Yes, I’m an old luddite that still buys box sets on actual plastic DVD.
I like to have one on the go for when I’m sick of what’s on telly, and am currently without.
Series I have loved watching back to back include:
Sopranos
The Wire
Spooks (UK)
The Killing (Denmark)
Mad Men
Prime Suspect (UK)
House of Cards (UK)
The West Wing
I love political dramas, family sagas and long drawn out single story crime, such as Prime Suspect and The Killing. I’m not a great fan of a much repeated format with a new story line every episode (Spooks being the exception).
For the record, I DON’T like 24, I know I know, that makes me a freak, but I can’t stand all the rolling around on the floor with guns and bombs but never getting hit by a bullet nonsense. I prefer a mild dose of reality and intense character development.
So, any recommendations? Happy with oldies as well as more recent, and am happy to tackle subtitles if the story is a good one.
Midsomer Murders is good but it’s not the archetypal British mystery. It does have it’s charms though and 95 episodes but probably not available in a box.
“A Touch of Frost” is a very good UK detective show but again, don’t know about a box set. Of course there’s also “Inspector Morse” which should be easily available as it was on PBS in the US as well.
“The Closer” which was on TBS and then spun off into the current new show “Major Crimes” when Kira Sedgewick left was always good and sometimes excellent.
Sandbaggers. Best spy show ever, and nothing like any other spy show that’s ever been broadcast. The writer, Ian Mackintosh, evidently knew something about spying (and died during the third seasons under mysterious circumstances; his body was never found), and the entire thing is very low key, with betrayals, internal politics, and some surprising and horrifying twists.
It’s a little dated, since it came out during the Cold War, but absolutely gripping. The best analog is “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.”
Family sagas? Try The Pallisers and The Forsyte Saga. And if picture quality isn’t crucial, Poldark, from the 70’s.
Downton Abbey? Cranford?
Big fat ditto for Justified.
Oh! Kidnapped, a one season show starring Jeremy Sisto, Delroy Lindo, a bunch of other talented people. It was yanked after just a few episodes, but fans were able to watch on-line, and there’s a DVD.
As you mentioned this, did you see just House of Cards, or did you also see To Play the King and The Final Cut? If not, you should of course see the whole story. And then there is the Netflix adaption of House of Cards, starring Kevin Spacey and directed by David Fincher.
(Fun fact: The way that Netflix put the show together was to note from their extensive member reviews that people liked David Fincher movies, movies starring Kevin Spacey, political dramas and the UK original House of Cards in particular. So they figured an American version would be popular.)
If you loved West Wing - a different, earlier show that featured great writing, better characters and more plots going at once would be Hill Street Blues. It may be on Netflix - watch the first two episodes; you’ll know if you like it or not…