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Jac Hawk
01-07-2011, 22:32
We are all informed about great movies here be what about normal TV, there must still be a few programs on TV worthy of a mention here.

I'll kick it off with 3 of my favourites in no particular order

Dexter (a serial killer who works by day as a blood spatter specialist working for the Miami police, it's up to season 5 now and definitely worth a watch)

Primeval (Anomalies open up allowing you to go to the past or future, plus whatever is there to come to our time, up to season 5 now and another great watch)

Game of Thrones (Sean Bean and Mark Addy in a Medieval shagfest full of sword play incest and intrigue, shown on Sky Atlantic the 1st series of what i suspect will be a massive long running hit)

Thing Fish
01-07-2011, 22:45
I liked the wire which was an HBO series.

Jac Hawk
01-07-2011, 23:03
I liked the wire which was an HBO series.

HBO made Game of Thrones, to be honest you would swear it was a British production, with the theme and the amount of British actors.

s70rmp
08-07-2011, 17:54
Battlestar Galactica
The Sopranos
Lie To Me
Criminal Minds
Castle
House
American Pickers


the best of the best, and must be watched in HD

webby
08-07-2011, 18:59
I liked The Event.

aquapiranha
08-07-2011, 20:19
Married with children

Family Guy

Tripods

Starfleet

X-files..

I could go on..

colinB
08-07-2011, 21:19
A good bbc doc.
The killing
Luther ( barmy but good)

s70rmp
08-07-2011, 21:38
Starfleet



Now thats a classic !

the theme tune is awesome ! Eddie Van Halen and Brian May

John
09-07-2011, 04:10
The first two series of Being Human
The Wire
The first two series of My Name is Earl watch cops to see just how funny this could be
Wallander The orginal swiss version is really good

Tim
09-07-2011, 07:07
Here's my top ten, in no particular order apart from The Killing, which I think is the best TV drama I have ever seen (I think the US remake sucks :()

The Killing (original)
.
.
.
.
Wallander (original)
The Wire
The Sopranos
Downton Abbey
The West Wing
Band of Brothers
The Good Wife
24
Hill Street Blues

s70rmp
09-07-2011, 08:40
I forgot and how could I

The Shield

Effem
09-07-2011, 08:42
I can count on one hand the good programmes on TV these days.

Up at the very top for me because it is pure entertainment and has SFA to do with cars and motoring is TOP GEAR. Even the umpteenth repeat on Dave is still just as funny after much repeated viewing. It is of course all scripted and contrived, but let's face it which TV programmes aren't and TG does what most others don't - entertain.

Next up for me the Dog Whisperer with Cesar Milan. I watch this because it has proved invaluable with the fostering we do for the Retired Greyhound Trust. This guy is the first dog 'guru' I have seen who truly understands dog behaviour and that it is us humans alone who creates badly behaved dogs. "I rehabilitate dogs and I teach humans" is his mantra and never a truer word said. Learned a lot from this guy and still learning.

I like "Spartacus, Blood and Sand" because of it's tits, bums and furburgers as far as the eye can see :stalks: The simulated sex is good to watch, but the simulated CGI generated gushing torrents of blood isn't.

Jonathan Creek for some harmless tosh.

QI is as it's title suggests is Quite Interesting - when they stuff fannying around with ribald remarks.

I 'Lost' the will to live after the fifth episode of LOST. It started off well but then degenerated into pointless drivel, so the initial soupcon of becoming a fascinating series turned into the equivalent of watching paint dry. How anyone could last five series without requiring a lobotomy to clear their minds of all that that crepe is utterly baffling. "The Event" too seemed to be fashioned from the same mould and started off well enough to intrigue the curious, the slide downwards began after episode 3 and the end was almost a non-event - please excuse the pun.

At the moment I am struggling with "The Pacific" and the novelty of killing endless numbers of Japanese in far flung Pacific islands is wearing very thin now. Take the shooting and killing out and you would probably be left with 10 minutes of relevant sanitised content and the adverts.

Apart from those few, the rest of my leisure time is spent listening to choons on me stereo :lol:

aquapiranha
09-07-2011, 08:52
Some may have noticed that my choices are somewhat dated, and this is because I got rid of the TV years go. Over the last 6 months or so I have been living with my partner who does watch TV and I have to be hinest and say it is mostly utter tripe She likes to watch all that britasins got talent and x factor rubbish which only reinforces the reasins why I got rid in the first place. Exceptions have been the 4400 which I had on DVD. I do like movies though.

