# British Horror or Supernatural/Paranormal shows?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-horror-or-supernatural-paranormal-shows/526838
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [January 29, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-horror-or-supernatural-paranormal-shows/526838 "2010-01-29T02:17:36Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-horror-or-supernatural-paranormal-shows/526838/1 "2010-01-29T02:17:36Z")
I’m hoping to be pointed in the direction of some UK supernatural, paranormal, or horror shows from the past ten years. I strongly suspect that there are a lot more out there than I’ve already seen or even heard of. What produced in the UK would you recommend for someone who likes shows like The X-Files, Fringe, True Blood, BTVS (plus more than a dozen lesser known shows that probably didn’t have a UK following) and generally digs things with ghosts, vampires, werewolves, the fey, and more science-y unexplained?
However before you suggest anything, let me say these two things:
1. I’m currently watching **Primeval** and **Being Human** both of which I like a lot, didn’t like what I sat through of **Hex** or **Doctor Who** or **Torchwood** , and know about **Strange** and **Apparitions**. (I’ve also heard of a horror anthology called “Twisted Tales” but so far haven’t found a way to see it)
2. Though scifi and para/supernatural overlap, I didn’t say “scifi” because I do not like scifi shows set in space. If spaceships and space travel are part of the show, please don’t recommend it. Anything set on Earth with aliens is fine, though.
Thanks!
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### Author:  [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-horror-or-supernatural-paranormal-shows/526838/2 "2010-01-29T02:34:28Z")
> [@elfkin477](#):
>
> 1. Though scifi and para/supernatural overlap, I didn’t say “scifi” because I do not like scifi shows set in space. If spaceships and space travel are part of the show, please don’t recommend it. Anything set on Earth with aliens is fine, though.
>
> Thanks!
Well, hmmm.
Have you watched the Torchwood: Children of Earth five parter? You really should.
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### Author:  [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2010, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-horror-or-supernatural-paranormal-shows/526838/3 "2010-01-29T05:21:31Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#):
>
> Have you watched the Torchwood: Children of Earth five parter?
Considering that I didn’t like Torchwood, no.
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### Author:  [@Mitijea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mitijea)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2010, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-horror-or-supernatural-paranormal-shows/526838/4 "2010-01-29T05:47:16Z")
Even though it was a miniseries, [Jeykll](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0497298/) can’t be beat. An awesome retelling; can’t recommend it enough.
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### Author:  [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2010, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-horror-or-supernatural-paranormal-shows/526838/5 "2010-01-29T06:11:14Z")
> [@elfkin477](#):
>
> I’m hoping to be pointed in the direction of some UK supernatural, paranormal, or horror shows from the past ten years. I strongly suspect that there are a lot more out there than I’ve already seen or even heard of. What produced in the UK would you recommend for someone who likes shows like The X-Files, Fringe, True Blood, BTVS (plus more than a dozen lesser known shows that probably didn’t have a UK following) and generally digs things with ghosts, vampires, werewolves, the fey, and more science-y unexplained?
>
> However before you suggest anything, let me say these two things:
>
> 1. I’m currently watching **Primeval** and **Being Human** both of which I like a lot, didn’t like what I sat through of **Hex** or **Doctor Who** or **Torchwood** , and know about **Strange** and **Apparitions**. (I’ve also heard of a horror anthology called “Twisted Tales” but so far haven’t found a way to see it)
>
> 2. Though scifi and para/supernatural overlap, I didn’t say “scifi” because I do not like scifi shows set in space. If spaceships and space travel are part of the show, please don’t recommend it. Anything set on Earth with aliens is fine, though.
>
> Thanks!
“Twisted Tales” is currently being shown on the Chiller channel under the name “Spine Chillers” Sunday evenings. I happened to catch it last Sunday, and found it … interesting. Chiller runs two 45-minute episodes back to back; the first one, Flat Four, was a psychological thriller, but the second, Fruitcake of the Living Dead, was (as you might gather from the title) more humorous.
---
### Author:  [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2010, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-horror-or-supernatural-paranormal-shows/526838/6 "2010-01-29T06:28:59Z")
Have you ever heard of [Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Marenghi%27s_Darkplace)? It’s not actually a horror show…but a show about a horror show. Sort of a spoof.
