Thank you, BBC

[Derf]

We got rid of our cable TV a long time ago, so I am clueless about most recent shows. However, I do have a television and DVD player, so I can still watch movies and such, and I seem to be collecting more and more British TV shows in boxed sets. I started with Monty Python's Flying Circus, and have since added the complete Black Adder series and the complete Red Dwarf series. I've been watching these quite a bit recently, and I can say that these shows are all tremendously entertaining. In Black Adder II, Miranda Richardson as Queen Elizabeth is one of my all-time favorite TV characters; she does a brilliant job playing a very complex balance between strong ruler, complete ditz, vain narcissist and stupid bint. Red Dwarf has some of the best insult writing seen anywhere. Monty Python is, well, Monty Python. 'Nuff said.

I'd also like to get The Young Ones, Are You Being Served, and a couple of other series. I assume there is also a lot of rubbish on British TV, but there seems to be quite a few gems as well. So, thank you, England and the BBC, for entertaining me. 

[Trevor]

The BBC also produced one of the most terrifying TV series ever, the controversial 1979 series The Omega Factor about a journalist who becomes involved with a secret government organization which investigates the paranormal, the occult and anything scary you care to mention. A very disturbing series indeed and one that was yanked after 10 episodes and then never seen again until it was released in DVD in 2006: highly disturbing, highly controversial but also high recommended.

[Raffine]

And one of the darkest of dark comedies, The League of Gentlemen.

[Jack]

I've been watching Top Gear on BBC America.  Those guys get me giggling like an idiot.  Pure comic genius    I also really like Are You Being Served, Last of the Summer Wine and Keeping Up Appearances.  They show them on our public TV station sometimes.  The Vicar of Dibley isn't bad either.

[dean]

There's so much good from Britain.  Alot of the music I'm obsessed with is British, same with comedy series.  The Brits have really mastered the short series format, Ricky Gervais' shows like Extras and the Office were about 6 or so episodes per series.  Lean and mean!

Three particular comedies other than the excellent ones already listed that I love are Green Wing, The Mighty Boosh and Black Books.  Black Books in particular is absolute genius, Dylan Moran and Bill Bailey should be knighted for their comedy.  Green Wing is essentially a British version of Scrubs, but more bizarre.  Mighty Boosh is pure insanity, but that's the way I like it.   I cannot overstate how nuts Mighty Boosh is.

Some samples:

Black Books:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj7WA4AYT7c
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Green Wing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suSCrDgO1y0&feature=related
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Mighty Boosh:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCuUnTJgD9M&feature=&p=C98EB00CDF3D49C4&index=0&playnext=1
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More Mighty Boosh because it's great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaqo2IhH4kw&feature=related
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[Doggett]

Being British, I help fund the BBC and I (and I'm sure JJ80 would too) would like to take some of the credit for their programming.

 

[Umaril The Unfeathered]

I've been watching Top Gear on BBC America.  Those guys get me giggling like an idiot.  Pure comic genius    I also really like Are You Being Served, Last of the Summer Wine and Keeping Up Appearances.  They show them on our public TV station sometimes.  The Vicar of Dibley isn't bad either.

Except for the episode where the Top Gear guys went down South in America and antagonized ther locals and got chased by a truckload of locals.

They purely asked for that, and as someone with Southern roots myself, would not have cried too loudly if they had gotten their asses kicked.

Anyhow, Are You Being Served was always a great look at the lives of dept. store people and the stuff they go thru to make shopping a good experience for the customers, (or at least tolerable, lol) and it was, in the tradition of most British TV shows, a great example of sarcasm and black wit and humor.  Not to mention funny as hell too! 

Keeping Up Apperances was a lark too.  And that's liteally what they were doing, trying to maintain the image of an upper-crust background while denying the true reality of their situation. Again, a great example of situational comedy.

Then we have Fawlty Towers...'Nuff said. 

And then we have Benny Hill, who I salute to the Nth degree for his bawdy skits that got the point across w\o being outrighjtly vulgar or extreme.  Mr. Hill was a perfect example of using clean motives to portray dirty comedy, and he was funny as hell!  My all-time favorite offering from Britian.

Thank God for the UK, indeed!   

[Rev. Powell]

The BBC stuff is all over Netflix streaming so I've been watching a lot of it lately.  Saw the entire runs of THE OFFICE and FAWLTY TOWERS recently.  Great stuff!

The nice thing about the short seasons is that it allows the writers to put more resources into each episode; I'd guess the Brits spend twice as much time polishing each episode as their American counterparts do.  Also, the series' always leave you wanting more; they don't run long enough to jump the shark.

Another favorite of mine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUosm_BBv9g&feature=related
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[Jack]

I've been watching Top Gear on BBC America.  Those guys get me giggling like an idiot.  Pure comic genius    I also really like Are You Being Served, Last of the Summer Wine and Keeping Up Appearances.  They show them on our public TV station sometimes.  The Vicar of Dibley isn't bad either.

Except for the episode where the Top Gear guys went down South in America and antagonized ther locals and got chased by a truckload of locals.

They purely asked for that, and as someone with Southern roots myself, would not have cried too loudly if they had gotten their asses kicked.

Agreed.  They seemed like they were trying as hard as possible to portray Americans negatively.  It went way beyond the usual good-natured antagonism they display to people in other countries.

[HappyGilmore]

Can't forget about Doctor Who, which has a bunch of dvd's out.  Great, great stuff, if you like the sci-fi type stuff.

As mentioned previously, The Mighty Boosh is worth a look.

I've been watching a bit more BBC lately.  More than I used to.

[trekgeezer]

So called Britcoms are a staple of the local PBS stations in the U.S.  I've watched all the programs mentioned here as well as every Dr. Who from  William Hartnell to Sylvester McCoy.

My main problem with the BBC is the exorbitant prices on their DVDs. Damn VAT most likely .

[HappyGilmore]

So called Britcoms are a staple of the local PBS stations in the U.S.  I've watched all the programs mentioned here as well as every Dr. Who from  William Hartnell to Sylvester McCoy.

My main problem with the BBC is the exorbitant prices on their DVDs. Damn VAT most likely .

You see any of the new Doctor Who's? I like em pretty well.  The new companion's quite a looker.

[Doggett]

So called Britcoms are a staple of the local PBS stations in the U.S.  I've watched all the programs mentioned here as well as every Dr. Who from  William Hartnell to Sylvester McCoy.

My main problem with the BBC is the exorbitant prices on their DVDs. Damn VAT most likely .

You see any of the new Doctor Who's? I like em pretty well.  The new companion's quite a looker.

Yep.

Where's Andy ? I'm sure he has more to add... 

[HappyGilmore]

Amy Pond...one good thing about Doctor Who, amongst others.

[Umaril The Unfeathered]

I've been watching Top Gear on BBC America.  Those guys get me giggling like an idiot.  Pure comic genius    I also really like Are You Being Served, Last of the Summer Wine and Keeping Up Appearances.  They show them on our public TV station sometimes.  The Vicar of Dibley isn't bad either.

Except for the episode where the Top Gear guys went down South in America and antagonized ther locals and got chased by a truckload of locals.

They purely asked for that, and as someone with Southern roots myself, would not have cried too loudly if they had gotten their asses kicked.

Agreed.  They seemed like they were trying as hard as possible to portray Americans negatively.  It went way beyond the usual good-natured antagonism they display to people in other countries.

Well, I can't really blame them, after all they DID lose the biggest piece of real estate in the civilized world back in 1776.  I think that's the starting point for their portrayal of us Americans in a negative light