1. Only Fools And Horses
2. Monty Python
3. Black Adder The Third
4. Fawlty Towers
5. Thin Blue Line
6. Vicar of Dibley
1 Are You Being Served
2. Mysteries like Inspector Lewis, Inspector Morse, Midsomer Murders
3. Fawlty Towers
4. Prime Suspect
5. Cracker
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Steptoe and Son
The Good Life
Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?
To the Manor Born
Are You Being Served?
The Vicar of Dibley
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
Absolutely Fabulous
One Foot in the Grave
Dinnerladies
ROCK STARS HAVE KIDNAPPED MY SON
Dad's army
porridge
monty Python's flying Circus
the good Life
Chance in a Million
The Piglet Files
The detectives
father Ted
Black Books
the IT Crowd
1. Dear John
2. Red Dwarf
3. Blackadder
4. Dad's Army
5. Upstart Crow
I know this is an old comment but oh well. I haven't heard of Dear John before, but I found it on YouTube and just watched the first episode. It was pretty funny. I'll have to check out the others.
I've commented to a couple of the older ones, too, GlenEllyn. I haven't heard of Dear John either. I'm so glad Jim was able to archive what he could, with this particular post being one of them. I love British shows and haven't heard of all of these.
One I haven't seen listed is Very British Problems. Maybe 'cause it isn't a series. It's funny though. Have you sen Happy Valley, or Last Tango in Halifax? Or do you specifically prefer comedies?
Wiki British shows and check out the dates. Some of the good ones are not well-known. I had a 'nothing-but-Brit' phase in the late 90's and devoured everything the local library had to offer which was extensive. I can't remember the name of some, but found them listed on Wiki.
Actually, British comedies are just my latest addiction. Inspector Morse was my first venture into British TV. I don't even remember now what led me to it, but once I watched the first episode I was hooked. I was impressed with how intelligent the show is compared to what Hollywood puts out. Naturally, I've seen them all and all of Lewis and Endeavour as well. Foyle's War is a favorite, too. Also Inspector Lynley and George Gently. I tried Inspector Alleyn but just couldn't get into it.
I started on Brit comedy with As Time Goes By. Of course, imdb was a resource (repeat, WAS) and even though I didn't contribute to the boards there, I read a ton of them to get recommendations. Now I use this site plus Wiki to find things.
I've watched the first series of Last Tango but at the time that's all my library had. I had forgotten about it so thanks for the suggestion. Happy Valley is new to me so it's on my list now.
There are several reasons I prefer British over "what Hollywood puts out". The main being overall British series (and foreign films for that matter) are more intelligent and expect the viewer to be also, instead of pointing out the obvious through repeated flashbacks, and the actors/actresses are generally much less inclined to go under the knife which lends a more natural state of just being. They're not hung up on how they think they're being viewed by the public and, IMO, give better performances.
Not neccessarily British, Ballykissangel (1996-2001) continues to be uppermost in my choice of recommendations. It's widely acclaimed by those who have had the pleasure of seeing all 6 seasons, and now that I've mentioned it, I'll probably go ahead and treat myself by buying it. I borrowed the full set from my library in 2004, and it's never on a free-for-view anywhere.
I've noticed though, unless it's crime related, such as Midsomer Murders, Agatha Christie's Poirot, and others not on Masterpiece, they're short lived series.
If you veer from comedies, add the list of randommovies202's below, especially Cranford and The Duchess of Duke Street. Other mysteries would be Rosemary & Thyme, Luther and The Bletchley Circle.
I love them all, whether comedy or mystery, and even the cooking shows. I just started Detectorists on Netflix.
I very much agree with your first paragraph! One of my first impressions of British TV was that the actors/actresses all looked like "regular" people. They're distinguishable, as opposed to Hollywood where they're seemingly interchangeable because they all look so much alike.
Ballykissangel is a favorite of mine, the first three series anyway. I made it through four but stopped after that - the spark was gone and I didn't want to tarnish the memories of how good the first three are. I saw a number of message board comments that the last two were very disappointing.
I've seen Cranford and thought it was very good. I really liked The Bletchley Circle and was very disappointed that there were only two series. I knew it going in though, since I wait for shows to come out on DVD and borrow them from the library. I don't have cable (far too expensive, well, overpriced really) or over-the-air TV (too far from the big city) so the library is a godsend.
I can see from this page that there are plenty of good Brit shows I've yet to explore. Thank you!
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I would add 'Father Ted;' and how do you feel about 'Chef!'? Also 'Young Ones,' 'Bottom,' and 'Filthy Rich and Catflap?'
- HOW kin I be so brainless, when I is so smart?
I loved Chef! Saw one episode of Father Ted on AcornTV, a little too over-the-top for me. Haven't heard of the others.
share-Doctor Who
-Keeping Up Appearances
-Masterpiece Theater
--Did I ever tell you I was struck by lightning 7 times?--
Just comedies (in no particular order):
Mapp & Lucia (the original)
Black Adder the Third
To the Manor Born
You Rang, M'lord?
No Job for a Lady
Dinnerladies
The IT Crowd
Coupling
Gavin & Stacey
The Vicar of Dibley
Let Them Eat Cake
Dramas:
Cranford
Upstairs, Downstairs (original series)
I Claudius
The Duchess of Duke Street
The Jewel in the Crown
Edward the Seventh
A Horseman Riding By
Lillie
The House of Eliott
The Pallisers
Barchester Chronicles
By the Sword Divided
Bleak House
Our Mutual Friend - both BBC versions
1. Keeping Up Appearances
2. You Rang M'Lord
3. Fawlty Towers
4. Vicar of Dibley
Another old comment but whatever. I've seen recommendations for Keeping Up Appearances before - all over the place, actually. I watched the first episode recently but was disappointed. I found the lead character so annoying that I'm not sure I can keep watching. Does anyone know if this show gets better or is the first episode pretty representative of the series? Yes, I do enjoy British TV. Did I expect too much?
shareI don’t know if I’ve seen the first episode, but I have caught a few on television. She generally gets into wacky situations to keep up appearances (fitting title haha) and makes life difficult for her long suffering husband and neighbors. It’s definitely not my cup of tea. And I find the main character annoying in all episodes I’ve seen. Since I haven’t seen the whole series, I can’t say if it improves over time, but it seems to have a pretty standard mold to it, so I doubt it. Maybe give it a couple of more episodes, and if the character doesn’t start growing on you, I’d abandon it.
Things like Father Ted, The IT crowd, Inside No.9, Red Dwarf are much more to my liking, so it depends on where you comedic sensibilities lie. I hope this helps.
Thanks for your input. There are lots of annoying characters around on successful/popular shows and they're often a necessary plot device, but when it's the main character, well, I find it a little too much. I think I'll shelve this one for now and check out some of these other suggestions. There are plenty to choose from.
shareYou're welcome. The Brits really have given us a wealth of sitcoms to choose from.
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