer.
@Seek_Kolinahr Yes, you must watch Doc Martin from the beginning. It has a definite story arc.
When I first saw this guy, Martin Clunes, I thought he was kind of homely looking, but I have since fallen in love with his personality, and along with that came a change within me. I’ve noticed that my tastes in men have changed quite a bit since I’ve gotten older. I now think that Martin Clunes (because of his character and interaction with the other characters on Doc Martin) has made me fall for him big time. His voice is wonderful too.
He does the narration for a very good documentary called The Secret Life of Dogs which you can watch in it’s entirety with this clip from You Tube.
Do your best to try to watch Doc Martin from beginning to end, then you can watch them all again, in any order. I’m now on my 4th viewing of this series, and I blame it all on @gailcalled : )
Amongst many others:
Waking the Dead (the complete programme pilot)
Heat of the Sun (just a taste, but a good one)
Both of these shows Trevor Eve, a new discovery this year and a wonderful actor.
And I can only agree with @janbb recommendation of Foyles War and Call the Midwife.
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