Off-Topic What are your favorite British tv shows?

[sherry7899]

Thanks, Liz! I am going to write down all of the suggestions from this thread.

Yes, my DH and I use British terms-his usage comes from being a huge Monty Python fan (and for any geeks of theirs, John Cleese and Eric Idle are doing some shows together in the US this fall). My usage comes mostly from reading British authors for the past 25 years.

Sherry

[PennyK]

I finished River last night, so good! I also really like the I Love to Love song!

The Fall is on Netflix and will be what I watch next.

I hope I can find some of the others mentioned.

[leigh1673]

I have been binge watching (after my workouts of course ) River with Stellan Skarsgard this week on Netflix and love it, I have one more episode left to watch of season 1. I can't find anything about any more seasons.

OMG River is SO good. I laughed... I cried. I want MORE. Sadly, from what I've read, they've deemed it more of a mini-series and there likely won't be any more episodes. Gah I hope they are wrong! Stellan is just so amazing in this ... I see where hottie Alexander gets his good looks, too.

And YES I totally had that "Love to Love" song in my head for DAYS! LOL

If you like River, I highly suggest Happy Valley. It's also amazing--funny, tense, witty. Awesome.

I watched Marcella right after River, so while I liked it, it didn't WOW me. I think it had a lot to live up to watching it after that marvelous show, though.

Some other favorite British shows of mine include (I think most of these are mentioned already but...)

- Episodes (SO good and funny)
- The Fall
- Downton Abbey
- Luther (mmm Idris.... )
- Copper
- Broadchurch -
- Black Mirror (ok, this is pretty to very dark, but I like my thrillers!)
- Wentworth (alright this is a cheat since it's Australian .... but if you like Orange is the New Black, I cannot recommend this show highly enough. It's incredible!)

[leigh1673]

Originally Posted by wishiwasinhawaii

I still watch Keeping Up Appearances which seems to be shown on a continuous loop on the PBS channels around here!

Also love Absolutely Fabulous. Their new movie just came out, but is only playing at select theaters and none are near me.

What has always amazed me about British TV is they have a lot of older characters on their shows, unlike the US where people over 50 don't exist. Almost the entire cast of Keeping Up Appearances were over 50 when that show ran.

YES! Have you seen Episodes? The first (or maybe 2nd) episode is all about this very topic! Like, the British people didn't think twice about having their British TV star (older, heavyset man) star in the Americanized version of their show. While the US TV execs were like.... yeah, no, that's not gonna happen!

[lingo10]

For me past and present:

Keeping Up Appearances (That Hyacinth Bucket is something else)
Are You Being Served?
Luther
Sherlock
Call the Midwife
Ripper Street
EastEnders
Coronation St
Fawlty Towers
As Time Goes By
Miranda
and Green Wing lol

[LizEMA]

Originally Posted by lingo10

Ripper Street
and Green Wing lol

Yes! Green Wing! Hysterical.

And, I liked Ripper Street, as well. I Was going to recommend it, but, IIRC, I found some of the seasons to be uneven, esp. the later ones. . .I also remember being frustrated with where the storyline for the characters was going/went the last couple of seasons. That is, of course, just my personal preference and recollection of it. It's definitely worth watching, though. And I LOVE Jerome Flynn, and he was just AWESOME in this.

And Ripper Street reminded me of ANOTHER show I REALLY really liked/loved (?) -- Whitechapel! Mystery, crime, drama, a little supernatural,. I cursed when I heard it had been cancelled.

And those miniseries I had mentioned earlier?
What Remains -- really enjoyed that one.
Place of Execution
Marchlands
Injustice -- I was on the fence about recommending this one because I can't remember it too clearly, but I remember being less than thrilled with it for some reason, if that makes sense. . .

More mini-series, if you're a fan of John Simms:
Exile
Prey
State of Play
Mad Dogs (not a mini-series) -- I feel like this went a little off the rails in the later seasons (basically, the last half of the series), but I think checking it for the earlier seasons is worth it.

And John Simms brings me to another show which I can't believe I forgot to mention since I watched the most recent season just this past November -- The Village!!! OMG, SO bloody good! I can't believe no one else mentioned it!

And, speaking of John Simms. . .Life on Mars, and it's "sequel", Ashes to Ashes.

And, OMG, Mad Dogs reminded me of ANOTHER show I forgot. TWO, actually.
HUSTLE -- again, the earlier seasons were better, but that's not to say the later ones were BAD, not at all. It is an excellent, fun show to watch.
And Undercover. This only just aired at the start of this year, and they've only had one season of this; I'm not sure if a second season is coming, but the first one was phenomenal and SO worth watching!

Another new-ish show I can recommend, esp. if you were a fan of Nicola Walker in River (his dead partner) is Unforgotten.

ETA: An oldie but goodie is Waking The Dead, and a more recent, comedic one, The Wrong Mans. Hysterical. James Corden is in this; it was right before he got his current gig. So, if anyone is a fan of his, check this out.