Tim
09-07-2011, 09:43
Over the last 6 months or so I have been living with my partner who does watch TV and I have to be honest and say it is mostly utter tripe She likes to watch all that britasins got talent and x factor rubbish which only reinforces the reasins why I got rid in the first place.
Can't argue with that....

Mark Grant
09-07-2011, 10:32
Benidorm :)

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Sol+Pelicanos+Ocas&hl=en&ll=38.538045,-0.10891&spn=0.000906,0.001281&sll=-89.159298,91.40625&sspn=2.816507,167.871094&radius=15000&t=h&z=20

http://www.itv.com/benidorm/

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g187525-d231533-Reviews-Sol_Pelicanos_Ocas-Benidorm_Costa_Blanca_Alicante_Province_Valencian_ Country.html

http://www.benidormia.co.uk/

best watched with a huge jug of home made Sangria and lots of pringles/crisps/nuts :cool:

Cant stand celebrity/talent programs.

Nature/documentary/science is good.

colinB
09-07-2011, 13:06
All the commercial channels are crap but i dont mind paying my license for beeb2 and 4. However with the recent cuts they are repeating a lot of old stuff on bbc4 now so im expecting the quality to go down. Friday night ob bbc4 used to be great for music docs and concerts but there has been nothing fresh for a while now.

griffo104
09-07-2011, 14:49
The Wire - just perfect in every possible way

Six Feet Under

Luther

The Shadow Line - Just finished on beeb 2 and possibly the finest thing they have done in a very long time

The Shield

Curb Your enthusiasm - comedy genius

Sons Of anarchy - not perfect but once you get in to it hard not to enjoy

Justified - loved the first series but missed the second

Wallander - The Swedish origina, better writing, better acting and just excellent

Lewis - guilty pleasure here but I just think it's the best thing on ITV by a mile so deserves some recognition.

ursus262
09-07-2011, 22:47
Anything that's not American. Very anti-American here, and I don't like their culture.

Oh, and it's "programmes" and not "programs"

Macca
09-07-2011, 23:20
Anything that's not American. Very anti-American here, and I don't like their culture.

Oh, and it's "programmes" and not "programs"

They make the best cop/PI shows though:

The Rockford Files - I loved that and I have 120 channels and it isn't on any of them

Magnum P.I, - got better as it went on

Hill Steet Blues - best cop show ever

What have we got? Inspector Morse, Juliet Bravo and the Bill:(

keiths
10-07-2011, 00:16
What have we got? Inspector Morse, Juliet Bravo and the Bill:(
Life on Mars

Macca
10-07-2011, 00:20
Life on Mars

Oh yeah:doh: - that was a really good show, totally agree. But the follow up Ashes to Ashes sucked - they really didn't understand why LOM was so popular. Painful to see.:(

keiths
10-07-2011, 00:28
Yeah, didn't enjoy A2A at all. Should have finished it after LoM. Classic example of not knowing when to stop.

Macca
10-07-2011, 00:51
Watchable current shows IMHO:

Top Gear
The Apprentice
Family Guy
Southpark
Time Team
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Ancient Aliens
Celebrity Ghost Stories
Lead Balloon
Peep Show

Note: No modern drama - because the plots are trite and predictable, dialogue is clunky and unbelieveable and the acting is wooden - that goes for UK and US shows including much vaunted The Wire - I couldn't make it through the first episode:scratch:

It's late and I am ranting:lolsign:

Message to TV drama producers - watch The Sopranos and see how it is done!:steam:

worthingpagan
10-07-2011, 03:54
i don't watch tv, it's dross. prefer music, dvd's & drinking copious amounts of alcohol :drunk:

Alex_UK
10-07-2011, 09:03
Hardly watch any TV at all these days. Missus usually has Eastnationdale Street or whatever soaps they are and I sit on here and other dubious websites, or the nipper is watching kids TV (Peppa Pig & Charlie & Lola being her top 2.)

I tend to get sucked into X Factor when its on in the autumn, and the only thing I'm watching at the moment with any regularity is The Apprentice.

