What are your 3 favorite British TV series?

[Silver]

Yes, a big +1 for Foyle's War. Michael Kitchen is fantastic in that.

A big +2 for Foyle's War. We bought several Foyle's War DVD's and loan them around regularly. His driver is a favorite character of mine.

 

[Rick_Head]

Hancock's Half Hour
Avengers
Mt. Bean

 

[Sue J]

The Hour
Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch version)
Downton Abbey

My son downloads British shows and brings them over on his laptop for us to watch. Last night we watched the first episode of the new season of Downton Abbey. Looks like a good season, but it's been so long we were trying to remember where it left off.

 

[Senator]

Benny Hill

+1

I am not sure if there are any other British shows worth watching after you have seen Benny Hill.

 

[easysurfer]

I can only name one: Coupling

 

[FIREd]

I enjoyed the "Happy Valley" mini-series on Netflix recently.

 

[Delaney]

The Good Life
Downton Abbey
Sherlock

 

[rodi]

Absolutely Fabulous is by fare the #1 on my list.

Benny Hill and Downton Abby are good also.

Ab-Fab is one of the funniest shows that ever aired though. Patsy and Edwina are not roll models by any means - but they are very funny.

 

[WhoDaresWins]

The quirky cooking show "Two Fat Ladies" also comes to mind. I really enjoyed those ladies.

 

[marko]

Hotel Babylon
Torchwood
The Avengers

 

[jimnjana]

1. Absolutely Fabulous
2. Catherine Tate Show
3. Doc Martin

Okay, only really one series.

 

[Major Tom]

What, no votes for Spooks/MI-5---streaming on Netflix, lots of familiar faces on that one.

Had forgotten about that, but it was a truly fantastic series. I think my two favorite characters were Harry (of course) and Ruth. I understand there is a follow-up coming in the form of a film called "Spooks: The Greater Good" which began production this year.

A big +2 for Foyle's War. We bought several Foyle's War DVD's and loan them around regularly. His driver is a favorite character of mine.

Samantha, played by Honeysuckle Weeks has such a wonderfully English down to earth and "righty-ho, can-do" attitude. Her character is great!

 

[braumeister]

Monty Python's Flying Circus
Rumpole of the Bailey
The Avengers

 

[Meadbh]

We have omitted most of the documentaries. For example:

Who do you think you are? (My favourite episode is the one on Stephen Fry) -Geneology
If Walls could talk:The History of the Home - Social History
Supersizers - historic cuisines (from the Romans to the 1970s) presented in a very humorous way

 

[Cassie]

Old shows:
***Monarch of the Glen
***Ab Fab
***Rumpole

Current shows:
***Last Tango in Halifax
***Orphan Black (Canadian, however on BBCA, does that count?)
***Downton Abbey

Honorable Mention:
***Torchwood
***Father Brown
***Agatha Christie's Poirot & Miss Marple
***At Home with the Braithwaites

 

[Meadbh]

***Orphan Black (Canadian, however on BBCA, does that count?)

Sorry, but I think not. An American series broadcast on BBC would not count either.

 

[Cassie]

Sorry, but I think not. An American series broadcast on BBC would not count either.

Bummer, very good show though. Then I'd replace that with Call the Midwife

 

[lemming]

Waking the Dead

New Tricks
Life on Mars
Foyles War
Call the Midwife
They do period pieces much better then USA. I can't take the ongoing saga of Downton Abbey any more.

 

[WhoDaresWins]

I have always felt that the British version of Antiques Roadshow was superior to the American version (although I like it, too). I haven't seen the Brit version in a very long time. I wonder if it is just not being broadcast here in the States.

 

[gardenfun]

3? We're supposed to limit it to only 3? British series' are practically all I watch on Netflix/Hulu or wherever else I can find them! I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to break the rules and list just a very few of the ones that have really tickled me pink over the years (in no order whatsoever) -

Brideshead Revisited
Downton Abbey
The Forsyte Saga
Life On Mars (the original British version, and not the American one)
Doc Martin
Single-Handed (Irish, but still good )
Vera
Inspector Morse
Inspector George Gently

+ lots more. Anything British that is halfway decent tends to pull me in. I just discovered that there is a new series called Peaky Blinders which is coming to Netflix on Tuesday. This should be reason enough to renew my Netflix subscription for a bit of binge-watching along with a new box of wine in the refrigerator - although after viewing the trailer, the "modern" production technique is putting me off a bit.

Blindsided by 'Peaky Blinders' | Performance | OZY

+1 Major Tom!

British series are pretty much all I watch on Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Just this second finished watching Season 1 of DCI Banks. I have a crush on Stephen Tompkinson ever since seeing him on Ballykissangel (Irish series, I know--there's a difference).

Let me add Endeavour. I never thought I would like a series more than than Morse or Lewis, but Endeavour is it.

Not wild about Downton Abbey after the first two seasons, and couldn't stand the new version of Upstairs Downstairs, but love everything else British (or Irish).

 

[Sue J]

Oh, yes, the documentaries.

I really enjoyed "The Tube". We recently watched one about the training to become a steward for British Airways. And there is a live show about stargazing, I don't remember the name of that one but it was a lot more interesting than it sounds.

 

[Jackanory]

I download a lot of English TV off the Internets, after all, I'm from there. Many of you might be disdainful, but ...

1. Big Brother UK (plus Celebrity Big Brother) -- completely different from the US version!
2. Gogglebox -- so addictive
3. Alright, I've been glued to Doctor Who since the first episode ... what was it, 5:15pm on Saturdays?

Mind you, I'm a couple of episodes behind on the Doctor, and up to date on X Factor UK - watching tonight's episode as I type!

Did anyone mention Coupling, that was a stitch -- Lesbian Spank Inferno; Unflushable!

Oh, I do watch the artsy-fartsy shows too!

 

[CyclingInvestor]

Monty Python
Fawlty Towers
Benny Hill

 

[Bestwifeever]

I also like adaptations of some mysteries, like "Case Histories" and the late (and so great) Reginald Hill's Dalziel and Pascoe books. I really like seeing what gets pulled out of the book to carry the plot and the casting choices. I really like being introduced to new-to-me British actors as they are usually, like US television actors, not faces we see in movies. Fun to see someone from Last Tango show up in Vera or in Happy Valley as different personas.

 

[Asher Aion]

Dr Who
Sherlock
Heartbeat

When DD was tiny and needed extra 24 hour care DW and I sometimes watched a comedy about elderly people in a retirement home. Can't remember the name.
Another show I watched with my dad years ago the odd time was 'Yes Minister'. I can still hear him laughing.