# The Best BBC Drama Series ever



## Badger Kitten (May 28, 2009)

...discuss.

Me, probably _State of Play_.

your turn


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## Voley (May 28, 2009)

The Singing Detective springs to mind. Watched it all again recently and it's still ace.


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## Flashman (May 28, 2009)

By a fair distance:


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## 1927 (May 28, 2009)

At the time I thought Our Friends In The North was one of the best pieces of TV ever.


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## Badger Kitten (May 28, 2009)

I shagged one of the actors in that.

(before he was famous).

 I still haven't watched the show though.


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## Donna Ferentes (May 28, 2009)




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## Badger Kitten (May 28, 2009)

Is it any good? Can you still get it? Friends in North I mean?

(heh heh heh and waits for the puns, which is why this is in invisible writing so I can point out I was there first when someone makes a remark)  

BBC shop has closed in Norwich, which was where I used to go for all my old drama series needs


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## 1927 (May 28, 2009)

Badger Kitten said:


> Is it any good? Can you still get it? Friends in North I mean?
> 
> (heh heh heh and waits for the puns, which is why this is in invisible writing so I can point out I was there first when someone makes a remark)
> 
> BBC shop has closed in Norwich, which was where I used to go for all my old drama series needs



Complete series on Pirate bay


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## Maurice Picarda (May 28, 2009)

_Rentaghost_ would take some beating. No clown was ever more tortured than Claypole, no horse ever had more humanity than Dobbin. It was an extraordinary ensemble piece.


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## Badger Kitten (May 28, 2009)

Is Pirate bay still open? well I never. But I hate watching things on my small shitty pc screen.

I need DVDS


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## Voley (May 28, 2009)

Maurice Picarda said:


> _Rentaghost_ would take some beating. No clown was ever more tortured than Claypole, no horse ever had more humanity than Dobbin. It was an extraordinary ensemble piece.



You, sir, speak the truth.


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## Belushi (May 28, 2009)

Cant choose between _Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy _and _Smileys People_


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## Belushi (May 28, 2009)

Badger Kitten said:


> Is it any good? Can you still get it? Friends in North I mean?



It was repeated on BBC4 a couple of years back, later episodes arent as good as the early ones.


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## Belushi (May 28, 2009)

Badger Kitten said:


> I shagged one of the actors in that.



James Bond or Dr Who?


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## Badger Kitten (May 28, 2009)

_Tenko_ was v.g, as I recall.

And _Secret Army_.

And _Day of the Triffids._

But I was young then and easily amused.


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## Badger Kitten (May 28, 2009)

Belushi said:


> James Bond or Dr Who?



secretz


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## butchersapron (May 28, 2009)

Edge of Darkness

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090424/

Sadly being remade


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## Orang Utan (May 28, 2009)

a very british coup
holding on
bleak house
martin chuzzlewit
nuts in may (if it counts as drama)
the firm
the grass arena
tina goes shopping


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## butchersapron (May 28, 2009)

Orang Utan said:


> a very british coup
> holding on
> bleak house
> martin chuzzlewit
> ...



Half of that's C4 tat


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## Belushi (May 28, 2009)

Orang Utan said:


> a very british coup
> holding on
> bleak house
> martin chuzzlewit
> ...



Half of those aint series! 

I'd love to see the Grass Arena again.


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## Pingu (May 28, 2009)

are collaberations allowed?

if so Rome


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## Belushi (May 28, 2009)

butchersapron said:


> Half of that's C4 tat



Thats his speciality.


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## tufty79 (May 28, 2009)

i loved takin' over the asylum.

i'd go for doctor who as well


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## goldenecitrone (May 28, 2009)

Boys from the Blackstuff. Cracking stuff.


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## Orang Utan (May 28, 2009)

butchersapron said:


> Half of that's C4 tat



only 2, very british coup and tina goes shopping.
i misread anyway as half on my list are one-offs not series


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## stavros (May 28, 2009)

Neighbours?


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## likesfish (May 28, 2009)

edge of darkness.

they can't remake that nooooooooooo.