Martin mentioned The Rockford Files and I loved that too, think I used to watch it with my Dad on Thursday nights. That was certainly when we watched Blake's 7 which was another good series, but my absolute favourite TV series was Saturday tea time and The Dukes of Hazard - I've got all of them on DVD, and a fair collection of memorabilia including a signed photo of Catherine Bach who was every schoolboy's fantasy back in the early 80s. My wife even allowed our daughter to have Daisy as a middle name! :lol:

Yeeeeeee Haaaaaaaaah!

Macca
10-07-2011, 09:30
, but my absolute favourite TV series was Saturday tea time and The Dukes of Hazard - I've got all of them on DVD, and a fair collection of memorabilia including a signed photo of Catherine Bach who was every schoolboy's fantasy back in the early 80s. My wife even allowed our daughter to have Daisy as a middle name! :lol:

Yeeeeeee Haaaaaaaaah!

Is my memory hazy or was the first season far superior and more 'adult' than the later ones? I'm sure the first season was shown on a Sunday night quite late on, 8 pm?

slate
10-07-2011, 09:44
I don't mind paying my license but the summer draught makes me reconsider... 2 months of massive reruns on all channels... as if there isn't enought reruns the rest of the year.
As luck will have it TDF is about to hit the mountains so there will be postcard scenery with added blood, sweat and tears.
It is tradition to watch the drug addicts in the mountains.

In regards to the reality shows I regard them as exploitation and I never watch any of this. I have been forced to watch the singing/dancing shows when visiting friends/family.

It doesn't mean that I can't be sucked in by the drivel...
I used to like the original CSI series, but detested the glossy "CSI Miami" and when they brought on "CSI New York" i quit. It is just to unrealistic. Techs that do ALL the police work.. yeah right
In the later years it has been "House" and "Battlestar Galactica".

In pre-historic times it was things like "Married with children", "X-Files", "Twin Peaks", "Startrek", "Bottom"....
And if I shall mention some Danish tv series that stands out in memory it would be "Riget" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108906/ odd twisted great fun

Nowadays Danish tv series makes my toes curl and thats is why I have not seen "The Killing"

Macca
10-07-2011, 09:57
Married With Children was a top show - probably just too American for mainstream British tastes.

Two more US classics that spring to mind:

The Larry Sander's Show
And going way back to the 1950s the incomparable and never bettered Phil Silvers Show AKA 'Sargeant Bilko'

griffo104
10-07-2011, 11:50
The Larry Sander's show was excellent but I remember it being tucked away around the midnight slot on BBC2 alongside Seinfeld, which I also enjoy.

As for the Wire, you need to invest time in it. Nothing happens for the first couple of episodes but by the time you've finished all 5 series you will accept you've watched something very special. The whole structure of it is just so different which is partly what makes it so good. Buy the boxset and settle back for some quality TV.

Didn't anyone on here watch the brilliant Shadow Line on Beeb 2 ? It was simply superb.

There is a lack of quality drama on at the moment, just checked by Humax box and I've very little on the drama side on the schedule.

Macca
10-07-2011, 11:52
As for the Wire, you need to invest time in it. Nothing happens for the first couple of episodes but by the time you've finished all 5 series you will accept you've watched something very special. The whole structure of it is just so different which is partly what makes it so good. Buy the boxset and settle back for some quality TV.

.

I've got the boxset but the first episode is so clunky I just couldn't make it through - You are not the first person to tell me it improves so I will give it another go I think:)

Spectral Morn
10-07-2011, 11:54
HBO made Game of Thrones, to be honest you would swear it was a British production, with the theme and the amount of British actors.

It was made a few miles from where I live...i.e in Belfast and filmed around Northern Ireland.


Regards D S D L

griffo104
10-07-2011, 11:57
I've got the boxset but the first episode is so clunky I just couldn't make it through - You are not the first person to tell me it improves so I will give it another go I think:)

I watched the first couple of episodes when Beeb 2 had the whole thing on, an episode every night and gave up after the second episode. A friend convinced me to get the boxset and he was right.

Each series moves around Baltimore and concentrates on a given area which just brings the whole city to life.

If you don't get on with that but like your US police series, give The Shield a try, almost as good as the Wire.

Macca
10-07-2011, 11:57
Any Stella Street fans?

Loved that series so got them on DVD and watched them all back to back

And do you know that afterwards I was talking like Michael Caine for a whole bleedin' week? Strike a light!:lol:

griffo104
10-07-2011, 12:04
Check out More 4 on a Sunday night/Monday morning - Spaced, Black Books and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Quality sitcoms to end the weekend on.

