No wrong answers. Could be a game show, docu-series, fiction, sci-fi, anything that didn’t make it but should have.
The League of Gentlemen
15 Stories High, it was an absurdist sitcom featuring the wickedly funny and sadly taken too soon Sean Lock, living in a council apartment and the bizarre shit going on around him.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4_pgKoxgBa1AOAYHvr3lkkaY5Mxd2YGm
I highly recommend the episode Blue Rat, but all 12 episodes are available on YouTube.
The four-episode Dirk Gently miniseries.
It was so much better, both as TV and as something in the spirit of Douglas Adams, than that mess of a Netflix series which followed it.
The Young Ones!
Jam.
Dark and weird sketch comedy from Chris Morris (probably best known for the film Four Lions, and the already-mentioned TV series Brass Eye). Transgressive comedy from the past usually either feels tame or completely unacceptable as social mores drift over time, but this (for the most part) still manages to sit in the sweet spot.
Seems my brain just assumed that Brass Eye had already been mentioned… Double checked the thread, and it somehow hasn’t, despite the Paedogeddon episode being one of the most notorious pieces of British TV in history. If you’re going to watch just one piece of Morris’ TV work, it should be this episode.
Bottom
Red dwarf
Such an epic comedy!
The first six series of Red Dwarf are amazing and incredible classic television, and the rest of Red Dwarf also exists.
I think Red Dwarf isn’t really underrated. It’s considered a highly successful cult classic.
Most people that I talk with about it, haven’t heard of it. I hadn’t heard of it until I started playing Elite Dangerous and one of the available voice packs for a voice assistant was (among many other) for Holy
Huh, mind-boggling.
Time team. That shit was amazing. It went on for like 20+ years and EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. it was fascinating. The closest thing we have now is josh gates’ expedition unknown, which is really hit and miss. Recently it’s been so picky about things they’re likely to hit on that some seasons only have 4-6 episodes. He tries to make the finds to be to big. Time team found all kinds of fantastic things because they were just looking for historical significance, not mountains of treasure. But they always found treasures of some kind. That was a really great, fascinating show.
I’m also a really big fan of top gear.
I feel like this about another C4 program of that era - Grand Designs.
Gone on for years now, but it just seeing how these people underestimate what they are getting into and will then just throw extra fuel on the pressure fire “just started renovating this massive listed barn that’s 90% falling down and has no actual foundations, time to have a baby! Oh and you’re also self employed and going to manage the project yourself and do some of the building yourself you say?”
"To sum it up, how financially crippled are you and how many mortgages do you now have 😂 " .
Kevin McCloud is basically taking the piss out of you for the whole show.
It will be weird when it’s not on anymore.
You might be interested in the Time Team Classics channel on YouTube. (link)
Now we’re going down to the bottom field where Barry and Lucia believe they’ve found a wall.
Yeah, but guess what? They found a wall! It always felt so much better than like supernatural shows where they’re like “we totally found evidence” yeah, sure ya did. “No, we did, see this spec of dust? That’s a ghost”. Alright, but did ya find a floor or nails? Show me the gpr.
It’s still going!
Time team?!? Or top gear? Cause I’ve seen the new top gear and it’s… Meh.
No, new Time Team!
It’s not the original crew (mostly) but still really good.
Seriously? I hadn’t seen anything newer than 2014 or so! Is it exclusively BBC? Cause usually I saw it on random public access and Amazon.
Time Team was for Channel 4, but since they cancelled it they’ve done occasional privateer episodes on YouTube.
Time team was Channel 4. Not sure how they sell it abroad.
Blake’s 7, at the time for me was the greates show ever. I guess I was the right age.
In terms of innovative storyline and the actors’ performances, Blake’s 7 pretty much still holds up. If you can look past wobbly effects, some plots awkwardly forced in or abandoned due to behind-the-scenes stuff (like cast leaving), and the occasional silly-ass cockroach suit, it’s a great chunk of surprisingly dark, moody, and clever television.
I’ll add How Not to Live Your Life just because you may not have heard of it, though I’ve no idea where you might be able to watch it.
Yes Minister, and Yes Prime Minster.
Great stuff
Toast of London, Stewart Lee - 7th greatest comedian special, Duchess of Duke street
insanely long thread, yet no
- People Just Do Nothing
- Flowers
- Peep Show
Peep Show! Also spaced. Havent heard of the ones you mentioned I’ll have to check them out.
Spaced is the best.
Brian: Do you think I should lose the waistcoat?
Tim: I think you should burn it. Because if you lose it, you might find it again.
Came here to say Peep Show, what an absolute treasure
Utopia
i havent watched a lot of british tv shows
the inbetweeners should still be in the cultural zeitgeist tho that show is hilarious
Friend!
