UK TV Dramas

January 12, 2009 10:31 AM

Recommendations for British television dramas.

My husband and I have gone right off American TV, so lately we have been watching mostly British comedies. We got so many great suggestions in this previous AskMe, that I decided to ask for suggestions on dramas, preferably made in the last 10 years or so. We do not care for:
1. Science Fiction. That includes Life on Mars.
2. Supernatural. That includes Hex.
3. Police or detective shows. That includes Prime Suspect and Wire in the Blood.

Anything else goes, bearing in mind that I have seen just about every Masterpiece Theater ever aired, so if it is a costume drama, I have probably seen it. If it helps, our favorite American dramas are:
1. The Wire
2. Deadwood
3. Mad Men
4. Big Love
5. Six Feet Under

Notice the loose definition of drama-- Big Love and Six Feet Under are dramodies or comical dramas. The line between drama and comedy is sometimes very thin so we aren't pedantic. I'm just looking for shows you think are really worth watching.

posted by Secret Life of Gravy to media & arts (51 comments total)

I really enjoy, and have on DVD, As Time Goes By, which includes among its cast the incomparable Judy Dench. It's about, loosely, old flames who reconnect after many, many years. It can be charming, romantic, sentimental, humorous and quirky depending on the episode, and I think it would make a lovely piece to watch with your husband.

BTW, lucky you! You are BOTH Anglophiles! I'm afraid my husband isn't into British offerings the way I have been since I was a girl. But then, he isn't a reader, either. If you ever want to discuss British literary offerings, P.G. Wodehouse through Terry Pratchett, send me a MeFimail!
posted by misha at 10:42 AM on January 12

cobaltnine and I have been really digging Hustle. Season 5 just started after a bit of a hiatus.
posted by reptile at 10:45 AM on January 12

Oh, wow, reptile is right, Hustle is FANTASTIC! The Americanized TV version, Leverage, isn't nearly so good. Thanks, reptile, because I forgot the name of Hustle, and now I can watch it too. ; )
posted by misha at 10:50 AM on January 12

He Knew He Was Right based on the Anthony Trollope novel. This received rave reviews by a very picky Victorian scholar I am well acquainted with.
posted by ezekieldas at 10:50 AM on January 12

Since you don't like cop shows, but liked the Wire, you might want to try State of Play, which has some cops but is more of a political/media thriller. And it has Bill Nighy! And it's a miniseries, so it doesn't drag on forever if you don't like it. Check it out before the inevitably inferior american remake movie comes out.
posted by selfnoise at 10:54 AM on January 12

It might fall under the broad umbrella of a 'cop show', but the miniseries adaptations of John LeCarre's "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" and "Smiley's People" are fantastic dramas about Cold War espionage. If they've ever been on Masterpiece Theater, it was at least 20 years ago so you may not have seen them.
posted by kid_dynamite at 11:04 AM on January 12

Since you don't like cop shows, but liked the Wire
I figured that might seem a bit contradictory. However, after The Wire every other cop show seems so dull and predictable. The only reason why Prime Suspect is off the table, however, is because I have seen them all.

I've also seen He Knew He Was Right. I've seen anything and everything Victorian offered by Netflix, but now we are buying our DVDs from AmazonUK as well as downloading them from ...a web site. So we are casting our net wider, as it were.

State of Play and Hustle both sound interesting.

Has anyone seen Cape Wrath? I've heard rumors this was something worth watching.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 11:11 AM on January 12

Our Friends in the North is generally regarded as one of the greatest British television series ever made. It's very good.
posted by fire&wings at 11:16 AM on January 12 [4 favorites has favorites]

Jekyll. Not sci fi, not horror, more of an updated, dark fantasy take on the Jekyll/Hyde story. Character-driven, fabulous writing, and IMO lead actor James Nesbitt would have been nominated for an Oscar had it been a film. I believe he was nominated for a Golden Globe.

I read you said no sci-fi, but if you want a show worth watching, IMO this IS the one.

Wikipedia link

BBC site

BBC trailer
posted by Jennifer S. at 11:17 AM on January 12 [1 favorite has favorites]

Silent Witness and Waking the Dead are both pretty good and fairly intelligent. Hustle and Spooks are a fair bit less intelligent, but good fun nonetheless.
posted by rhymer at 11:17 AM on January 12

If you can get a copy, The Norman Conqusts are great. A little more on the comedy side, but insightful and smart.
posted by girlpublisher at 11:18 AM on January 12

Spooks is pretty good, and I like that they kill off the main characters regularly.
posted by blue_beetle at 11:23 AM on January 12

Foyle's War. I know you said no detective shows*, but the murders in Foyle's War seem to be more about leading the main characters through different situations in World War 2 Britain.

I will second/fifth Hustle and State of Play. Be careful in the latter, though, we needed to turn subtitles on to deal with some Scottish accents.

I enjoyed MI-5, but not enough to go out of my way to catch it all.

* Which constitute about 75% of the television I watch. Midsomer Murders, Inspector Morse, A Touch of Frost, Foyle's War, Inspector Lewis, Campion, Inspector Lynley, Poirot, Inspector Alleyn, Prime Suspect, Dear God I have No Life
posted by robocop is bleeding at 11:33 AM on January 12

Two suggestions:

Bodies - A British BBC Medical drama.

A more out there suggestion - Skins. I am a fan of complex shows, basically everything that you listed above. I started watching Skins this year - it is a teen drama that deals with complex issues ... in a slightly more intelligent way than most American teen shows. It is somewhat of a guilty pleasure, but I just watched a marathon of S1 and S2 and got really into it.
posted by hazyspring at 11:41 AM on January 12 [1 favorite has favorites]

It's actually three four-episode miniseries, but I liked House of Cards, along with its continuations, To Play the King and The Final Cut.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 11:43 AM on January 12

Shakespeare Re:told
Sweeney Todd with Ray Winstone
Vincent
Cold Feet will have been covered in the previous thread but worth noting here for the drama (and excellence!)
Alan Bennett's Talking Heads
Also pretending I didn't see the "no detectives" bit, Wallander with Kenneth Branagh was excellent.
posted by ceri richard at 11:50 AM on January 12

The State Within, not great but good enough.
posted by Gyan at 11:55 AM on January 12

Seconding The House Of Cards, it's really, really good.

My BF loves Shameless, but I don't.

Jam And Jerusalem aka Clatterford starts off as a light comedy but veers off into drama and Six Feet Under-esque tones. Not sure about the second series however.
posted by The Whelk at 11:57 AM on January 12

A few more:
Life on Mars (haven't seen the sequel, Ashes to Ashes)
This Life (probably a little dated now but was hugely popular in its day)
Clocking Off
William and Mary
I've never seen Ballykissangel but it too is hugely popular.
Nice Town
posted by ceri richard at 11:59 AM on January 12

I saw Cape Wrath and thought it an interesting idea, but clumsily-paced & overcooked.

If you don't mind something a bit soapy, there's always Cold Feet, and Cutting It.

And have you seen the original Queer as Folk or Bob and Rose?
posted by misteraitch at 12:00 PM on January 12

I second Our Friends in the North and Cold Feet
This Life was also really well thought of at the time.

And, though it's probably more 'dramody', I do hope you haven't misssed Casanova (a must watch if you're a David Tennant fan).
posted by Sova at 12:07 PM on January 12

This Life is my favorite British dramedy (this is coming from someone who also liked Six Feet Under) but I don't think it's available as a region-1 DVD. You'd need pirated DVDs from eBay, bitTorrent, or BBC-A.

Seconding Our Friends in the North.
posted by K.P. at 12:07 PM on January 12

Although you say no cops or detectives I'll add The Singing Detective because it's a) one of the best things that British television produced b) not really about dectectives (well it is, but.... just watch it)

Boys From The Black Stuff was also excellent (although the caveat is that it's very dark and somewhat depressing)

The Lakes, Holding On and State Of Play were all good too.

On the comedy drama front there's Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. Though I'd only recommend the first couple of series, as the revival was pretty poor.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:15 PM on January 12

I was going to recommend Ultraviolet, a rather smart, adult vampire series, but it qualifies as both 'science fiction' and 'supernatural' so it probably isn't your cup of tea at all.

Have you considered GBH? It's from 1991 but it must be one of the best things I've ever seen on TV. It's by the same writer as Boys From The Blackstuff.
posted by BinaryApe at 12:31 PM on January 12

Have spent the last 45 minutes trying to remember the name of a superb BBC drama, here it is, The Long Firm. Very highly recommended.
posted by ceri richard at 12:51 PM on January 12

Ditto Hustle. It's excellent.
posted by juv3nal at 12:52 PM on January 12

I highly reccomend Ballykissangel, you'll love it.

Also, if you're not above Canadian TV you may like Da Vinci's Inquest, it's an excellent show.
posted by Vindaloo at 12:55 PM on January 12

I've recommended them in another thread, but... "Yes Minister" and "Yes Prime Minister" (both satirical comedies) as well as "House of Cards" (political thriller) are fantastic.

While they aren't <10 years old, all are available on Netflix.
posted by parilous at 1:03 PM on January 12 [1 favorite has favorites]

Cracker might be too close to a detective drama, but it's not a traditional whodunit because you know who the criminal is up front - it's all about the psychology, and the shambolic private life of Fitz.

Jonathan Creek is closer to a comedy-drama, a mystery show about a magician's engineer who investigates locked-room murders and other seemingly impossible crimes.
posted by penguinliz at 1:07 PM on January 12

It's a little older than 10 years (1991), but I mention it because one of my favourite actors, Michael Palin, is in it:

G.B.H

It's very much a British series, and it is a thinly veneered tale about MI5 involvement in the late 80s to discredit Northern city councils who leaned Socialist and wanted more autonomy from the national government (the city in this case was Liverpool, but is unnamed in the series).

Michael plays the headmaster of a local school that serves disabled children who gets caught up in the goings-on. He was nominated for a BAFTA for his performance.
posted by droplet at 1:11 PM on January 12

I really enjoy anything by Stephen Poliakoff: Gideon's Daughter, Friends & Crocodiles, The Lost Prince, Perfect Strangers and Shooting The Past are particularly good TV dramas/movies. For some good comedy/drama - check out Jeeves and Wooster or some of the other Fry/Laurie collaborations. Absolute Power with Fry is also pretty good.
posted by tkbarbarian at 1:57 PM on January 12 [1 favorite has favorites]

I would recommend an older show called Takin' Over The Asylum. I think the BBC only just released the DVD this year, so it should be gettable, though you might have to get it online from the UK. I saw it earlier this year (after friends still raving about it over ten years after it was last shown) and it really was excellent.

And maybe Teachers? It seems to be considered a comedy, but I never really thought of it as one.
posted by Emilyisnow at 4:05 PM on January 12

Seconding The State Within.
posted by Joh at 4:16 PM on January 12

Just finished watching The Devil's Whore which was enjoyable.

Nthing State of Play which has aged very well.

British Drama is quite a small world so it can be fun to trawl IMDB or Wiki looking for other works by writers you've discovered.

Alan Bleasdale, Jimmy McGovern, Peter Flannery, Stephen Poliakoff, Paul Abbott, Alan Clarke and Russell T Davies' (non-whovian output is recommended).

Soon you'll see that the same actors pop up in all of these things and can use them as marks of quality. Peter Capaldi, John Simm and Christopher Eccleston are usually in something worth watching.

Finally if you get a chance then grab The Second Coming.
posted by fullerine at 6:09 PM on January 12

I've seen House of Cards and the sequels and consider it top drawer. I've also seen Ballykissangel and liked the first two seasons very much. I've also seen Sweeney Todd, Jam & Jerusalam, and Shakespeare: Retold which were all OK. Didn't care for Cracker or Jonathon Creek.

We hacked all our DVD players so they are multi-regional and we buy from AmazonUK, so you don't need to worry about whether or not stuff is available here in the states.

It sounds like we really need to see:
Our Friends in the North
The Long Firm
GBH
Jekyll
This Life

I'm a little surprised there aren't more that everyone agrees are outstanding. Is it because it is all cops and game and reality shows now? That's all that ever airs on BBC America these days.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 7:17 PM on January 12

Some UK series or serial dramas that I have loved recently are:
Jonathan Creek - recommended above (3 series)
The Crow Road - an Iain M. Banks novel dramatized starring Peter Capaldi among others
Neverwhere - a Neil Gaiman book dramatized, also starring Peter Capaldi

If you like TV detective dramas, Midsomer Murders have 11 series (and going) and are available through Netflix. Also Inspector Morse has a similar longevity (lasts for ages!).

The Biederbecke Affair is a nicely-contorted comic drama that has surprising twists. There were two sequels, the Beiderbecke Connection and The Biederbecke Tapes. The 3-volume set is available from Amazon but not, alas, Netflix.

Red Dwarf is a majorly comic scifi series (weakest in its last season). If you haven't seen Doctor Who, this is a long-running scifi series that has been given a rebirth recently. Both of these are very non-traditional scifi -- not at all "doom and gloom" stuff, but very funny and engaging.



Rumpole of the Bailey is a little older but genuinely does not show its age. There are several series available in the USA, but not for some reason seasons 1 or 2.

Seconding State of Play, a great thriller with those unique British comic moments. The Last Enemy is also a taut thriller, darker but very gripping.

Finally, there are the period dramas:
Jane Austen's six novels, all dramatized and available from Netflix
Anthony Trollope's novels: The Barchester Chronicles, The Way We Live Now, and He Knew He Was Right.
posted by Susurration at 7:32 PM on January 12

Edge of Darkness is from the mid 80s and hard to classify, but brilliant. Nuclear paranoia, espionage, the Gaia hypothesis and more besides.
posted by the duck by the oboe at 9:17 PM on January 12 [2 favorites has favorites]

Nthing Takin' Over the Asylum. One of the best looks at mental illness I've ever seen, with a startlingly young David Tennant to boot.
posted by keever at 11:21 PM on January 12

You might try The Glittering Prizes.
posted by gudrun at 12:37 AM on January 13

Sinchronicity is a twentysomething dramady about three friends, a stranger, and a love rhombus of sorts. Fi and Jase are together, Jase's best friend Nathan is in love with Fi, and Jase is perhaps not as straight as he thought. The whole thing plays out in a sexy, messy fashion with numerous intersecting storylines and quick flashbacks/flashforwards that twist the plot in unexpected ways. The language can get pretty graphic at times, but I figure if you like The Wire and Deadwood you'll be okay with that. Also, one of the supporting characters is a pre-op transsexual and this is handled as well as, if not better, than any show I've seen.

Sinchronicity stars Jemima Rooper, who was the dark-haired girl in Hex. She was also in As If, which is often mentioned as a similar show/companion piece to Sinchronicity, but I've not seen it.
posted by Georgina at 6:12 AM on January 13

If you're into Science Fiction, look for the BBC version of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It won't be as slick as the movie but you'll love the story more. Check out Primeval, a recent British scifi series about a scientist who discovers that rifts in space and time are allowing creatures from the dawn of time to the far future to invade the present.

If you've not seen Doctor Who, you should. Originally a kids show, it's about a humanoid alien known simply as "The Doctor" who travels in a time machine called a TARDIS which he stole out of a repair line and looks like a Victorian Police Call Box - just a bit bigger than a phone booth but the TARDIS is much larger inside than out. Frequently he finds humans he likes and lets them travel with him. It was on hiatus for a long time but restarted a few years ago and has been very entertaining. A definite improvement in the special effects budget.

A spin-off series is Torchwood, a sort of Men-in-Black/X-files combo set in Cardiff, Wales where a rift in space/time draws aliens and unusual artifacts to fall through. It's up to Torchwood to clean up the mess.

Second Jonathan Creek, Cracker, Hustle and Rumpole of the Bailey. Inspector Morse is great. You may also like Caedfal, about a medieval monk who brews medicines and solves murders.

Lovejoy is an older series you can find on DVD based on the books by Jonathan Gash about an antiques dealer who possesses a rare gift - he's a "divy" and can spot a genuine antique - but is often scrimping for money and gets pulled into various scams and hastled by police. It's a fun drama to watch.
posted by Kioki-Silver at 9:08 AM on January 13 [1 favorite has favorites]

Check out all the Catherine Cookson stuff at Netflix.

There there's:
Seesaw Not a typical whodunnit
House of Elliot
Intelligence: Season 1 Canada's The Wire

(dunno if these were on MTheater…?)
Random Passage
The Camomile Lawn
Island at War
The Cazalets

(…more will come to me.)
posted by dpcoffin at 12:06 PM on January 13

Oh, yeah:
Proof: Season 1 Ireland's The Wire
posted by dpcoffin at 12:33 PM on January 13

nthing Edge of Darkness, btw. It was fantastic. I borrowed a VHS copy from a friend of mine, which meant I had to find my packed-away VCR to play it. Was worth every box I had to lift and open in search of the player.
posted by parilous at 2:40 PM on January 13

A Very British Coup actually is the best thing made on British TV in the last 25 years.

Not much of it, probably only one disc, but unmissable.
posted by genghis at 4:40 PM on January 13

Any chance you've missed The Pallisers? It's 70s old, but choice…

How 'bout Love for Lydia? Ditto…

Or Sorrell and Son?

Or Lark Rise to Candleford?

The Brontes of Haworth? Young Michael Kitchen…

Dangerous Liaisons? The French version with Rupert Everett & Katherine Deneuve; harrowing…

The Darling Buds of May? Young K. Zeta-Jones…

Longitude?

Love in a Cold Climate?

Snow Cake?

Strange Relations?

The Valley Between?

And of course, you've been watching Rome?
posted by dpcoffin at 8:31 AM on January 15

Nope, didn't miss The Pallisers-- which I just re-watched last year and it has to have some of the most sumptuous costumes ever created. I've also seen Love in a Cold Climate, Camomile Lawn, House of Eliot, and Cazalets. I enjoyed the latter so much, I had to track down the novels which were even better. There are several others on your list I have not heard of, however.

I have seen a couple of Catherine Cookson dramas but wasn't too taken with them.

Rome? was just so-so. We watched the first season and never got around to watching the second.

Thanks to all of you for your suggestions. We have started watching Cape Wrath and we are enjoying it so far. Our Friends in the North, Intelligence, Edge of Darkness, State of Play, and a Very British Coup are all on their way. As soon as we get through all that, we'll revisit this list and try some other suggestions.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:56 PM on January 15

The Cookson stuff is a mixed bag, but it's a large one. I suggest you keep at it; there's some gems in there. When you're nearing the bottom of your queue…

The Tudors is of course great for costumes. And so is the quite odd Sissi series; all the liveried help makes it look like the film version of some early-20th-C. book of Euro fairy tales.
posted by dpcoffin at 1:04 PM on January 17

Just wanted to add that we are in the middle of watching Jekyll right now and it is gripping. We won't be able to watch anything else until we finish this. I can't say enough about the writing-- just an excellent series.

On the other hand Cape Wrath fizzled out on us and Our Friends of the North is OK-- about 4 out of 5 stars-- we've put it on hold until Jekyll plays out.

Also, I personally (without my husband) watched series one of Lark Rise to Candleford and adored it. What a darling series; the costumes, the settings, the characters and the story lines are all topnotch. I'm really looking forward to the second season.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 7:30 AM on February 1

Delighted to hear you liked Jekyll! Writer Steven Moffat it one of the most brilliant television writers around, IMO.
posted by Jennifer S. at 12:34 PM on February 1

Yes, Jekyll is really brilliant. I'm glad you're enjoying it, OP! The main character, James Nesbitt, also stars in Murphy's Law (2003) as the gritty undercover cop with some witty humor. The story gets darker with each season. You might want to check it out, too.

I'm seconding Skins. The show is more of a drama for adults, than a lame 90210/Dawson's-Creek/teen-drama. Plus it's hilarious with excellent acting. Very high rewatchability.
posted by jayne at 10:14 AM on August 28