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## llion (May 28, 2009)

Pennies from Heaven. Heartbreaking but brilliant. 
The History Man. As acurate and relevant as ever given the whole Walcott/Padel shenanigans.


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## lighterthief (May 28, 2009)

Belushi said:


> Cant choose between _Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy _and _Smileys People_


Yes, difficult indeed.  I think TTSS might just edge it for me.


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## butchersapron (May 28, 2009)

likesfish said:


> edge of darkness.
> 
> they can't remake that nooooooooooo.



I kid you not brother
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1226273/


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## Vintage Paw (May 28, 2009)

Maurice Picarda said:


> _Rentaghost_ would take some beating. No clown was ever more tortured than Claypole, no horse ever had more humanity than Dobbin. It was an extraordinary ensemble piece.



He's dead.


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## Crispy (May 28, 2009)

I keep meaning to watch GBH, I've had it on disc for years
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.B.H._(TV_series)

 It was on channel 4. Ignore me


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## revol68 (May 28, 2009)

Boys from the Blackstuff was great














 as was the BBC's recent take on "Tess of the D'urbervilles".


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## DaveCinzano (May 28, 2009)

_Edge Of Darkness_ and _Tinker, Tailor_ are always at the top of my list. I like _Smiley's People_, but it's nowhere near the calibre of _TTSS_.

I do like _Our Friends In The North_, but the later episodes really are not as strong as the earlier ones, which is a shame.

_State Of Play_ - crappy twist notwithstanding - is a taut little thriller, very gripping, though owes a lot to the David Drury film _Defence Of The Realm_.

Of all the other (actual BBC) series mentioned so far, the only one I particularly like is _The Day Of The Triffids_.

*Not mentioned so far:* 

_House Of Cards_ (follow ups again not so much cop)
_Tipping The Velvet_ I enjoyed much more than I thought I would
_Band Of Brothers_ (well, the Beeb co-produced) I don't care if it's unfashionable, I thought it was a great series, with great performances
_Gallowglass_ and _A Fatal Inversion_, a pair of cracking Barbara Vine adaptations, very bourgeois but thoroughly thrilling IMO
_Gangsters_ - utterly mental, and blows the likes of _Life On Mars_ (which shamelessly teefs from it) out of the water
_Warriors_ okay, only a two-parter, but a good, lean, pessimistic drama
_Law And Order_ GF Newman's superlative interlinked quadrilogy of stories from the justice system, from the perspective of a bank robber, a policeman, a lawyer and the bank robber again, only from inside prison
_Bird Of Prey_ a tricky one to describe - the predatory fat uncle from _Withnail & I_ as a quiet civil servant who becomes embroiled in espionage by mistake
_The Monocled Mutineer_ sure the factual side was well mangled, but it was a strong drama, and it (along with the comic strip _Charley's War_) opened many people's eyes to the horrors the British top brass inflicted upon their own soldiers in the training camps of WW1
_The Cops_ incompetent, lazy, mendacious, hateful, very human coppers being bastards up north
_The Lakes_ not sure it really 'says' anything, but it says it well, and I like the collection of characters, though series two went a bit pants

*Guilty pleasures:*

_This Life_ it's a soapy tit wank of a middle class aspirational drama, but it does get you to a climax
_Attachments_ the above, but in the dotcom bubble, pre-_Nathan Barley_
_Between The Lines_ (each series slightly less than the previous)
_Hamish Macbeth_ my favourite Sunday teatime drama ever


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## Paul Russell (May 28, 2009)

This is what industry professionals reckoned for up to 2000:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_Greatest_British_Television_Programmes

Which would make their choice of the drama series:


(1) Boys from the Blackstuff BBC2 1982
(2) Brideshead Revisited ITV 1981
(3) I, Claudius BBC2 1976 (if that was a series?????)
(4) Edge of Darkness BBC2 1985
(5) The Singing Detective BBC1 1986
(6) Pennies From Heaven BBC1 1978
(7)The Jewel in the Crown ITV 1984
(8) Our Friends in the North BBC2 1996

EDIT: oh yeah, just seen that the thread is specifically for BBC stuff.


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## butchersapron (May 28, 2009)

I think, after re-watching BFTBS it's slighty creaking now, despite the relavence of the issues.


