# UK television programmes to recommend??



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Recently I've been going back to my roots and have been rummaging around youtube etc for UK series and programmes. I've just finished watching the *Kingdom* series with stephen Fry which I really liked and I've also watched all of _*Gavin and Stacey*_ and *Jam and Jerusalem* which I thought were excellent. A while ago I watched *North and south* based on a novel by Elizabeth Gaskel. I've also enjoyed some of the *Time Team* archeological digs and I've seen all of *The Vicar of Dibley* with the family in England
Any other recommendations that I can look out for??


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Coast never fails to amaze me regardless of how many times I watch it.
Maiden


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

I'm glad to see you've got plenty of time on your hands then PW!!!!! 

Two of my favourites from waaaayyy back when... are "The Darling buds of May" with David Jason, "Camomile Lawn" with Felicity Kendall.

....oh and "Absolutely Fabulous" Jennifer Saunders

Jo xxx


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## Tallulah (Feb 16, 2009)

Eldorado!!!!:eyebrows: OK...that one was a joke.

As Time Goes By - one of my absolute favourite British sitcoms with Geoffrey Palmer and Dame Judi Dench....ran to 9 series and then they did a couple of reunion specials about a couple of years ago (I've got them all on DVD)......that should keep you busy


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

..."Butterflies" with Wendy Craig - I used to love that

Jo xxx


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## Tallulah (Feb 16, 2009)

we're on a roll now....

Ever Decreasing Circles!!!!

LOL


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Tallulah said:


> we're on a roll now....
> 
> Ever Decreasing Circles!!!!
> 
> LOL


 oh that used to drive me mad, Richard Brier at his worst IMO!!! Fun to look back on tho!! 


...... "Foyles War" was another of my favourites and "Morse" "A touch of Frost" and of course, lets not forget "Friends", "Sex in the City"......


Jo xxx


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

I have just finished watch Tuttie Fruitie with Rob Coltrane and I would give it 10/10 for entertainment value. Gimme Gimme has me rolling on the floor with laughter but it can be a bit smutty for some,


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## dunmovin (Dec 19, 2008)

MaidenScotland said:


> I have just finished watch Tuttie Fruitie with Rob Coltrane and I would give it 10/10 for entertainment value. Gimme Gimme has me rolling on the floor with laughter but it can be a bit smutty for some,


has to be "still game".... hilarious and my SIL was in it


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Tell me when you want me to close this thread Pesky LOL!!! Or you could be watching TV for the rest of the year

Jo xxx


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

.............oooh, oooh, oooh "Cold Feet" you MUST watch that, it was hysterical!!!!

Jo xxx


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

When The Boat Comes In, A Family at War, Colditz, Edward and Mrs. Simpson ,Shoestring, Prime Suspect, All Creatures Great and Small, Band of Gold ohh I could go on and on but I did live in a hamlet and I had no car and there was no public transport, hence gardening and tv was my sole entertainment


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Thanks for the suggestions.
I've tried to find the coast series several times, but have only found bits. If any one knows where I can get it from I'd be grateful.
I'm interested in "modern" rather than "blast from the past" stuff. I don't have Brit tv here and when I go to the UK my BIL is always watching Brit gold or smth which has repeats all the time (which how come I know the Vicar of Dibley).
Due to the fact I try to go to bed really early 'cos I get up really early, I practically don't watch tv. Plus the fact that there is football on nearly every evening even when there's not a world cup being played, I end up watching youtube etc at odd times during the day and have found that I can watch lots of stuff in English that I've never heard of.
Keep the ideas coming...


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## littleredrooster (Aug 3, 2008)

"It ain't half hot Mum." cracking series, good laugh.

Actually its not so bad back here in the UK at present, but I heard it was getting on towards 40 in parts of Spain, way too much for me.


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Thanks for the suggestions.
> I've tried to find the coast series several times, but have only found bits. If any one knows where I can get it from I'd be grateful.
> I'm interested in "modern" rather than "blast from the past" stuff. I don't have Brit tv here and when I go to the UK my BIL is always watching Brit gold or smth which has repeats all the time (which how come I know the Vicar of Dibley).
> Due to the fact I try to go to bed really early 'cos I get up really early, I practically don't watch tv. Plus the fact that there is football on nearly every evening even when there's not a world cup being played, I end up watching youtube etc at odd times during the day and have found that I can watch lots of stuff in English that I've never heard of.
> Keep the ideas coming...




Try this BBC - BBC Two Programmes - Coast


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

CH4 have been running a good series of late called The Untold Story that was quite interesting.
Most BBC Horizon/Documentaries are on You Tube.

Big Brother


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

I'm sure that Coast is showing again at the moment. I don't have satellite and watch all my UK TV online either live or downloaded to watch at a later date. I think that I've about 30 programmes stacked up waiting at the moment and that's just BBC. I never seem to find the time for any other channels.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

MaidenScotland said:


> Try this BBC - BBC Two Programmes - Coast


Thanks maiden, but I can never download programmes from the channel sites in Britain. I thought they were only available to people within the UK. Can you use these sites in Egypt??


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

JohnBoy said:


> I'm sure that Coast is showing again at the moment. I don't have satellite and watch all my UK TV online either live or downloaded to watch at a later date. I think that I've about 30 programmes stacked up waiting at the moment and that's just BBC. I never seem to find the time for any other channels.


How do you watch live tv online, JohnBoy??

As for time to watch tv, I think you probably don't do the ironing - that's often my tv time!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

playamonte said:


> CH4 have been running a good series of late called The Untold Story that was quite interesting.
> Most BBC Horizon/Documentaries are on You Tube.
> 
> Big Brother


Thanks - will look them up!


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> How do you watch live tv online, JohnBoy??
> 
> As for time to watch tv, I think you probably don't do the ironing - that's often my tv time!


Hi Pesky Wesky

First you need a good broadband connection and I'm lucky in that respect and can watch as programmes are transmitted. Last year I only had a USB dongle which was too slow. So with that I used to download overnight and then watch the next day.

To get around the UK only problem you need to access through a Virtual Private Network (VPN). This kids the system into thinking that you are in the UK. You can Google VPN for a list of possibilities. Personally I use my-private-network.co.uk at a cost of £5 per month. It is very easy to set up and the customer service that they give is excellent. There is no long term commitment either. My sister uses it when she is working away and cancels the service whenever she is back in the UK as you only need to pay a month at a time if you want. 

I never tried it when I was in Egypt but it shouldn't be a problem.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

JohnBoy said:


> Hi Pesky Wesky
> 
> First you need a good broadband connection and I'm lucky in that respect and can watch as programmes are transmitted. Last year I only had a USB dongle which was too slow. So with that I used to download overnight and then watch the next day.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

jojo said:


> .............oooh, oooh, oooh "Cold Feet" you MUST watch that, it was hysterical!!!!
> 
> Jo xxx


Yes! 
I've seen some of it and I really liked it!
And another series that one of my students told me about was the IT Crowd. Great!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

like you we don't have English tele - but has anyone mentioned Doc Martin?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

xabiachica said:


> like you we don't have English tele - but has anyone mentioned Doc Martin?


Doc Martin!!!!!!! yes!

Jo xxx


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## Tallulah (Feb 16, 2009)

jojo said:


> Doc Martin!!!!!!! yes!
> 
> Jo xxx


I'm wondering if the script for Doc Martin became Doctor Mateo here? Very similar.

IT Crowd was brilliant - also "Couples" was really funny as well. And a really good BBC series was "Bedtime".


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

This Life with the wonderful Daniella Nardini... her family are famous in Scotland for ice cream,


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

A couple of recommendations from me.
Lilies. A series set in Liverpool after the first world war. I thought it was excellent. The daughter Iris and Dada are very good and have some great lines.




 
A Victorian Farm. A historian an archeologist and a third expert go to life the victorian life on a restored victorian farm for a year. They use recipies, clothes, farming methods, machinery - everything from the Victorian era.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

MaidenScotland said:


> I have just finished watch Tuttie Fruitie with Rob Coltrane and I would give it 10/10 for entertainment value. Gimme Gimme has me rolling on the floor with laughter but it can be a bit smutty for some,


Oh he's just brilliant! We watched Cracker from start to finish last winter, I never saw it first time round. Rebus with Ken Stott is good too, but I don't like the other feller who played him.


