Can you recomend any good British TV shows?

Question

Our local library offers TV shows on DVD, but you have to request them as there are waiting lists for the good ones. Our family has discovered that BBC TV is very good. In order to request the BBC TV shows we have to request them by name.

Can you tell me what are good BBC TV shows? Please include the title and a short description of the show?

Someone asked where I am from. I am from Canada.

Answer 1

BLACKADDER
This is a comedy that reflects and takes off events in British History, it shows the arogance and stupidy of certain monarchy and other leaders.

ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE
We like laughing at ourselves us Brits and Victor Meldrew portrays the retired gent, with plenty of time on his hands. Nothing ever goes right for him but we love his catch phrase"i can't believe it", when he finds a tramp has moved into his garden shed and is having his post delivered there, or when he tells the man that delivers a pot plant to "just put it in the downstairs toliet for the time being" only to find that the man has actually planted it in the toliet bowl.

THE VICAR OF DIBLEY
This stars one of britains best Dawn French, as one of the first female vicars. It shows the prejudice that she experences when she goes to a small village. She is a sex and chocolate loving laugh a minute.

FATHER TED
This is a wind up on the catholic church and concentrates on a house with three priests, ones an alcololic, ones unethical whilst the others just plain stupid. It was a channel 4 production and is very close to the knuckle with swear words that have been altered by 1 letter but it's very funny.

KEEPING UP APPEARANCES
This is about a middle classed woman that tries to be something that she is not. She makes the meter reader take his shoes off and always tries to look better than her peers. Her long suffering husband and neighbours go along with her for an easy life, but her family are so common and lovely they soon bring her back to earth. Her surnames bucket but she prefers to be called bouquet.

Answer 2

If you havent yet seen "keeping up appearances" check that out. You should get that on your local pbs station, the British versoin of "The Office" is funny, is if you can get "The last of the Summer Wine" or "Only Fools and Horses" or "Dads Army " or better still look in to getting BBC America (cable )www.bbcamerica.com (your local cable company should carry it).
It tells you what T.V shows there show like (Little Britain & The kumar's at No 42 ) See if you can get Little Britain from your library or The young ones (its an older show) but a hoot to watch.

Answer 3

Try Monty Python, Absolutely Fabulous, French and Saunders. You may also want to check out some of the movies produced by BBC like Mrs. Henderson Presents, or the mini series Bleak House based on the Charles Dickens novel.

Answer 4

I think most of these are BBC shows (comedy's):

The Smoking Room - a comedy about an office smoking room is hilarious
The League of Gentleman - cult, horror, comedy set in a small village
The Office - The original is so much better then the American one
Extras - comedy about a movie extra (Ricky Gervais)
Top Gear - a light hearted car programme
Good Night Sweetheart - a comedy about a man living two lives, one in 1940's London (during WW2) and one in the modern day.
My Family - comedy about a disfunctional family (is there any other kind?)

Answer 5

I assume you are not in the UK?

Go to bbc.co.uk where you will find a run-down if you wish of anything that anyone cares to mention on here.

Or if it is BRITISH TV shows as in your question, you can also look at itv.com and channel4.com

The best thing on British TV in my opinion is Coronation Street. However, we also have some great home-grown comedy, such as Only Fools and Horses, Green Wing, PeepShow, The Office, The Royle Family and some gritty comedy drama such as Boys from the Blackstuff and Shameless.

Also we do a great line in political satire, eg. Spitting Image, Have I Got News For You, and some fantastic documentaries, eg. John's Not Mad, the list goes on.

Answer 6

Blackadder
I my opinion the best British comedy ever, it tells the story of the sinister Edmond Blackadder and his his disgusting companion Boldrick.

Coupling
A funny show about six singles, no it's not like Friends, it's a lot lot funner

Extras
Tells the story of Andy Miller who is a struggling actor can only get parts as an extra. It stars and was created by Ricky Gervais

Answer 7

"Keeping Up Appearances" - The Buckets (pronounced boo-kay by the wife) are an older married middle class couple, but the wife wants to be upper class. She is constantly trying to do the things she believes the upper class people do, like pronouncing her last name with the French accent. I just about fall out of my chair laughing every time I watch it.

"Are You Being Served" - A show about a retail store's employees. Not quite as good, but still good for some laughs.

Answer 8

"One foot in the grave" is hilarious....

"coupling-they did friends based on this show" quoted from poster below...

this is a common misunderstanding......

Friends first aired in 1994 and ended in 2004...

Coupling first aired in 2000 and ended in 2004...

I just recently watched the first season of Coupling, a lot of the jokes seemed familiar.. then I realized that Friends did a version of some of those same jokes or story lines... and seeing as how Coupling came out after Friends, it was in fact Coupling that took ideas from Friends...

They did do an American version of Coupling in the US in 2003 but it only lasted a few episodes...

"The sitcom has often been criticized as being a 'British version of Friends.' However, in interviews Steven Moffat (the creator of Coupling) has cited Seinfeld as being more of an inspiration and this can be seen in some aspects of unusual plotting and character interaction."

Answer 9

The best British comedy on DVD:

~ Bottom

~ The Office

~ The Young Ones

Answer 10

The Office
Are You Being Served?
Fawlty Towers
Footballer's Wives