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## Orang Utan (May 28, 2009)

Crispy said:


> It was on channel 4. Ignore me



c4 did do _some_ good stuff - it's not all gok and bb


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## butchersapron (May 28, 2009)

DaveCinzano said:


> [*]_Gangsters_ - utterly mental, and blows the likes of _Life On Mars_ (which shamelessly teefs from it) out of the water
> 
> 
> [*]_The Monocled Mutineer_ sure the factual side was well mangled, but it was a strong drama, and it (along with the comic strip _Charley's War_) opened many people's eyes to the horrors the British top brass inflicted upon their own soldiers in the training camps of WW1



Gangsters #1 & 2, both series that need repeating as does the similar Out

MM -rewatchd recently, not so good, but the BBC refusal to show mutinies means its never going to be shown.


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## Madusa (May 28, 2009)

This Life.


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## Paul Russell (May 28, 2009)

Orang Utan said:


> c4 did do _some_ good stuff - it's not all gok and bb



It started out really good. Well to my younger self it seemed good.


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## upsidedownwalrus (May 28, 2009)

Badger Kitten said:


> ...discuss.
> 
> Me, probably _State of Play_.
> 
> your turn



Got it on my pooter.

Will watch it soon.


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## upsidedownwalrus (May 28, 2009)

Mine would be GBH, but it was C4, and therefore ineligible for this thread.

It was amazing though.


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## upsidedownwalrus (May 28, 2009)

Crispy said:


> I keep meaning to watch GBH, I've had it on disc for years
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.B.H._(TV_series)
> 
> It was on channel 4. Ignore me



It was fucking amazing.  I think the OP just specified BBC assuming that ITV only ever makes gash (which is untrue - Cracker was amazing) and that C4 only makes decent comedies.


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## Badger Kitten (May 28, 2009)

RenegadeDog said:


> It was fucking amazing.  I think the OP just specified BBC assuming that ITV only ever makes gash (which is untrue - Cracker was amazing) and that C4 only makes decent comedies.



No, I was saving them for thread (2) and thread (3), followed by thread (4), the US drama series. It makes it easier to a) focus and b) search.


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## Paul Russell (May 28, 2009)

The only ones I can really remember enjoying were This Life and Between the Lines. Attachments was quite fun, in a "This Life with computers" sort of way. OK, probably none were BBC.

I'm very tempted to buy Edge of Darkness on DVD -- never seen it.


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## upsidedownwalrus (May 28, 2009)

Badger Kitten said:


> No, I was saving them for thread (2) and thread (3), followed by thread (4), the US drama series. It makes it easier to a) focus and b) search.



OK.  I apologise


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## ViolentPanda (May 28, 2009)

Badger Kitten said:


> secretz



Ah, Gina McKee then.


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## Badger Kitten (May 28, 2009)

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaanyway, moving on.

BBC have a crap rep but they really have produced some corkers


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## ViolentPanda (May 28, 2009)

Badger Kitten said:


> Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaanyway, moving on.
> 
> BBC have a crap rep but they really have produced some corkers



Sorry, just couldn't resist!


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## upsidedownwalrus (May 28, 2009)

Paul Russell said:


> The only ones I can really remember enjoying were This Life and Between the Lines. Attachments was quite fun, in a "This Life with computers" sort of way. OK, probably none were BBC.
> 
> I'm very tempted to buy Edge of Darkness on DVD -- never seen it.



I've found a torrent for Edge of Darkness before.  I'd never heard of it.  Downloading now 

Torrent here: http://thebox.bz/details.php?id=37007

You need to register but it's open registrations so you don't need an invite.


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## upsidedownwalrus (May 28, 2009)

Badger Kitten said:


> Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaanyway, moving on.
> 
> BBC have a crap rep but they really have produced some corkers



is it really true that the BBC have a crap rep?

I think one thing is that we look at all the great stuff that the USA produces, and think "Why can't we do that?", but the reality is that the USA has 900,000 channels of gunk and about 2 channels, HBO mostly and sometimes ABC, which produce the good stuff...


