The British T.V. Thread

[Deleted]

Shoot, I grew up with Doctor Who. Which probably explains a lot.

Am I the only one who remembers the old BBC series with Ian Carmichael as Bertie Wooster? Dennis Price (?) as Jeeves? I have to say I liked their characterizations better than Hugh Laurie and Stephen Frye, who were very very good.

I have purchased on DVD:

'Allo, 'Allo (seasons 1, 2 & 3)
Little Britain (season 1)
The League of Gentleman (seasons 1 & 2)
Only Fools & Horses (I dunno...a whole bunch)
The Vicar of Dibley (everything there is)
Last of the Summer Wine (the 1995 season)
French & Saunders (2 dvds)

...and possibly some others I am disremembering now.
I haven't seen one single show in the new TV season but I'm spending money like a drunken sailor on old TV shows. Mostly BritComs. I think I am going round ze twist.

[heavenleigh2001]

Duke let me borrow "Allo Allo", and the "Vicar of Dibley" from you. ;D I just love British comdies, I wish I could get my boyfriend to watch them with me. They only one I could ever get him to watch was "Waiting for God." And they don't show that on my PBS station anymore.
I love Blackadder, but for some reason the BBC America channel will not work on my tv. So I haven't been able to watch it, I love BBC America.

[dirksunboy]

Oooh, Vicar of Dibley! Forgot about that one. Another fave. Dawn French is brilliant--even if I didn't like that other show, Wild West, where she played a lesbian.

[Deleted]

I love! Footballers Wives. It's the campiest of the campiest shows eveh. I've only been able to see Season 1, Netflix doesn't carry the rest of the seasons, which sucks, because I'm hooked on this show. The wedding of Chardonnay and Kyle, freaking priceless. With the dwarves, the pink, the horses and best of all, burned boobies! The wedding must go on!

[chiqui]

Does anyone but me remember U X B? The early 80s BBC series about bomb defusers in WWII London? Or The Singing Detective... I could never quite figure out what that one was about.

I'm surprised no one's mentioned Thin Blue Line. Not as funny as Blackadder, but it comes close.

[pepper67]

Does anyone but me remember U X B? The early 80s BBC series about bomb defusers in WWII London?

I remember Danger UXB, chiqui! I was on tenterhooks all the way through every single episode. I was so upset for Antony Andrews' character when Judy Geeson's character stayed with her husband after all.

Duke, 'Allo, 'Allo is fantastic. I loved the earlier seasons in particular. Btw, I remember hearing the 'Allo, 'Allo was based on Secret Army, but in a totally spoofed way. I caught a few episodes of Secret Army and ended up watching it, absolutely fascinated (in a horrified way) until the end. There are tons of similarities, but if you ever get chance to see it, don't expect to laugh.

The first episode I saw featured a young pilot who'd been shot down and who was on the run from the Germans. In the end, he was captured, and later managed to escape (in spite of being on crutches due to a broken leg). He went back to where he'd met the Resistance and was picked up by them - and executed. The bar/cafe owner (played by Bernard Hepton) went back to his bar and said that the bullet that ended the kid's life was a German bullet, then he put the gun away.

[kafka]

chiqui said:

Does anyone but me remember U X B? The early 80s BBC series about bomb defusers in WWII London?

I do! I saw it a few months back and really enjoyed it. I can't decide if it's because I have a small weakness for Anthony Andrews or because it appealed to my love of history. (or both!) It showed a side of the war which no-one else has ever focused on and, by all accounts, was very accurate in the technical aspect of things. Not that the early, initial use of a hammer to defuse a 50 lb bomb is all that technical!!! (It's a bit closer to insanity, if you ask me)

I was also fascinated by how the Nazis went from trying to bomb London, to trying to bomb London *AND* kill all the bomb defusers with increasingly cunning, advanced booby traps. I'd have never thought they would make such a campaign of targetting the bomb disposal squads themselves! People who like technical, scientific stuff, mixed in with history, and BBC dramas, should consider renting the series from Netflix.

Duke of URL: "Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once." ;D

That show had some of the best eccentric, quirky characters. My favorite was the gay German officer with the hots for René but his mother-in-law, the hidden British airmen and his wife were also hilarious. And I just thought of her attempts at singing... she was even worse than me!

Hmmm... DVDs, did you say? I think that is one of the few shows that I'd actually watch the episodes repeatedly. Well, that and the "Yes, Minister" series. Do you mind me asking how much they were?

[nitenurse]

Footballers Wives such a guilty pleasure. Showcase shows it over and over. Somehow, I keep catching the same episodes.

Cracker sounds warped but I found Robbie Coltraine quite appealing in that one.

Does anyone else remember Shine on Harvey Moon set in WWII followed a London family throughout the war?

I don't think that Tenko was ever shown in North America. Stephanie Beecham was in it. The lives of women interned by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore. How different women dealt with captivity, the doctor who looked after everyone, the spoilt Dutchwoman who expected everyone to look after her, the woman who turned trick with the guards for extra rations for the children and ill.

Then there was the Sharpe series set in the Napoleonic Wars. Sean Bean with a sabre...

[biondetta]

I've wanted to watch Footballers Wives, but never managed to catch it. After that wedding description, I must see it now!

A friend of mine was mentioning an an embarassing moment related to an episode of Little Britain, so now I'm dying to see this show. "Doesn't have the range, darling!"

[Casino Bride]

chiqui said:

I'm surprised no one's mentioned Thin Blue Line. Not as funny as Blackadder, but it comes close.

Yes, I remember that one - very funny! Not many episodes made, unfortunately. And, what a coincidence: PBS is starting to play it again here!

I agree with the Vicar of Dibley love too - though I didn't like the ending of that series at all.