Also, for another comedic endeavor, You, Me and the Apocalypse. I believe they aired this in the States/on basic cable(NBC, think?) so, perhaps you have already seen this. It's got a British AND American cast. FUNNY but thrilling, action-packed, suspenseful -- something for everyone, I think.


And, someone else mentioned Wentworth. It is Australian, yes, but, I agree in that it is excellent. I actually dabbled in some Australian TV after I ran out of British stuff to watch. LOL If anyone is interested, a couple of series I enjoyed from them was:
Rush
The Code -- PHENOMENAL, and a 2nd season is in the works supposedly ::crossing fingers::
And Underbelly. I had my favorites in this series; some seasons just REALLY fell flat and were just plain boring, esp. after the first season, which, IMHO, was the best one. It's worth checking out just for that.

And Wentworth reminds me of another British series! (I'm just gonna get t-shirts printed up. LOL ) Which, I also happened to have really liked. Bad Girls!! Wentworth, I feel, parallels that show A LOT. There are A LOT of similarities in the two series -- in characters, storylines -- and I am often reminded of and feel a bit like I am watching Bad Girls, while I'm viewing Wentworth. Both are excellent shows.

[lingo10]

Originally Posted by LizEMA

Yes! Green Wing! Hysterical.

And, I liked Ripper Street, as well. I Was going to recommend it, but, IIRC, I found some of the seasons to be uneven, esp. the later ones. . .I also remember being frustrated with where the storyline for the characters was going/went the last couple of seasons. That is, of course, just my personal preference and recollection of it. It's definitely worth watching, though. And I LOVE Jerome Flynn, and he was just AWESOME in this.

And Ripper Street reminded me of ANOTHER show I REALLY really liked/loved (?) -- Whitechapel! Mystery, crime, drama, a little supernatural,. I cursed when I heard it had been cancelled.

And those miniseries I had mentioned earlier?
What Remains -- really enjoyed that one.
Place of Execution
Marchlands
Injustice -- I was on the fence about recommending this one because I can't remember it too clearly, but I remember being less than thrilled with it for some reason, if that makes sense. . .

More mini-series, if you're a fan of John Simms:
Exile
Prey
State of Play
Mad Dogs -- I feel like this went a little off the rails in the later seasons (basically, the last half of the series), but I think checking it for the earlier seasons is worth it.

And John Simms brings me to another show which I can't believe I forgot to mention since I watched the most recent season just this past November -- The Village!!! OMG, SO bloody good! I can't believe no one else mentioned it!

And, OMG, Mad Dogs reminded me of ANOTHER show I forgot. TWO, actually.
HUSTLE -- again, the earlier seasons were better, but that's not to say the later ones were BAD, not at all. It is an excellent, fun show to watch.
And Undercover. This only just aired at the start of this year, and they've only had one season of this; I'm not sure if a second season is coming, but the first one was phenomenal and SO worth watching!

Another new-ish show I can recommend, esp. if you were a fan of Nicola Walker in River (his dead partner) is Unforgotten.

And, someone else mentioned Wentworth. It is Australian, yes, but, I agree in that it is excellent. I actually dabbled in some Australian TV after I ran out of British stuff to watch. LOL If anyone is interested, a couple of series I enjoyed from them was:
Rush
The Code -- PHENOMENAL, and a 2nd season is in the works supposedly ::crossing fingers::
And Underbelly. I had my favorites in this series; some seasons just REALLY fell flat and were just plain boring, esp. after the first season, which, IMHO, was the best one. It's worth checking out just for that.

And Wentworth reminds me of another British series! (I'm just gonna get t-shirts printed up. LOL ) Which, I also happened to have really liked. Bad Girls!! Wentworth, I feel, parallels that show A LOT. There are A LOT of similarities in the two series -- in characters, storylines -- and I am often reminded of and feel a bit like I am watching Bad Girls, while I'm viewing Wentworth. Both are excellent shows.

Jerome is a god I never knew he was in Game of Thrones too, (because I dont watch it) but someone told me. Such range the man has!

Ripper street is gritty and sooty but it was so fascinating.

And I heard of Marchlands, wanted to dabble in it, lets just see!

[Kizzy]

I enjoyed reading this thread!
I LOVE the murder mystery Rosemary and Thyme. I've watched the series (only filmed 2 years) THREE times on Netflix. The character that plays Laura Thyme is also in Call the Midwife.
The 2 ladies are professional gardeners so most of the show is filmed outside and the gardens and flowers are beautiful. I love the background music also. Maybe because I love the song Rosemary and Thyme.

[KateTT]

I spent my high school years in England and loved it! So many great shows.
My favs are:
Monty Python
Fawlty Towers
Are You Being Served
Lovejoy
Benny Hill
Top of the Pops
Dr Who

I recently watched all the seasons of Downton Abbey and loved that.
Now that I see all your posts, I'd like to check more out. I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

[Judy W.]

DH and I have been devouring Doctor Who this summer! We get it on dvd through Netflix. Whenever a new disk arrives, I text DH "The Tardis has landed". (The Tardis is the Doctor's special and most miraculous vehicle)

We also love Foyle's War, Poirot, Miss Marple, The Vicar of Dibley just to name a few.