Reid Malenfant
01-08-2011, 18:28
Some may have noticed that my choices are somewhat dated, and this is because I got rid of the TV years go. Over the last 6 months or so I have been living with my partner who does watch TV and I have to be hinest and say it is mostly utter tripe She likes to watch all that britasins got talent and x factor rubbish which only reinforces the reasins why I got rid in the first place. Exceptions have been the 4400 which I had on DVD. I do like movies though.
I joined that club about 1.5 years ago :) The last program i watched that was broadcast was Flashforward & before that i just can't remember :scratch:

Nice not to get robbed by the BBC for near on £150 a year :eyebrows:

Rare Bird
06-08-2011, 10:49
I'm more than happy with this lot:

George and Mildred
Love Thy Neighbour
Man About the House
Steptoe and Son
The Prisoner
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
The Persuaders
UFO
The Avengers
Department S
The Saint
Jason King
The Protectors
Man in a Suitcase

MartinT
06-08-2011, 11:01
Game of Thrones (Sean Bean and Mark Addy in a Medieval shagfest full of sword play incest and intrigue, shown on Sky Atlantic the 1st series of what i suspect will be a massive long running hit)

Yes, I thought it was excellent too. The final scene of series 1 was quite something ;)

Also for me:
Lie to Me (sadly just finished)
Stargate Universe (also just finished)
House
In Treatment
Spooks

Previous epics:
West Wing
Battlestar Galactica
The Sopranos

MartinT
06-08-2011, 11:03
The Persuaders

The best opening sequence and music ever?

MartinT
06-08-2011, 11:07
What have we got? Inspector Morse, Juliet Bravo and the Bill:(

Judge John Deed.

Marco
06-08-2011, 11:16
I'm more than happy with this lot:

George and Mildred
Love Thy Neighbour
Man About the House
Steptoe and Son
The Prisoner
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
The Persuaders
UFO
The Avengers
Department S
The Saint
Jason King
The Protectors
Man in a Suitcase

Brilliant list of progs, dude - all were right up my street! :cool:

Most of the current stuff mentioned, I haven't even heard of... Loved The Sopranos, though! Is Tony really dead, I wonder, and if not, could there be another series? :)

Marco.

Marco
06-08-2011, 11:20
They make the best cop/PI shows though:

The Rockford Files - I loved that and I have 120 channels and it isn't on any of them

Magnum P.I, - got better as it went on

Hill Steet Blues - best cop show ever

What have we got? Inspector Morse, Juliet Bravo and the Bill:(

Yes, but it wasn't always like that.......... TV was MUCH better in the 70s and 80s - and that included cop shows.

Remember The Sweeney, Z Cars, Dixon of Dock Green, The Professionals, (the old, before the Scottish guy died) Taggart, etc? All were, IMO, better than the American shite! ;)

Marco.

Macca
06-08-2011, 11:28
Yes, but it wasn't always like that.......... TV was MUCH better in the 70s and 80s - and that included cop shows.

Remember The Sweeney, Z Cars, Dixon of Dock Green, The Professionals, etc? All were, IMO, better than the American shite! ;)

Marco.

The Sweeney still holds it's own although now it is a period piece, but The Professionals now looks very clunky I'm afraid even though I loved it as a kid.

The Persuaders never lived up to it's great opening sequence and music IMHO.

Anyone recall Softly, Softly and The Gentle Touch? We were good at making police shows with no action:lol:

Marco
06-08-2011, 11:36
The Sweeney still holds it's own although now it is a period piece, but The Professionals now looks very clunky I'm afraid even though I loved it as a kid.


Yes, but it's precisely the clunkiness that gives them their charm! :)

The only American cop show I really liked, other than those Andre listed, was Starsky and Hutch, although I also quite liked Canon, Ironside and Streets of San Francisco.

All my mates loved Hill Street Blues, but it did nothing for me...


Anyone recall Softly, Softly and The Gentle Touch? We were good at making police shows with no action:lol:

Yes, they were pish - although I seem to remember some skanky female police uniforms in the latter! :eyebrows:

Marco.

Macca
06-08-2011, 11:41
Yes, but it's precisely the clunkiness that gives them their charm! :)

Yes, they were pish - although I seem to remember some skanky female police uniforms in the latter! :eyebrows:

Marco.