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## yardbird (May 28, 2009)

Badger Kitten said:


> And _Day of the Triffids._



The beeb did it more than once. Twice I think. But it was great on the 'wireless' - done at least three times.

May I put forward:
When The Boat Comes In, with James Bolan (sp?)


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## Belushi (May 28, 2009)

RenegadeDog said:


> is it really true that the BBC have a crap rep?



Only among folk who havent watched foreign telly!


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## butchersapron (May 28, 2009)

RenegadeDog said:


> I'd never heard of it.



What !?


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## upsidedownwalrus (May 28, 2009)

butchersapron said:


> What !?



I had no telly until 1990  Most stuff from the 80s I've just never heard of...


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## Flashman (May 28, 2009)

It's incredible and still stands up today. Obviously a few things are dated, like Labour MPs being anti-nuclear socialist types etc.

I envy anyone watching EoD for the first time.


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## Badger Kitten (May 28, 2009)

RenegadeDog said:


> is it really true that the BBC have a crap rep?
> 
> I think one thing is that we look at all the great stuff that the USA produces, and think "Why can't we do that?", but the reality is that the USA has 900,000 channels of gunk and about 2 channels, HBO mostly and sometimes ABC, which produce the good stuff...



Oh, I think the BBC have produced some incredible stuff - yet there is this fashionable sneering about a) crap SFX b) worthy typical BBC actors - it's a meme and a bit of a shame - for an example of this in action, read the 'Survivors' thread.

I think the BBC drama dept does us proud. Especially when you compare it to the  output  of other national broadcasters. There have been some embarrassments, but then compare US cable


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## London_Calling (May 28, 2009)

It's all about the writers init. Unless you have the writing talent first, the BBC drama dept can't do a thing.


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## upsidedownwalrus (May 28, 2009)

Flashman said:


> It's incredible and still stands up today. Obviously a few things are dated, like Labour MPs being anti-nuclear socialist types etc.
> 
> I envy anyone watching EoD for the first time.



 Might have to watch the first one tonight if it finishes DLing...


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## upsidedownwalrus (May 28, 2009)

Badger Kitten said:


> Oh, I think the BBC have produced some incredible stuff - yet there is this fashionable sneering about a) crap SFX b) worthy typical BBC actors - it's a meme and a bit of a shame - for an example of this in action, read the 'Survivors' thread.
> 
> I think the BBC drama dept does us proud. Especially when you compare it to the  output  of other national broadcasters. There have been some embarrassments, but then compare US cable



One thing I will say about the BBC is that they sometimes let really great stuff just slide into obscurity.  15 storeys high was brilliant, one of my comedies of the decade, but hardly anyone's heard of it, and Outlaws is also excellent, again, obscure, just been watching that the past couple of nights (from 2004).

Yet you get some real cack at times when people are actually watching.


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## butchersapron (May 28, 2009)

RenegadeDog said:


> I had no telly until 1990  Most stuff from the 80s I've just never heard of...



Well, like people say about the wire, you're in for a treat with (EOD)


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## London_Calling (May 28, 2009)

The thing I remember most  about EoD was the atmosphere of it, and Bob Peck.

Tbh, I don't want to watch it again because I'm sure it can't live up to the memory; it just felt perfect for that moment in time.


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## colacubes (May 28, 2009)

House of Cards imho


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## tiki (May 28, 2009)

Not the best but watched the 2008 Tess of the d'Urbervilles last week and I still get really weepy thinking about it. Poor Tess. Damn you Angel Clare!!


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## Upchuck (May 28, 2009)

_Howards Way_.  It's _Howards Way_


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## revol68 (May 29, 2009)

tiki said:


> Not the best but watched the 2008 Tess of the d'Urbervilles last week and I still get really weepy thinking about it. Poor Tess. Damn you Angel Clare!!



It was brilliant. Angel needed to grow a pair!


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## spanglechick (May 29, 2009)

the monocled mutineer - made  a massive impression on me as a kid

i'll defend a case that andrew davies' adaptations of some of the classics, while populist, are cracking tv nonetheless - and that the Firth / Ehle 'Pride and Prejudice' is a huge accomplishment.

another vote for 'tenko' - tho dimly remembered, i would certainly love to see it again.

also - 'lipstick on your collar', which -contrary to prevailing tastes, i rate as the finest of the BBC Potter series.