Check out some episodes on YouTube to see if you like it. It’s not going to scare you or anything, but if you’re a fan of the genre it might make you laugh.
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### Author:  [@Promethea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Promethea)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2010, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-horror-or-supernatural-paranormal-shows/526838/7 "2010-01-29T06:35:48Z")
You might well enjoy [Sea of Souls](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_of_Souls), sort of like a Scottish X Files. I thought it was excellent and that it had very much its own feel.
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### Author:  [@vdgg81](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vdgg81)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2010, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-horror-or-supernatural-paranormal-shows/526838/8 "2010-01-29T06:38:22Z")
I really have to second the **Torchwood: Children of Earth** special. It’s really quite unlike the rest of the show. It’s like it’s everything that the show was supposed to be but failed to achieve in the first two seasons.
As for **Doctor Who** , did you try the old show? The new series is very different from the old one, so much so that liking one doesn’t in any way guarantee liking the other. While I love both, unlike most people I like the old show better.
In the mid 70s, when Phillip Hinchcliffe produced the show, **Who** tried really hard for horror and had some great stories. As you want only earth based stories, I’ll recommend **The Talons of Weng-Chiang** and **Horror of Fang Rock** (dead men come back to life and murder reigns at a lighthouse). **Horror** is probably scarier, but **Talons** just maybe my favorite story from the show. "A Chinese magician in Victorian England searches alongside a living, killer mannequin for the lost time machine of his master, the god Weng-Chiang."The only space travel happens in the first 30 seconds, as the Doctor and his companion, Leela, arrive on Earth, in a version of Victorian England made out of every pulp novel that ever was made about that time. There’s mysterious murders, Chinese assassins and two of the greatest supporting characters in the history of television (okay, maybe not all television, just all the tv I’ve watched): Henry Jago and Professor Litefoot. The dialogue sparkles, the acting is great and as far as I’m concerned this story is just perfect. Unlike some of new **Who** it requires no previous knowledge of the show or the characters.
If you like those two there’s lots of other stories in this period that might please you. Very different from those, but also scary and excellent are \*\*The Image of the Fendahl \*\* (scientists accidentally awake an ancient evil inside of a prehistoric skull) and **The Curse of Fenric** (vampires, a viking curse and the embodiment of pure evil all strike at an English village during WWII). **Ghost Light** may also be an option. None of the stories I mentioned feature any significant space travel and all of them are set on Earth.
If you have already tried the old shows and didn’t like them either I apologize for wasting your time.
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### Author:  [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2010, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-horror-or-supernatural-paranormal-shows/526838/9 "2010-01-29T07:30:39Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#):
>
> “Twisted Tales” is currently being shown on the Chiller channel.
So I’ve heard, but our cable company doesn’t offer the channel. sigh.
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### Author:  [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2010, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-horror-or-supernatural-paranormal-shows/526838/10 "2010-01-29T07:40:20Z")
[Ultraviolet.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraviolet_%28TV_serial%29) A bit like Spooks/MI-5, but with vampires as the baddies. Written and directed by the same guy who wrote Apparitions and directed a lot of Strange.
[Dead Set.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Set_%28TV_series%29) Zombies!
Also, I have to echo the Torchwood: Children of Earth suggestion. It was pretty good, despite being Torchwood.
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### Author:  [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2010, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-horror-or-supernatural-paranormal-shows/526838/11 "2010-01-29T08:00:59Z")
> [@Kal](#):
>
> [Ultraviolet.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraviolet_%28TV_serial%29)
I forgot about that one. I liked it, right up until nothing was resolved at the end.
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### Author:  [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2010, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-horror-or-supernatural-paranormal-shows/526838/12 "2010-01-29T08:34:09Z")
Right, a few more then:
[afterlife.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afterlife_%28TV_series%29)
[The Second Coming.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Second_Coming_%28TV%29)
And out of left field, how about a bit of comedy drama? [Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randall_%26_Hopkirk_%28Deceased%29), a remake of a '60s show.