Yep Jill Gascoine was quite tasty back in the day...:)

Tim
06-08-2011, 11:44
I thought Between the Lines was one of the best cop dramas we have made. Very real and unlike many of the others mentioned, very few action scenes. It was a ground breaking series in many ways - most of the others are just glorified Soaps IMO.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Between_the_Lines_%28TV_series%29

Marco
06-08-2011, 11:45
Sorry, Tim, never heard of it...

Marco.

Tim
06-08-2011, 11:48
Sorry, Tim, never heard of it...

Marco.
It was a bit dark in places, but highly critically acclaimed.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Between-Lines-Complete-BBC-DVD/dp/B0009Y8UJA :eyebrows:

Rare Bird
06-08-2011, 11:50
The best opening sequence and music ever?

Too right, Rog Moore's Aston Martin 'DBS' aint half nice aswell


Marco: 'Progs' stonking terminology dude :eyebrows:

Macca
06-08-2011, 12:01
'The New Avengers' - everybody hated it at the time but I loved it. -Remember the episode where Purdy goes up against the baddies who can deflect bullets with their hands? Laugh out loud ridiculous but proper entertainment:cool:

Alex_UK
06-08-2011, 14:07
I thought Between the Lines was one of the best cop dramas we have made. Very real and unlike many of the others mentioned, very few action scenes. It was a ground breaking series in many ways - most of the others are just glorified Soaps IMO.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Between_the_Lines_%28TV_series%29

Absolutely loved that series - I also loved Tony Pearson in Drop The Dead Donkey - essential Friday night viewing that was.

John
06-08-2011, 14:19
Hill Street Blues was a classic the first series was the best over time it lost it power and impact, same with St Elsewhere Both used Drama and humour but i always think keeping the quality over a few series is the real challenge. I loved the first two Being Human series but the last one it really lost it way, it became a over acted ham fest and lost that balance in exploring aspects of humanity
The same with Northern exposure and My name is Ear;l great first series but gradually lose the fine writing

MartinT
06-08-2011, 14:49
I thought Between the Lines was one of the best cop dramas we have made. Very real and unlike many of the others mentioned, very few action scenes. It was a ground breaking series in many ways - most of the others are just glorified Soaps IMO.

I'd forgotten that one. Agreed, it was a great show.

Tim
06-08-2011, 15:00
Hill Street Blues was a classic the first series was the best
+1 :)

Canetoad
06-08-2011, 15:58
'The New Avengers' - everybody hated it at the time but I loved it. -Remember the episode where Purdy goes up against the baddies who can deflect bullets with their hands? Laugh out loud ridiculous but proper entertainment:cool:

Loved the episode where Steed had the XJ12 Jag on steroids!

Another cop show I liked was Spencer For Hire. Robert Urich quoting the classics in voice-overs alla Sam Spade. Excellent! :)

jazzpiano
25-11-2011, 06:22
For me it's:

*Homicide - Life on the Streets (particularly the first few seasons)
*X-Files (early seasons)
*One Foot in the Grave

Barry

TBL
08-12-2011, 17:11
These days if your looking for quality police drama you have to look to mainland Europe. Recently watched the latest UK offering "Death in Paradise" I couldn't believe what a pile of complete utter tripe it is.

Compared to; Wallander (Swedish) The Killing (Danish) & Spiral (French) all 3 were truly excellent, with good plots/scripts, excellent acting and realistic griity drama at its best. Knocks spots off anything we have done in years.

Tim
08-12-2011, 17:19
Wallander (Swedish) The Killing (Danish) & Spiral (French)
+1, every one of them brilliant and I try to get people to watch them, but they won't because of the subtitles - such a shame :(

Dominic Harper
08-12-2011, 17:38
Anyone ever watched Mongrels? It's so funny:lolsign:

Natalie;)

MCRU
08-12-2011, 18:30
TV programmes, well the current crop I think will go down as classics are:-

American Horror Story
The Walking Dead
Boardwalk Empire

MartinT
08-12-2011, 18:50
Boardwalk Empire

Seconded - superb drama.

Anyone else watch Weeds? Every episode gets me doubled up with laughter at the situations Nancy finds herself in. Mary Louise Parker is not hard to look at, either.

Reid Malenfant
08-12-2011, 18:59
Mary Louise Parker is not hard to look at, either.
I think I have one or two seasons on BD...

Oh yeah, too right there Martin (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Weeds-Season-Five-Blu-ray/5931/#Review) :stalks: