Topic: UK TV Show Recommendations?

[goodguy]

I've been watching some UK TV shows lately and now I'm in the mood for more. Any recommendations based on the these?

Doctor Who (2005) - Loved S5, didn't care much for S1-4 aside from the Moffat episodes.
Sherlock - Liked the pilot, but didn't care much for the rest.
Spaced - Meh. Not my thing.
Skins - Loved S1+2, liked S3+4.
Misfits - Loved S1+2.

[DJ Doena]

British shows I like:

The IT Crowd: british nerd humour. The 1:1 german remake didn't work at all: http://www.clipfish.de/video/1789043/vergleich-the-it-crowd-vs-das-iteam/ (check from 3:35 on)

Being Human: Despite the supernatural elements the show is basically about the question what makes a person human.

Coupling: A romance comedy. I came across it because of Steven Moffat (Doctor Who). The male lead (Jack Davenport) played the english guy in FlashForward. Gina Bellman later went on to Leverage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKGK2fplV_w

Life on Mars / Ashes to Ashes: A cop falls into a coma and wakes up in the 70s / 80s where he/she is a copper, too. But police work was very different back then. In LoM the cop is played by Doctor Who's The Master (John Simm).

[Tom]

In my opinion must-see UK shows. Though, of course, they are not everyone's taste:

"Red Dwarf" for Sci-Fi comedy.
"The Office"
"Black Adder". Rowan Atkinson's best work. Though I'd skip the first series or at least do not make up your opinion on the whole show based on it.

Further shows that I enjoyed: "Sugar Rush", "Brittas Empire", "Extras"

[Najemikon]

Definitely Life On Mars and once Ashes To Ashes is into it's stride by the second series, it's a stunning way to close out the story.

Red Dwarf is one of my favourites of all time. Utterly fantastic, however, I'm really not sure if Matthias would like it. I'm more inclined to recommend the absurdly wonderful Black Books, a two series sitcom about a shopkeeper who detests his customers. It's odd, but brilliantly so.

Shameless would be an interesting one. It's a comedy drama centred on an estate and the main character is a loser called Frank. Great writing and even better performances. It's not afraid to be controversial and vulgar, but it's deceptively smart.

If you like 24 or shows of that ilk, Spooks is considered by some to be better. Hustle is a great drama about a team of con artists.

Ooh! You gave Doctor Who a chance, I'd be interested in what you thought of Torchwood. The obvious tag-line is "Who for Adults". Yawn. There is a theory though that Russell T. Davies developed it for years and used Who's success to push it foward. Slow first season, better second, and an immensely popular single story over consecutive nights third. I haven't seen much, but it has interesting dynamics in the characters.

As Tom says, Extras is good, as it Gervais's original The Office.

erm... I'm yet to catch up with it properly myself, but favourite sitcom of the moment seems to be The Inbetweeners. Funny Skins? Maybe? Not really sure yet, but I do find it very funny.

That'll do for now. I'll think of more I'm sure...

[W0m6at]

Give the miniseries Jekyll a go. Written by Moffat, it's a new take on the Jekyll & Hyde scenario set in modern times. It's really quite well done.

I'll also go out on a limb and suggest Ultraviolet (the miniseries, not the Milla Jovovich movie). It's about a special task force that hunts vampires. It's set in modern times, but is still respectful of vampire lore, whilst taking a very deliberate and "realistic" approach.

[Achim]

I would also suggest Being Human, a sorry about a vampire, werewolf and a ghost sharing a house.

Extras and The Office are "cringe humor", which is not everyone's taste. Extras has more likable characters and was laugh out loud funny to me.

I own Black Books but haven't watched it yet.

I understand that Torchwood is in parts more interesting than Who, because you know the Doctor can't die, but in Torchwood pretty much everybody is expendable.

[goodguy]

Thanks for the suggestions so far, keep them coming. I should clarify that, while I like shows with comedic elements, I generally don't like sitcoms. I gave Spaced a try because of the praise it received here, but it just isn't for me.

Definitely Life On Mars and once Ashes To Ashes is into it's stride by the second series, it's a stunning way to close out the story.

I forgot about that. I've started watching LoM on German TV (dubbed), but lost interest halfway through. Might be worth a second (and proper) try.

If you like 24 or shows of that ilk, Spooks is considered by some to be better.

I've seen the first two seasons of Spooks and while it was pretty good, I don't really think there is a point to continue with it. I felt the same about 24 btw, after two or three seasons it is pretty much done and just goes on and on.

Ooh! You gave Doctor Who a chance, I'd be interested in what you thought of Torchwood. The obvious tag-line is "Who for Adults".

I might be interesting seeing Davies do a show not "aimed at 7-year-olds" (as you said yourself), but I think my problem with Davies goes deeper than that.

Give the miniseries Jekyll a go. Written by Moffat, it's a new take on the Jekyll & Hyde scenario set in modern times. It's really quite well done.

Thanks, that definitely wouldn't have grabbed my attention, especially as IMDb doesn't immediately list Moffat as the creator. While I was less impressed with his Sherlock, he still has a lot of credit with me based on Doctor Who.

I'll also go out on a limb and suggest Ultraviolet (the miniseries, not the Milla Jovovich movie).

This one I've already seen (I've only listed the latest stuff in my initial post) and I agree it is definitely worth watching.

I would also suggest Being Human, a sorry about a vampire, werewolf and a ghost sharing a house.

This I had already on my radar, but (and I could be entirely wrong) it seems a tad too conventional and soapy to me, without the little extra push that makes something like True Blood enjoyable.

[Dragonfire]

I like Torchwood..I've seen most of it thanks to BBC America..and I know how the sets thanks to the Blu-ray deal of the week from Amazon last week.  It is definitely more adult than Doctor Who.

I like The IT Crowd..well done comedy. 
The Office is good, though like has been said, not for everyone.
I've liked what I've seen so far of Being Human..so much so that I'll probably be getting the set soon.

I like Absolutely Fabulous...but it probably isn't your type of show.  It is a bit over the top most of the time, but I find it entertaining.

This reminds me..I've been considering getting a Dracula miniseris done by BBC...late 70s maybe.  I read that it was really good.

[hal9g]

Just ordered Red Dwarf: The Complete Collection

Blame goes to Tom!   

[Dragonfire]

Now I'm wanting Red Dwarf after reading about it.   

[Achim]

This reminds me..I've been considering getting a Dracula miniseris done by BBC...late 70s maybe.  I read that it was really good.

I keep hearing that too. It's on my Wish List, at least it used to be. It's supposedly very faithful to the book.

[Tom]

Just ordered Red Dwarf: The Complete Collection

Blame goes to Tom!   

 
Hope you like it.

[Najemikon]

Thanks for the suggestions so far, keep them coming. I should clarify that, while I like shows with comedic elements, I generally don't like sitcoms. I gave Spaced a try because of the praise it received here, but it just isn't for me.

To be honest, I wouldn't have though Spaced was your thing. Black Books is a typical sitcom in some respects, but if you find an episode or two, bear it in mind because it certainly isn't typical. If you've never seen the original The Office, that's definitely worth a try as it isn't a sitcom as such. Neither is Extras and I'm sure you'd get a kick out of that. The one with Kate Winslet playing herself blatantly trying to pick roles to win Oscars is particularly brilliant now she has actually won one!

Just ordered Red Dwarf: The Complete Collection

Blame goes to Tom!   

 
Hope you like it.

Ha! You can take the blame for this one Tom! Red Dwarf is awesome... 

This reminds me..I've been considering getting a Dracula miniseris done by BBC...late 70s maybe.  I read that it was really good.

I keep hearing that too. It's on my Wish List, at least it used to be. It's supposedly very faithful to the book.

Not sure what this would be, I'll look it up later. But I tend to find that some of the more unremarkable BBC drama can slip into a stagey, play atmosphere which I've never liked. This is especially true of the older stuff. They rarely understand genre stories, just look at their new sci-fi, called Outcasts. It's bollocks, to put it mildly. Written for middle class snobs who think they're going to be "in" by watching some science fiction nonsense, and written by middle class snobs who think they understand what science fiction is. Which they really, really don't.

[Tom]

The one with Kate Winslet playing herself blatantly trying to pick roles to win Oscars is particularly brilliant now she has actually won one!

Yes, that was a great episode. Another great one was with Ian McKellen and his advice on acting.

[Achim]

This reminds me..I've been considering getting a Dracula miniseris done by BBC...late 70s maybe.  I read that it was really good.

Not sure what this would be, I'll look it up later.

I assumed she meant Count Dracula from 1977 (wasn't easy to locate on IMDb). Dracula is played by Louis Jordan in this one.