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

MaidenScotland said:


> This Life with the wonderful Daniella Nardini... her family are famous in Scotland for ice cream,




This is on BBC Prime this evening This Life+`10

Yes Nardinis Ice cream.. in sunny Largs lol x


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Pesky Wesky said:


> A couple of recommendations from me.
> Lilies. A series set in Liverpool after the first world war. I thought it was excellent. The daughter Iris and Dada are very good and have some great lines.
> 
> A Victorian Farm. A historian an archeologist and a third expert go to life the victorian life on a restored victorian farm for a year. They use recipies, clothes, farming methods, machinery - everything from the Victorian era.


Yes, the Victorian Farm was wonderful - especially poignant for me as my mother's family were farm workers and I can remember sitting astride a Shire horse when I was about 3 years old, and my great-grandmother making butter in a wooden churn (this was the 1950s I hasten to add, but some things hadn't changed much even by then!)


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

We don't have British TV; we use Vuze to download programmes via bit torrent, not entirely legal but not entirely illegal either. We stick them on a USB flash drive which plugs into the telly. 

Over the past year we have enjoyed watching all series of The Sopranos, The Wire and Boston Legal (not British I know, but brilliant nonetheless), plus Sharp, Waking the Dead, Cracker, Spooks, Wallander, Engrenages (Spiral), the new version of Wuthering Heights, and the perennial favourite, QI.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> Yes, the Victorian Farm was wonderful - especially poignant for me as my mother's family were farm workers and I can remember sitting astride a Shire horse when I was about 3 years old, and my great-grandmother making butter in a wooden churn (this was the 1950s I hasten to add, but some things hadn't changed much even by then!)


And probably very similar to some farms in Galicia, Asturias etc until the 70's - or even later!!


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

The life & times of Jedward !
Made by LouiePuckVision on RTE showing the rise to fame of these very talented twins from mars :spit:


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

playamonte said:


> The life & times of Jedward !
> Made by LouiePuckVision on RTE showing the rise to fame of these very talented twins from mars :spit:


please say you're joking!!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

playamonte said:


> The life & times of Jedward !
> Made by LouiePuckVision on RTE showing the rise to fame of these very talented twins from mars :spit:


 Oh dear me, I came here to get away from stuff like that ...


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

' 'Allo 'Allo''....pure comic genius.
Occasionally reappears on UK Gold.
I have the boxed sets. Guaranteed cure for depression no matter how many times you watch.
My favourite line is from the British-airman-disguised-as-French-policeman who is interrupted in the pissoir which is accidentally demolished by Lieutenant Gruber's little tank:
'No piss for the wicked...'(said in mock French accent)


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

i was watching some old episodes of "are you being served" the other day. I still think that was hillarious. The worst part is that if they put inuendo like that on TV nowadays they would be flooded with complaints! 

Good old fashioned innocent inuendo like Mrs Slokams cat (I think that was the word she used for it) - you can't beat it jaja


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> please say you're joking!!


Happily enough they are scheduled to start their world tour in Malaga/Alicante/Valencia/Barcelona so you should be able get good seats if you book early 

If you join the fan club (bank details needed so they can debit your account) you can book using the special 99% discount code off the standard 1euro seating price


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

playamonte said:


> Happily enough they are scheduled to start their world tour in Malaga/Alicante/Valencia/Barcelona so you should be able get good seats if you book early
> 
> If you join the fan club you can book using the special 99% discount code of the standard 1euro seating price


I wish I wasn't a mod & I could tell you what i really think of you


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

steve_in_spain said:


> i was watching some old episodes of "are you being served" the other day. I still think that was hillarious. The worst part is that if they put inuendo like that on TV nowadays they would be flooded with complaints!
> 
> Good old fashioned innocent inuendo like Mrs Slokams cat (I think that was the word she used for it) - you can't beat it jaja


Not for me, echos of On the Bus's that was pure rubbish & its genre to be honest.