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## Streathamite (May 29, 2009)

spanglechick said:


> also - 'lipstick on your collar', which -contrary to prevailing tastes, i rate as the finest of the BBC Potter series.



at long last! I thought I was alone in loving this DP series. 
bows before spangley one's good taste.


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## QueenOfGoths (May 29, 2009)

Another vote for "Edge of Darkness" here, absolutely brilliant especially Bob Peck.

Also "The Singing Detective" was a fine series though I remember being embarrased watching it with my parents when Patrick Malahide was shagging in the forest!


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## belboid (May 29, 2009)

Edge of Darkness is just too obvious, tho right.

I Claudius, hasn't aged quite as well as one might have hoped.  Still damned entertaining tho.

Tinker Tailor is also very of its time, but brilliant stuff.

of more recent stuff, Blackpool would be top for me (tho maybe not enough episodes to count as a series??)

But the actual answer is simply Doctor Who.


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## ViolentPanda (May 29, 2009)

yardbird said:


> The beeb did it more than once. Twice I think. But it was great on the 'wireless' - done at least three times.



IMHO the early '80s version (with John Duttine) is the best.


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## ViolentPanda (May 29, 2009)

Upchuck said:


> _Howards Way_.  It's _Howards Way_



Fuck off and drown yourself in the Solent, you sick sick bastard!


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## upsidedownwalrus (May 29, 2009)

I watched Episode 1 of State of Play.  It's very good. 

I almost wish I hadn't watched the film first though 

I find John Sim a much more convincing journo than copper.


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## kyser_soze (May 29, 2009)

I, Clavdivs )) - still great, altho it suffers from looking like a theatre production with cameras...still great tho...

All the Le Carré adaptations are superb.

IS House of Cards the Ian Richardson one? If so another vote for that.

Couldn't stand the Potter stuff TBH.

Have been too enamoured of HBO and US drama of late to really take in stuff like Friends In The North, Red Riding etc...


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## belboid (May 29, 2009)

mm, Our Friends... was fifteen years ago - have you really been that enamoured  that long?


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## butchersapron (May 29, 2009)

RenegadeDog said:


> I watched Episode 1 of State of Play.  It's very good.
> 
> I almost wish I hadn't watched the film first though
> 
> I find John Sim a much more convincing journo than copper.



He's not convincing in anything IMO - he just looks like a large child or david platt off corrie.


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## ViolentPanda (May 29, 2009)

spanglechick said:


> the monocled mutineer - made  a massive impression on me as a kid
> 
> i'll defend a case that andrew davies' adaptations of some of the classics, while populist, are cracking tv nonetheless - and that the Firth / Ehle 'Pride and Prejudice' is a huge accomplishment.


I preferred Ehle in "The Camomile lawn", but only because of the bappage. 


> another vote for 'tenko' - tho dimly remembered, i would certainly love to see it again.
> 
> also - 'lipstick on your collar', which -contrary to prevailing tastes, i rate as the finest of the BBC Potter series.


Now if only those LWT cunts would release it on DVD I'd be a happy Potter-fan.


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## upsidedownwalrus (May 29, 2009)

butchersapron said:


> He's not convincing in anything IMO - he just looks like a large child or david platt off corrie.



I just can't get it out of my head that he was the bloke in Human Traffic.  And when I watched thatk, I assumed at the time that all of them were random clubbers who just got asked to be in this film, I didn't realise they were 'proper' actors.


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## QueenOfGoths (May 29, 2009)

ViolentPanda said:


> IMHO the early '80s version (with John Duttine) is the best.




John Duttine! You have just reminded me of another

"To Serve Them All My Days"

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080298/


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## belboid (May 29, 2009)

ViolentPanda said:


> Now if only those LWT cunts would release it on DVD I'd be a happy Potter-fan.



http://missedmovies.com/order/product_info.php?products_id=5949


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## belboid (May 29, 2009)

RenegadeDog said:


> I didn't realise they were 'proper' actors.



they're not.  One of them is Danny Dyer


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## DaveCinzano (May 29, 2009)

ViolentPanda said:


> I preferred Ehle in "The Camomile lawn", but only because of the bappage.



