Great British TV dramas

[Numero Veinticinco]

Black Mirror is good. Is that still classed as British?

[mgw100]

10 minutes ago, Mudface said:

The second and third series had some of the best episodes like Royal Jelly and Flypaper, but yeah, the first was much better as a whole. The fourth onwards were shite, especially the US-based ones.

Yeah, agree with all that. The thing about all of those early series is that there is always a recognisable face in the cast. Reflects the smallish Brish acting community but also that the episodes were generally well acted. And of course well written, where the likes of Dahl is concerned. Generally, a pleasant and short diversion.

[mgw100]

3 minutes ago, Nummer Neunzehn said:

Black Mirror is good. Is that still classed as British?

it is. 

[Numero Veinticinco]

6 minutes ago, mgw100 said:

it is. 

I think some of those are really well done. Some of it is hit and miss, though being anthological you’ll get that. I thought large parts of the new Sherlock were really well done. 
 

As for ‘great’. Hmn, I’m struggling to think of anything I’d call ‘a great work’. There’s stuff I’ve enjoyed, but not much I can think of that’s great. 

[mgw100]

2 minutes ago, Nummer Neunzehn said:

I think some of those are really well done. Some of it is hit and miss, though being anthological you’ll get that. I thought large parts of the new Sherlock were really well done. 
 

Agree with that, it's hit and miss.

[Numero Veinticinco]

3 minutes ago, mgw100 said:

Agree with that, it's hit and miss.

Me and a mate of mine who play a lot of online games together watched that one where the two guys who play online games together fuck in VR. It was... awkward. 

[mgw100]

12 minutes ago, Nummer Neunzehn said:

As for ‘great’. Hmn, I’m struggling to think of anything I’d call ‘a great work’. There’s stuff I’ve enjoyed, but not much I can think of that’s great. 

Boys from the Blackstuff, The Singing Detective and Pennies from Heaven are great by any measure. In my opinion of course

 

Edit..Add Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

 

These are all classics of the highest possibe quality. They are also all from a bygone era, I recognise that

[mgw100]

4 minutes ago, Nummer Neunzehn said:

Me and a mate of mine who play a lot of online games together watched that one where the two guys who play online games together fuck in VR. It was... awkward. 

ha ha

[Mudface]

25 minutes ago, Nummer Neunzehn said:

Me and a mate of mine who play a lot of online games together watched that one where the two guys who play online games together fuck in VR. It was... awkward. 

Had you been doing it wrong?

[mgw100]

Play for Today was consistenly superb as well

[Mudface]

2 minutes ago, mgw100 said:

Play for Today was consistenly superb as well

Some of those were genuinely shocking. Blue Rembered Hills, Brimstone and Treacle (when it finally got released) and one involving a canal boat trip which ended up in murder and I can't remember the name of.

[mgw100]

4 minutes ago, Mudface said:

Some of those were genuinely shocking. Blue Rembered Hills, Brimstone and Treacle (when it finally got released) and one involving a canal boat trip which ended up in murder and I can't remember the name of.

Yeah, pretty strong stuff, on occasion deliberately provocative and challenging. Or sometimes, just reflective of the mundane.  The talent involved in the production of them was exceptional. They lit up Sunday nights.

[Numero Veinticinco]

17 minutes ago, Mudface said:

Had you been doing it wrong?

Nah, he was wanking the whole time, saying my name and groaning. 

[Mudface]

4 minutes ago, Nummer Neunzehn said:

Nah, he was wanking the whole time, saying my name and groaning. 

Fortnite, I take it.

[Numero Veinticinco]

2 minutes ago, Mudface said:

Fortnite, I take it.

Well, you know what these 12 year-old’s are like. 

[SasaS]

1 hour ago, Nummer Neunzehn said:

I can see that in some of the lower end stuff, the trash that has 50 episodes per season and 47 seasons, but when you’re talking about the top end, I don’t see that. The standard at the top end is so clearly better than anywhere else that nothing can really touch the likes of Sopranos, Breaking Bad/BCS, West Wing, Band of Brothers, The Wire, Mad Men etc. The depth is outrageous, and you just have to look at this thread so far to see that the UK just doesn’t have that. It’s probably to do with budget more than anything. If you pay the big bucks the best writers will leave the UK and work elsewhere. I mean, look at the second example of great British drama from the OP. Minder. Fucking Minder! There are a few shows I’ve enjoyed from here but the disparity is huge. 
 

Still, I hadn’t intended to derail the thread into a UK vs US. I’ll shut up and let people enjoy their stuff. 

It's not just budgets, the golden age of television has not been kind to British TV in that it removed the advantage of artistic freedom somewhat, with the emergence of more adventurous cable TV programming in the US. So Boys From  the Blackstuff, Singing Detective, Brideshead Revisited were seen as cutting edge in the '80s when the US mostly had only hyper commercial and playing it safe network shows.

Britain is still great at making very good but not spectacularly good dramas, the difference is, the Americans have moved on so what used to be seen as great is now just decent. Prime Suspect S1 was just about the best you could get in police procedurals at the time, I'm now watching Line of Duty which is just OK, but if it came out 10 to 15 years earlier would be seen as PS was in its time. Plus, you get to see more TV from other countries now, which also serves to raise the bar.    

[Tony Moanero]

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Brett)

The Return of Sherlock Holmes (Brett)

The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes (Brett)

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (Brett)

Inspector Morse

Life on Mars

Miss Marple (Hickson)

The Monocled Mutineer

Poirot

The Sweeney

[mgw100]

The Monocled Mutineer is a great shout.

[cloggypop]

[Raymond Duck]

[Bjornebye]

Cracker is the shout here.

 

Band of Gold was fucked up. 

[Stickman]

4 hours ago, mgw100 said:

Play for Today was consistenly superb as well

Play For Today was very good I think  The Blackstuff was one of those as was Scum and The Muscle Market with Pete Postlethwaite . Shame the Beeb never repeat any of these roster than some of the shite they show 

[Tony Moanero]

8 minutes ago, Stickman said:

Play For Today was very good I think  The Blackstuff was one of those as was The Muscle Market with Pete Postlethwaite . Shame the Beeb never repeat any of these roster than some of the shite they show 

BritBox show be showing stuff like this.

[VladimirIlyich]

9 hours ago, Nummer Neunzehn said:

I can see that in some of the lower end stuff, the trash that has 50 episodes per season and 47 seasons, but when you’re talking about the top end, I don’t see that. The standard at the top end is so clearly better than anywhere else that nothing can really touch the likes of Sopranos, Breaking Bad/BCS, West Wing, Band of Brothers, The Wire, Mad Men etc. The depth is outrageous, and you just have to look at this thread so far to see that the UK just doesn’t have that. It’s probably to do with budget more than anything. If you pay the big bucks the best writers will leave the UK and work elsewhere. I mean, look at the second example of great British drama from the OP. Minder. Fucking Minder! There are a few shows I’ve enjoyed from here but the disparity is huge. 
 

Still, I hadn’t intended to derail the thread into a UK vs US. I’ll shut up and let people enjoy their stuff. 

Minder was brilliant,still is but its 40 years old so bound to be a a bit dated. The Sweeney is still brilliant and The Professionals is still ok too.

[Numero Veinticinco]

8 minutes ago, VladimirIlyich said:

Minder was brilliant,still is but its 40 years old so bound to be a a bit dated. The Sweeney is still brilliant and The Professionals is still ok too.

Enjoy your nostalgia.