Now Porridge was not ladened with that 60s compulsory sexual innuendo so loved by the Carry-On twaddle fans & was a good deal better for it IMO


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

playamonte said:


> Not for me, echos of On the Bus's that was pure rubbish & its genre to be honest.
> 
> Now Porridge was not ladened with that 60s compulsory sexual innuendo so loved by the Carry-On twaddle fans & was a good deal better for it IMO


Porridge was great!
Are you being served and It ain't half hot Mum - wasn't


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## dunmovin (Dec 19, 2008)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Thanks for the suggestions.
> I've tried to find the coast series several times, but have only found bits. If any one knows where I can get it from I'd be grateful.
> I'm interested in "modern" rather than "blast from the past" stuff. I don't have Brit tv here and when I go to the UK my BIL is always watching Brit gold or smth which has repeats all the time (which how come I know the Vicar of Dibley).
> Due to the fact I try to go to bed really early 'cos I get up really early, I practically don't watch tv. Plus the fact that there is football on nearly every evening even when there's not a world cup being played, I end up watching youtube etc at odd times during the day and have found that I can watch lots of stuff in English that I've never heard of.
> Keep the ideas coming...


FULL series available on dvd.... and you can get it from amazon


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

dunmovin said:


> FULL series available on dvd.... and you can get it from amazon


True...
But I'd prefer to see an episode or 2 before buying a set of DVDs!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> True...
> But I'd prefer to see an episode or 2 before buying a set of DVDs!


Coast.S05E06.HDTV.XviD-FTP (download torrent) - TPB


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

playamonte said:


> Not for me, echos of On the Bus's that was pure rubbish & its genre to be honest.
> 
> Now Porridge was not ladened with that 60s compulsory sexual innuendo so loved by the Carry-On twaddle fans & was a good deal better for it IMO


'On the Buses'....rubbish.
'Porridge'....great.
But not all Carry On films were twaddle. Admittedly the early and later ones were dross but some of the middle period Carry Ons were pure comic genius.
'Carry on Abroad', 'Carry on Up The Khyber', 'Carry On Screaming' and 'Carry On Cleo' -with Kenneth Williams' immortal line 'Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!' - are classics of the genre.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

We seem to have a general consensus that there has been no decent British comedy since the 1970s !!!

The only sitcoms that have made me laugh since the turn of the millennium were Lead Balloon (Jack Dee), The Green Wing (but only when Tamsin Grieg was in it) and The Office. Some good satire, like Bremner, Bird and Fortune and the Armando Iannucci thing about New Labour - The Thick of It, I believe it was called. These days the best comedy is on the radio.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> We seem to have a general consensus that there has been no decent British comedy since the 1970s !!!


I'm not so sure...
The vicar of Dibbly
Only fools and horses
Jam and Jerusalem
The young ones
The IT crowd


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

Without doubt Fools & Horses had some real clever writing/acting and will always be funny :clap2: We must include Fawlty Towers in this league of course !

Harry Enfield really made a good many chuckle with his stereotypical characters of the time, Loads of Money/****** all Money etc.

Little Britain has made us all see the chav culture for what it truly is.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Curiously enough nobody said anything about _*Benidorm*_. What do you think???


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## JBODEN (Jul 10, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> We seem to have a general consensus that there has been no decent British comedy since the 1970s !!!


Yes Minister
Yes Prime Minister
Minder
The good life
To the manor born


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Curiously enough nobody said anything about _*Benidorm*_. What do you think???


Yes on paper it should work, some clever writing again, but for me they try just a little to hard and it does not work.
Watchable yes, but thats it (for me)

Yes Minister as mentioned by JBODEN hits the nail clearly on the head (great program)


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## JBODEN (Jul 10, 2009)

playamonte said:


> Yes Minister as mentioned by JBODEN hits the nail clearly on the head (great program)


... exposing the cynicism of the Civil Service and Parliamentarians ...


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

New Tricks
NCIS
CSi NY / LA /Miami
Megastructres
They're about the only things I watch.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

gus-lopez said:


> New Tricks
> NCIS
> CSi NY / LA /Miami
> Megastructres
> They're about the only things I watch.


We watch all the NCIS and the CSI series on Spanish TV. You can turn off the overdub and get the original English soundtrack.

'Crossing Jordan' and 'Bones' are very good too if you're into the forensics stuff.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

I've just watched Mad Dogs on my beloved youtube.
Very very good IMO





Gus - I watched some episodes of New Tricks and liked it.

Have also seen and enjoyed recently Early Doors. Phil and Nige have got some great lines!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

If you were into the X Files then try Fringe. Not sure if it's been on UK TV though, we get all our stuff via torrent downloads.

If you like your comedy black, try Black Mirror, three plays by Charlie Brooker.

Series 5 of the brilliant Mad Men starts 25 March.


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## Guest (Mar 17, 2012)

We can get the IT Crowd and Peep Show via Direct TV...we like both...


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> If you were into the X Files then try Fringe. Not sure if it's been on UK TV though, we get all our stuff via torrent downloads.
> 
> If you like your comedy black, try Black Mirror, three plays by Charlie Brooker.
> 
> Series 5 of the brilliant Mad Men starts 25 March.


Series 5!!??!!
How did they manage that?
For anyone who hasn't seen the series, it's set in a beautiful villa in Majorca (at least the first series was) and you hear Spanish from time to time.
The X files is not my kind of thing, nor are all these programmes about people looking at bodies all the time CSI, Bones and the like. In fact I find it quite disturbing the way that this has become such a normal part of tv viewing.
However, I did enjoy "6 feet under".


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## Solwriter (Jan 10, 2012)

Alcalaina said:


> We seem to have a general consensus that there has been no decent British comedy since the 1970s !!!


From 2000 onwards...

My Family
Peep Show
Black Books
The Office
Teachers
Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps
Green Wing
The IT Crowd
Shaun The Sheep 
The Inbetweeners
Misfits

(not all to everyone's taste, but good nevertheless).


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## fergie (Oct 4, 2010)

I used to love watching 'One foot in the grave',comedy, Richard Wilson as Victor Meldrew, and Annette Crosbie as Victors wife. It ran from 1990-2001, I nickname my husband "Victor", when he gets awkward.
Then there is Dr Who of course, still love some of the older ones with Dalek's, and the newer series are also great. 
I admit at turned 60 to being a Glee fan, love the music and dancing.
I like the new series of Benidorm (no 5) it is hilarious, but watched the first series a few years ago and thought it was rubbish.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Series 5!!??!!
> How did they manage that?
> For anyone who hasn't seen the series, it's set in a beautiful villa in Majorca (at least the first series was) and you hear Spanish from time to time.


I think we might be talking about different shows? My _Mad Men_ is about advertising executives on Madison Avenue, NYC (ostensibly at least, but really it's about the changing roles of women in the 60s and 70s).


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> I think we might be talking about different shows? My _Mad Men_ is about advertising executives on Madison Avenue, NYC (ostensibly at least, but really it's about the changing roles of women in the 60s and 70s).


Hahaha!
I'm talking about 5 friends in their 40's who get together in the one successful member of the group's villa in Majorca. Ostensibly about a drugs deal that they get tied up in, but really about friendship, failure and where life leads you. It reminds me a little of the excellent film Stand By Me, based on a Stephen King story, starring a young River Phoenix...
Not the same as your Mad Men at all!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Hahaha!
> I'm talking about 5 friends in their 40's who get together in the one successful member of the group's villa in Majorca. Ostensibly about a drugs deal that they get tied up in, but really about friendship, failure and where life leads you. It reminds me a little of the excellent film Stand By Me, based on a Stephen King story, starring a young River Phoenix...
> Not the same as your Mad Men at all!


Looks good though, I'll check it out.

EDIT - is this it?  Mad DOGS in Mallorca


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> Looks good though, I'll check it out.
> 
> EDIT - is this it?  Mad DOGS in Mallorca


Yes, that's it. You can see all the first series on youtube if you want. Follow the link on my previous post.


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

Couple of series I've enjoyed of late
Mrs Brown's Boys 




American Horror Story




The Walking Dead




Once Upon A Time




(old but good) Man Stroke Woman





Films
The Grey




The Hunter




Take Shelter


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