Hold fire and keep your powder dry - the C4 thread has already been promised to us!


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## Flashman (May 29, 2009)

butchersapron said:


> I kid you not brother
> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1226273/



Mel. Fucking. Gibson


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## ViolentPanda (May 30, 2009)

belboid said:


> http://missedmovies.com/order/product_info.php?products_id=5949



Cheers for that!


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## DaveCinzano (May 30, 2009)

_1990_ was a rather interesting series about a bureaucratic and authoritarian near-future Britain, with Edward Woodward as a journalist and member of the underground opposition movement.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075469/


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## pennimania (May 30, 2009)

The Roads to Freedom - sometime in the 70's.

House of Cards - 1990's  


AVery British Coup - but was that a BBC series?


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## Mrs Magpie (May 30, 2009)

Does 'Play For Today' count as a drama series? Wednesday nights (iirc) were never better. I think they were originally called 'The Wednesday Play' but I might have imagined that.


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## pennimania (May 30, 2009)

Mrs Magpie said:


> Does 'Play For Today' count as a drama series? Wednesday nights (iirc) were never better. I think they were originally called 'The Wednesday Play' but I might have imagined that.



you haven't.

I remember 'The Wednesday Play'.


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## Mrs Magpie (May 30, 2009)

Oh good, I wondered if I just thought that's what they were called because of the day of the week they went out.....

'Comedy Playhouse' was quite good too.


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## colbhoy (May 31, 2009)

This Life for me, closely followed by Our Friends in the North.


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## albionism (May 31, 2009)

Holding On


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## 1927 (May 31, 2009)

colbhoy said:


> This Life for me, closely followed by Our Friends in the North.



Amazingly they used to follow each other on a monday night, surely the best night's tv the BBC ever put together.


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## Mrs Magpie (May 31, 2009)

A friend of mine was in This Life.


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## Donna Ferentes (May 31, 2009)

DaveCinzano said:


> _1990_ was a rather interesting series about a bureaucratic and authoritarian near-future Britain, with Edward Woodward as a journalist and member of the underground opposition movement.
> 
> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075469/



I remember the chess episode.


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## colbhoy (May 31, 2009)

Mrs Magpie said:


> A friend of mine was in This Life.



Oh, who was that?


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## Bernie Gunther (May 31, 2009)

Flashman said:


> By a fair distance:



Edge of Darkness also gets my vote ...

Edited to add: lots of spoilers in that link. 

Also, I Claudius and the Le Carre adaptations in 2nd and 3rd place for me.


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## colbhoy (May 31, 2009)

1927 said:


> Amazingly they used to follow each other on a monday night, surely the best night's tv the BBC ever put together.



That's right, a great way to spend an otherwise boring Monday evening.


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## Paul Russell (May 31, 2009)

Bernie Gunther said:


> Edge of Darkness also gets my vote ...



I honestly thought for a fraction of a second that he was holding a lobster in that picture before I realised it was a teddy.  That would be surreal.


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## Flashman (Jun 1, 2009)

Spoilers abound on that EoD wiki page by the way, so don't go there if you ain't seen it.


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## PacificOcean (Jun 1, 2009)

Cranford.  Best TV series ever.  Fact.

I really enjoyed the House of Cards trilogy too.


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## ViolentPanda (Jun 1, 2009)

Paul Russell said:


> I honestly thought for a fraction of a second that he was holding a lobster in that picture before I realised it was a teddy.  That would be surreal.



Could have been worse, could have been the other object that belonged to his daughter.


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## DaveCinzano (Jun 1, 2009)

*sniffs*


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## butchersapron (Jun 1, 2009)

ViolentPanda said:


> Could have been worse, could have been the other object that belonged to his daughter.



The dildo, which he kissed after finding it in her things. Odd scene.


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## London_Calling (Jun 1, 2009)

Fwiw, I just bought the whole Edge of Darkness and State of Play for under a tenner on Amazon - plus £2.5 postage.


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## ViolentPanda (Jun 1, 2009)

butchersapron said:


> The dildo, which he kissed after finding it in her things. Odd scene.



Very.


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## upsidedownwalrus (Jun 1, 2009)

London_Calling said:


> Fwiw, I just bought the whole Edge of Darkness and State of Play for under a tenner on Amazon - plus £2.5 postage.



 I Might have to buy that...

I just need to be surreptitious about it.

(Missus can't believe how much we pay for DVDs etc)


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## rollinder (Jun 2, 2009)

^ *wanders off in the direction of amazon for State Of Play*
*comes back* - fuck that's cheap


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## London_Calling (Jun 2, 2009)

Given how long it is it's cheaper to buy that rent.


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## London_Calling (Jun 11, 2009)

State of Play properly cracks along, doesn't it? Watched the first two yesderday and it was all I could to not watch all six.

I noticed The Lakes while on Amazon - by Jimmy McGovern from back in the day - that looks to be next.


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## Pie 1 (Jun 11, 2009)

Got State of Play for £4 a few weeks ago as well - fantastic bargin.

But why is Our Friends in the North such a silly price?

£99


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## London_Calling (Jun 11, 2009)

I just noticed The Thick of It S1 for less than £8 on Amazon . . .


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## Kaka Tim (Jun 11, 2009)

I remember being gripped by Colditz and I Clavidivs as a kid. 

Boys from the Blackstuff 

Edge of Darkness.

The Chinese Detective - about police corruption -  was v.good but seems to have been forgotten.


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## Paul Russell (Jun 11, 2009)

I noticed Edge of Darkness was on special offer in the Guardian printed edition, so I looked online on the Guardian's website and it says £10, and this offer is brought to you via MovieMail.

But when you go to MovieMail's website, they are only charging £6 including postage, so I bought it from there. Great "offer" from the Guardian 

Looking forward to getting it -- never seen this...


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## bluestreak (Jun 11, 2009)

I haven't seen any of these except House Of Cards.  Which was bloody good.  

I know that makes me a philistine, it's just that I have no patience for series, cos i always end up missing one and blah blah blah...

Some of these I've already downloaded and havent gotten around to watching, and some of the others are going to be downloaded as soon as i've watched my backlog and cleared the disk space.

Thank you people!


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## boohoo (Jun 11, 2009)

Badger Kitten said:


> ...discuss.
> 
> Me, probably _State of Play_.
> 
> your turn




i don't watch much tv and aren't too sucked into dramas but state of play was excellent!! Great plot, great cast... highly recommended!


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## boohoo (Jun 11, 2009)

Anyone remember the riff raff element? That was good. And the BBC The history of Tom Jones a foundling, was very good. Brian Blessed going mental was funny to watch.


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## London_Calling (Jun 11, 2009)

Fwiw, I'm currently eyeing 6 1/4 hours of Middlemarch, BBC 1993.

Slightly put off by that old slapper Robert Hardy.


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## DaveCinzano (Jun 11, 2009)

boohoo said:


> Anyone remember the riff raff element? That was good.



I fair had a crush on that Jayne Ashbourne! (And Celia Imrie for that matter)


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## boohoo (Jun 11, 2009)

DaveCinzano said:


> I fair had a crush on that Jayne Ashbourne! (And Celia Imrie for that matter)



I saw Celia Imrie on the tube once and although she is in a fair amount of tv programmes, I could only think of her in the riff raff element.


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## DJ Squelch (Jun 11, 2009)

Mrs Magpie said:


> Does 'Play For Today' count as a drama series? Wednesday nights (iirc) were never better. I think they were originally called 'The Wednesday Play' but I might have imagined that.



Abigail's Party was one of the Play For Today episodes and thats one of the best bits of TV evah.

Day Of The Triffids scared the crap out of me when I little, plus it's the only BBC drama series Ive purchase on DVD.

I also liked 80s series Rockliffe's Babies about a police unit based around Ladroke Grove, I think I mostly liked it coz there was loads of shots of graffiti under the westway on it.

 late 80s  - South Of The Border about 2 women in Deptford who become private detectives, I only liked this as I was paid to paint the main sign for the record shop in it.

