BBC Stuff

[robotosan1080]

So I'm starting to watch a lot of British programming.
Watched Sherlock and Doctor Who (most of it) Torchwood is on my list. Does anyone here have any more BBC suggestions for someone who has pretty much caught up on everything American TV has to offer (breaking bad, dexter, the office, mad men, chuck, game of thrones etc)

Would appreciate it.

[Groo The Perverted]

DO I!??!?!?! lol

Here's a few.

Hustle. Similar to Leverage, only they con money from people just to do it. Leverage is more of a Robin Hood, Morality type thing. Getting revenge on those powerful preying on the less fortunate. Hustle, there's no morality, just the money is there to be taken.

YouTube - ‪BBC Hustle - Series 1 Promo‬‏

Spooks: Sort of a British 24. Deals with MI-5, which is the Secret Service dealing with domestic terrorism. MI-6 deals with international. Many guest stars throughout the years including Hugh Laurie as an MI-6 official, and Andy Serkis as a junkie rock singer.

YouTube - ‪Spooks (MI-5) Series 1 Opening Sequence‬‏

Mad Dogs: I've seen the 1st of the four part series. Stars Ben Chapman, John Simm (BBC's Life on Mars) and others. Four friends visit a rich friend at his villa, and when he's murdered, they are suddenly on the run from cooked cops and others.

YouTube - ‪Mad Dogs Trailer‬‏

Luther: Stars Idris Elba (The Wire, American Gangster) as a volatile full of rage police detective.

YouTube - ‪Luther - Coming to BBC America on October 17th at 10/9c‬‏

So many great shows!

[detective392]

There are so many great British shows but here is a list of my favorites which you already included Doctor Who, Sherlock and soon Torchwood. I'm sure I'm forgetting some others though.

Primeval
Whitechapel
Prime Suspect
Midsomer Murders
Luthur
Sarah Jane Adventures
Being Human
Merlin
Spooks
The Inbetweeners (Best comedy ever)
Robin Hood
Skins

[Secretagentnumber6]

I would recommend the British Office if you are into comedy, Jekyll and hyde is a shortlived series but had some good to it, Saxondale is a hilarious brit comedy. Little Britain is a good brit sketch comedy, a bit crass but funny nonetheless.

If you like some older stuff, Mr Bean is a classic as is Rowan Atkinson's much better show Black Adder. Monty Python is always great. And lastly at least from me A Bit of Fry and Laurie is terrific.

And of course Fawlty Towers is one of the greatest.

[Groo The Perverted]

If you like very funny, if a tad bit raunchy at times, check out "How Not To Live Your Life"

YouTube - ‪What Does a Squeaking Bed Mean? - How Not To Live Your Life - BBC Three‬‏

[Jezza]

Originally Posted by detective392

There are so many great British shows but here is a list of my favorites which you already included Doctor Who, Sherlock and soon Torchwood. I'm sure I'm forgetting some others though.

Primeval
Whitechapel
Prime Suspect
Midsomer Murders
Luthur
Sarah Jane Adventures
Being Human
Merlin
Spooks
The Inbetweeners (Best comedy ever)
Robin Hood
Skins

These aren't BBC, although they are great shows.

Originally Posted by Secretagentnumber6

I would recommend the British Office if you are into comedy, Jekyll and hyde is a shortlived series but had some good to it, Saxondale is a hilarious brit comedy. Little Britain is a good brit sketch comedy, a bit crass but funny nonetheless.

If you like some older stuff, Mr Bean is a classic as is Rowan Atkinson's much better show Black Adder. Monty Python is always great. And lastly at least from me A Bit of Fry and Laurie is terrific.

And of course Fawlty Towers is one of the greatest.

Mr Bean isn't BBC, and I have to agree with you on BlackAdder being better than Mr Bean. I'm a huge Rowan Atkinson fan, and there's no denying BlackAdder is his best work.
Mr Bean is great, but can be very repetitive after a time.

As for my recommendations, you really cannot get into watching BBC productions without watching Doctor Who, which of course you've already said you've watched. Although in fairness I doubt you've watched most of it when there's 50 years worth of Who.
On the Doctor Who thread I've written up a lengthy introduction to the show, listing every single story and Doctor, which should help you understand it more.

YouTube - ‪Doctor Who: The Doctors (A Tribute To The Eleven Faces Of Doctor Who 1963 - 2010)‬‏

Sherlock is another great modern BBC production, with some superb perforamnces and original set-up.
There are only three TV specials produced to date, but another lot are being filmed at the moment that'll air in September.