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### Author:  [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2010, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-horror-or-supernatural-paranormal-shows/526838/13 "2010-01-29T08:39:40Z")
What was the name of the show where there were two girls who were best friends and the dark haired girl was in love with the other girl and they had a fight about it and then the dark haired girl got into some kind of accident and died and then it turns out that the other girl is a decsendent of some witches and is fated to protect the world from a demon influx and as a result all these baddies are after her and the dark haired girl was fated to meet the other girl and get killed so she could be the other girl’s spirit guardian and stop her from getting killed by all the baddies?
Um, I recommend that one. I loved that show a few years ago and am so mad I can’t remember its name.
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### Author:  [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2010, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-horror-or-supernatural-paranormal-shows/526838/14 "2010-01-29T08:52:08Z")
“Hex”? (I’ve never seen it; it just sounds right.)
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### Author:  [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2010, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-horror-or-supernatural-paranormal-shows/526838/15 "2010-01-29T08:52:19Z")
> [@torie](#):
>
> What was the name of the show where there were two girls who were best friends and the dark haired girl was in love with the other girl and they had a fight about it and then the dark haired girl got into some kind of accident and died and then it turns out that the other girl is a decsendent of some witches and is fated to protect the world from a demon influx and as a result all these baddies are after her and the dark haired girl was fated to meet the other girl and get killed so she could be the other girl’s spirit guardian and stop her from getting killed by all the baddies?
>
> Um, I recommend that one. I loved that show a few years ago and am so mad I can’t remember its name.
Hex. UK fans said it was “the British version of Charmed” when the BBC-A was going to air it. Not hardly.
Thanks for the recs so far, folks. I haven’t heard of most of these, so that’s pretty neat.
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### Author:  [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2010, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-horror-or-supernatural-paranormal-shows/526838/16 "2010-01-29T08:55:33Z")
I’m going to recommend Torchwood: Children of Earth as well. I know lots of people who hated Torchwood but loved this. Just be prepared to have your gut wrenched about.
> [@torie](#):
>
> What was the name of the show where there were two girls who were best friends and the dark haired girl was in love with the other girl and they had a fight about it and then the dark haired girl got into some kind of accident and died and then it turns out that the other girl is a decsendent of some witches and is fated to protect the world from a demon influx and as a result all these baddies are after her and the dark haired girl was fated to meet the other girl and get killed so she could be the other girl’s spirit guardian and stop her from getting killed by all the baddies?
>
> Um, I recommend that one. I loved that show a few years ago and am so mad I can’t remember its name.
That was [Hex](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hex_(TV_series)), that the OP mentioned - I couldn’t remember it by name either.
---
### Author:  [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2010, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-horror-or-supernatural-paranormal-shows/526838/17 "2010-01-29T09:00:29Z")
If you like post-apocalyptic stuff, you might enjoy [Survivors.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivors) Try either the original or the remake - they’re rather different.
Another post-apoc one is [Threads](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threads). Do not watch it when you feel down. I don’t know anyone who’s seen it and not come out feeling shellshocked. That doesn’t sound like a recommendation, but it is. 😃
There are also two different British TV adaptations of Day of the Triffids - I quite liked the recent mini-series version.
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### Author:  [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2010, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-horror-or-supernatural-paranormal-shows/526838/18 "2010-01-29T11:03:29Z")
> [@elfkin477](#):
>
> Considering that I didn’t like Torchwood, no.
Yeah, I know regular Torchwood is pish :D. Children of Earth, on the other hand, is genuinely really excellent - there are aliens as the “big bad” but the drama and the horror are Earth-bound and family-centric. It is an outstanding piece of television. You only need to know one or two bits of Torchwood backstory to be fully engaged.
Jack is still immortal. Ianto loves Jack.
Have you been able to see any of the latest series of Being Human via the internet? It’s ace.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2010, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-horror-or-supernatural-paranormal-shows/526838/19 "2010-01-29T11:48:02Z")
nm
---
### Author:  [@Hallucinex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hallucinex)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2010, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-horror-or-supernatural-paranormal-shows/526838/20 "2010-01-29T12:12:59Z")
> [@Kal](#):
>
> [Ultraviolet.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraviolet_%28TV_serial%29)
> [@Mitijea](#):
>
> [Jeykll](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0497298/)
I’ll definitely second both of these. I still hum the music from Ultraviolet now and again.
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