I think ITV was better back then, Minder & The Prisoner piss over anything the beeb have done.


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## wayward bob (Jun 11, 2009)

just watched state of play on recommendations in this thread and was a bit disappointed tbh - missed large chunks of the first episode going "isn't he the bloke out of..." and "_where_ do i know her from?" which didn't help  i think i'm going off john simm a bit, i thought he was amazing based - now i come to think of it - mostly on crime and punishment but i think it's actually just that raskolnikov is such an magnetic character. actually would c&p count for this? it's an adaptation not original drama and only a 2-parter but it's fucking outstanding.

anyway, my first thoughts were boys from the black stuff and our friends in the north, but i don't think anyone's mentioned births, marriages and deaths with tosca from ofitn and ray winstone, i remember that very fondly.


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## upsidedownwalrus (Jun 11, 2009)

DJ Squelch said:


> I think ITV was better back then, Minder & The Prisoner piss over anything the beeb have done.



Cracker too, amazing programme.

My favourite cracker line:

Rapist guy: You're just a fat, white, alcoholic, middle class idiot.
Cracker: I'm not middle class.


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## London_Calling (Jun 11, 2009)

ITV also did Brideshead of course (1981), which stood out above all else for the young and impressionable me.


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## Ceej (Jun 11, 2009)

Donna Ferentes said:


>



My vote. Flawless.


....and GBH by Bleasdale.


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## DaveCinzano (Jun 11, 2009)

RenegadeDog said:


> Cracker too, amazing programme.
> 
> My favourite cracker line:
> 
> ...



Mine is:

Fitz (at bar) - What's a Scotch?
Bored looking barman, straight faced and monotoned - A well-known alcoholic drink.


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## The Octagon (Jun 12, 2009)

If we're counting part-funded ventures - Band of Brothers for me.


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## London_Calling (Jun 12, 2009)

Do me a fucking favour . .


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## The Octagon (Jun 12, 2009)

London_Calling said:


> Do me a fucking favour . .



Sorry, I'm fresh out of those, perhaps I could interest you in a heartfelt "Your Mum"?


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## London_Calling (Jun 12, 2009)

It would be about right.

'scuse me, I've just got to run around the garden with a broom stick making machine gun noises.


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## Me76 (Jun 12, 2009)

Pie 1 said:


> But why is Our Friends in the North such a silly price?
> 
> £99




That is a ridiculous price - wasn't it only about 8 episodes long as well?  I don't remember it being long enough for 4 DVDs anyway. 

I have just got the BF Band of Brothers on DVD for his birthday, seeing as I wouldn't let him watch it when it was on!!


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## belboid (Jun 12, 2009)

episodes were seventy minutes each, so it would require four discs.

Only a fiver on ebay

BoB surprised me at just how bloody good it was. Wouldn't be the best BBC series eer tho, even if it wasn't obviously not a BBC series (some money and brit actors dont really make it 'BBC' in my book)


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## rollinder (Jun 13, 2009)

wayward bob said:


> ... i think i'm going off john simm a bit, i thought he was amazing based - now i come to think of it - mostly on crime and punishment but i think it's actually just that raskolnikov is such an magnetic character. actually would c&p count for this? it's an adaptation not original drama and only a 2-parter but it's fucking outstanding.


 
that was John Simm? FUCK 
That was great 
Hasn't ever been released, has it *goes back to amazon to check* (hadn't the last time I bothered to look for it)




			
				Pie 1 said:
			
		

> But why is Our Friends in the North such a silly price?
> 
> £99


 
Out of print and sellers cashjing in, innit . Even buying the videos costs @ £40


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## rollinder (Jun 13, 2009)

[B said:
			
		

> w[/B]*ayward bob]*
> only a 2-parter but it's fucking outstanding.


^this 

_


rollinder said:



			that was John Simm? FUCK
		
Click to expand...

_


rollinder said:


> That was great
> Hasn't ever been released, has it *goes back to amazon to check* (hadn't the last time I bothered to look for it)


 
*looks at amazon* - came out last year, fuck yeah


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