YouTube - ‪BBC Sherlock Trailer‬‏

If you're looking at factual shows and are into your motors, then Top Gear is arguably the best out their. It is however possibly the most controversial show the BBC put out, because the humour of the three presenters (Jeremy "Jezza" Clarkson, Richard "Hamster" Hammond and James "Captain Slow" May) is quite dry, often making fun of of a scenario using outdated stereotypical views. But if you're not offended by that sort of thing then you'll find it superb, because it is easily enjoyable by people who don't even have a serious interest in cars.
If you're interested though, here's one of the 'challenges' they did three years ago:

YouTube - ‪Police Car challenge part 1 - Top Gear - BBC Autos‬‏

YouTube - ‪Police Car challenge part 2 - Top Gear - BBC Autos‬‏

One show I'd love to recommend is Outnumbered, which is a comedy series looking at the daily life of an average middle-class family, but I don't think you'd necessarily find funny because of the very British, working-class family set-up. But of course the majority of family's in the UK can relate to it because of that.
Here's another clip that may help you:

YouTube - ‪Girls Can't Throw - Outnumbered Preview - BBC One‬‏

For older shows though you have the great Fawlty Towers with John Cleese in the main role. The show famously only made 12 episodes, which was very rare for a comedy show in the 1970s, but hotel set-up is just perfect in everyway.

YouTube - ‪Fa-fa-fa-fire! - Fawlty Towers - BBC‬‏

But my all-time favourite comedy show though is BlackAdder, because the comedy is so dry and cynical and the historical setting just makes the show timeless. The show really propelled Rowan Atkinson to super-stardom, but it also featured an array of other well-know faces, with the likes of Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. BlackAdder the Third is my favourite series because of the minimal cast, but BlackAdder Goes Fourth is arugably the best, withe final episode possibly being the greatest comedy episode ever.

YouTube - ‪Don't mention Macbeth - Blackadder - BBC‬‏

Those are my recommendations at least, but there are many more and others here have listed some truly brilliant shows.

[Secretagentnumber6]

Originally Posted by Jezza

These aren't BBC, although they are great shows.



Mr Bean isn't BBC, and I couldn't diagree with you more with it being better than BlackAdder. I'm a huge Rowan Atkinson fan, but there's no denying BlackAdder is his best work.
Mr Bean is great, but can be very repetitive after a time.

I know they are not all BBC shows, I actually do not think that was just what he was after, I just think he asked for BBC Stuff in place of asking for British shows.

And I think you misread my sentence, I am saying Black Adder is much better than Bean, but in fairness I did say it in a roundabout backwards way.

One last recommend from me for a British Show that I quite enjoy is the IT Crowd. Really funny stuff.

[Jezza]

Originally Posted by Secretagentnumber6

I know they are not all BBC shows, I actually do not think that was just what he was after, I just think he asked for BBC Stuff in place of asking for British shows.

And I think you misread my sentence, I am saying Black Adder is much better than Bean, but in fairness I did say it in a roundabout backwards way.

One last recommend from me for a British Show that I quite enjoy is the IT Crowd. Really funny stuff.

Now you mention I can see what you mean. I'll go back and edit my original post.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by robotosan1080

So I'm starting to watch a lot of British programming.
Watched Sherlock and Doctor Who (most of it) Torchwood is on my list. Does anyone here have any more BBC suggestions for someone who has pretty much caught up on everything American TV has to offer (breaking bad, dexter, the office, mad men, chuck, game of thrones etc)

Would appreciate it.

Psychoville, The second series is about halfway through over here and it's fantastic, very funny with many surreal character and a very twisty-turn plot that shows no limits as to how silly and unpredictable it is. I call it Kitchen Sink throwing comedy. It's full of homages and references to horror films and classic thrillers.

Here is a clip featuring a Mother/Son serial killing duo, the entire episode was done in 2 takes, as a homage to Rope, I don't want to spoil the episode but it's very ambitious and funny.

YouTube - ‪Maureen and David's Superman Dance Off - Psychoville - BBC‬‏

Now how many homages to Hitchcock have you seen that do that

There are a lot more crazy characters, like a midwife who thinks a baby doll is her actual son, a blind old man with a crazy hidden hobby, a bitter cynical clown with a hook and his arch nemesis and a dwarf with superpowers, and all that is just series 1