Guilty pleasure: Dempsey and Makepeace.
Other favorites:
Tales of the Unexpected.
Dave Allen at Large.
The Good Life, aka Good Neighbors.
Also, That’s Life with Esther Rantzen, when I was living in Britain.
No, Honestly was shown in the US on PBS many years ago. The theme song will never be forgotten.
The Flame Trees of Thika
Pulaski, The TV Detective, a mystery-comedy with an American star.
Another series on YouTube: Bergerac
I’m watching the new Poldark but naturally it’s not as good as the original.
Hyperdrive.
I won’t bother repeating those I like that have already showed up in the thread, but I’ll throw in some of my favorite quiz shows (not sure they’re all still running; i watch them on YouTube):
Pointless
The Chase
Breakaway
and all the Big Fat Quiz specials.
I’ll add ‘Time Team’ to the list. It is a documentary about archaeologists digging up the British contryside looking for pots, bodies, walls and what ever else they can find to corroborate or establish the history of a location.
Bob
The Singing Detective was one of the absolute best things ever on TV. (Later made into a film, which sucked.)
other favorites:
Rock Follies
Duchess of Duke Street
Yes, [Prime] Minister
Red Dwarf
Fawlty Towers
Chef
Life on Mars
The Office
And Monty Python, of course, though it suffers badly from overfamiliarity.
Comedy:
The Young Ones
Spaced
Spy:
The Sandbaggers
MI5
Detective:
Bletchley Circle
The Chinese Detective
Prime Suspect
Cartoon:
Danger Mouse
Swashbuckling:
The Musketeers
Fantasy:
Primeval
COMEDY:
Keeping Up Appearances (of course!)
Fawlty Towers
Monty Python
Are You Being Served?
Blackadder
Coupling
Jeeves and Wooster
As Time Goes By
To The Manor Born
The Vicar of Dibley
Men Behaving Badly
DRAMA:
I, Claudius
Upstairs Downstairs ( original series)
The Duchess of Duke Street
Jennie
Sharpe’s - Sean Bean is Sex On A Stick. Period.
Cadfael - especially the first season with Sean Pertwee
Lillie
Six Wives of Henry XIII
Elizabeth R
Pride and Prejudice - 1995
the VERY old Robin Hood series with Richard Greene
Lovejoy
DOCUMENTARIES and REALITY:
ANYTHING with Richard Attenborough
Any geology programs by Iain Stewart
Great British Bake-Off
The World At War
Antiques Roadshow
Connections with James Burke
Ancient Lives with John Romer
MYSTERY:
Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett version)
Midsomer Murders - John Nettles, please
Poirot
Miss Marple (Joan Hickson)
Inspector Morse
One more under Documentaries-
ANY history program with Michael Wood
To the Manor Born
Butterflies
Yes, (Prime) Minister
All Creatures Great and Small
Among others.
Wow, i think i may be inspired to start a new thread
“Embarrassing British cultural garbage which is inexplicably popular in the USA: why?”
Because at least 98 percent of what we’ve listed is STILL better than “Keeping Up With The Kartrashians”.
I didn’t see these, and the search function isn’t working, so in addition to many of the previously mentioned shows:
Jewel In The Crown
Indian Summers
Endeavour
Happy Valley
The Fall
You guys have picked up on many of the better drama but it is maybe worth looking at from the last 2 years:
Drama
Wolf Hall - of course
The Missing - essential (S2 now showing)
Line of Duty - very strong
River - personally loved this. But you have to get it
Peaky Blinders - bonkers
Scott and Bailey - new episodes (same writer as Happy Valley)
Doctor Foster -clever,
Cold Feet - is BACK!
Poldark - updated bodice ripper
Wallander - the Ken Branagh remake, some love it
Endeavour - comfortable
Utopia - challening
very recently … Victoria
and currently … National Treasure
Comedy
Detectorists - just brilliant
The Trip - a curiosity
Documentary
Most things by Grayson Perry
why so snotty?
For awhile BBC America was showing the Eastenders omnibus show on Saturdays. Great television? No. Fascinating, though. Now BBCA seems to show more American tv than British. CSI Miami? Really?
I wish they’d bring back The Kumars at #42.
Graham Norton is about the only thing I watch on BBCA these days.
War and Peace too.
I’ve just started watching Afterlife with Lesley Sharp on WNED. Holy crap! Scary as hell!!! :eek: