Best television drama ever

B

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Just chanced upon this BFI list of the best British TV:

http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/tv/100/list/list.php

I strongly disagree with a lot of it, but even a cursory glance through reminds me how TV drama, in particular, burned itself into my consciousness in my younger years, inducing stronger nostalgia than music because it hasn't been repeated since (ie most drama affixes itself to a very particular period in my life, as I've only watched it once, or at most twice).

Among my, very UK centric, choices:

This Life; State of Play; Our Friends in the North (which I only caught periodically, but struck me immensely), and numerous crime dramas: Prime Suspect, Cracker, Messiah, which I have no idea if were any good, but they kept me gripped at one time or another.

I guess my point is (rather than making a list) than the status of certain TV as an 'event' seems shockingly of the past right now.

I kind of miss that - Red Riding earlier this year was like a glorious throwback, in that regard.
 
J

JWoulf

Well-known member
bad tv is nostalgia for me. Reruns has proven the quality of series like cracker, homocide:life on the streets and more recent series has proven that things are still good, i hold West wing as the greatest tv drama ever. Reruns has also proven of course that it is really only nostalgia that can make you enjoy some of the crap you endured when you was young.
 
B

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Hmm, not a fan of West Wing, I'm afraid.

Odd that 'Edge of Darkness' (1985 British TV touchstone, apaprently - had never heard of it til yesterday) was recently remade. Also happened to 'State of PLay' not long back. I'm a big fan of quality short-run drama, I think.

That Saddam drama (last year?) - 'House of Saddam', was it? - was also excellent in that vein.
 
C

crackerjack

Well-known member
there's a drama list here

glad to see Our Freinds... so high, but The Wire at 14? Don't tell me it's uncool already.

Has anyone here ever watched Brideshead?
 
B

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Ah yeah, that's probably where I got the link for the BFI thing.

Never watched the Wire, so couldn't have an opinion. But the Sopranos - it's perfectly fine, but finest drama? You gotta be kidding me, not even in the top 50 (and I've watched quite a few episodes - but argued about this on another thread already!). Six Feet Under should be way higher, Queer as Folk lower (I liked it a lot, but again, it's not truly great drama). Anyway, arguing with the Guardian is pointless.

Never saw Oranges or Brideshead...
 
B

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
yeah, it's about £4 on Amazon for the DVD, so I think I'll buy it today.

The remake had Mel Gibson in it. Now, I liked The Bounty, but I just don't think it's going to be as good.
 
U

UFO over easy

online mahjong
what would edge of darkness be without eric clapton


emotional


state of play was amazing, i'd forgotten about that one. looks like you can pick it up on dvd very cheaply. bill nighy and john simm is the dream team
 
hucks

hucks

Your Message Here
UFO over easy said:
state of play was amazing, i'd forgotten about that one. looks like you can pick it up on dvd very cheaply. bill nighy and john simm is the dream team
Click to expand...

Watched this for the first time over Xmas. Hell yeah. NIghy is awesome. And I like him who was in the Hustle. Hustle's not half the programme without him.
 
M

massrock

Well-known member
UFO over easy said:
what would edge of darkness be without eric clapton

Click to expand...
Here's a music nerd question.

You know the main theme? It's got a drum machine on it. Do you know what it is, or more specifically where the snare is from? It crops up on quite a few mid 80s hip-hop records as well, tuned quite low I'd say. Maybe it's just a Linn Drum or a DMX. Could be a Yamaha... I'll try and find an example on yootoob.
 
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IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
"Has anyone here ever watched Brideshead?"
Click to expand...
I watched it a year or so ago.... well, half of it. Something interrupted me and I never felt a particularly strong urge to sit through the rest of it. What they don't mention in the Guardian is how eighties it looked, it just goes to show how hard it is to get back to neutral before you start building up the period aspect. To me it's a great failing that, as a rule, a period drama/adaptation set in seventeen fifty and made in 1983 will look very different to a different adaptation of the same book made in 2002.

"Odd that 'Edge of Darkness' (1985 British TV touchstone, apaprently - had never heard of it til yesterday) was recently remade."
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Found Edge of Darkness very hammy and overly melodramatic to the point of silliness. Possibly because I never saw it at the time, first viewing was a year or two ago.

On the other hand, I only recently saw The Singing Detective and that really stood up - complex, interesting and growing in poignancy with each episode.

A Very Peculiar Practice is an unusual choice, I mean, it's an unusual and enjoyable programme but really I can't see it as being in the top ten of all time. I dunno, I don't watch much telly I guess, I've never seen The Wire but from all the hype if it's not better than AVPP I'm gonna be mighty disappointed.
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
(How does ...Blackstuff bear up now?)
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Never saw it, or Our Friends In The North or most of the other ones I expect. What was the show where Samantha Morton started off, was that OFITN?
 
P

Papercut

cut to the bone
guardian list was strange alright.

i haven't seen it but deadwood is meant to be really good but i didn't make the top 50. anyone else think its worth getting?

i'm watching mad men at the moment (near the end of season 2) and i really like it. Its quite slow and fairly subtle for a tv show too, really enjoying it.

curious about that "edge of darkness" drum machine, tried to find the theme music but the version i found has no beats. If someone finds it i think i could probably name the drum machine because i am that nerd.
 
slim jenkins

slim jenkins

El Hombre Invisible
Papercut said:
guardian list was strange alright.

i haven't seen it but deadwood is meant to be really good but i didn't make the top 50. anyone else think its worth getting?
Click to expand...

Definitely.

Blackpool should be in one of those lists.
Absurdly broad BFI one. The Office is absent, surprisingly.
 
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