# Recommend me a TV show from Australia, New Zealand or Canada



## imposs1904 (Apr 26, 2012)

See thread title.

I'm not up on tv shows from Australia, New Zealand or Canada - apart from the shitty day time soap operas - so any recommendations would be appreciated.


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## Nanker Phelge (Apr 26, 2012)

Underbelly - Series one was great, haven't finished season 2 yet, but not as good, apparently season 3 is much better.

All based on true tales of organised crime families in Aus. Good stuff.


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## Nanker Phelge (Apr 26, 2012)

...season ones about £7 on amazon


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## imposs1904 (Apr 26, 2012)

Nanker Phelge said:


> ...season ones about £7 on amazon


 
cheers for the recommendation. Looks interesting.

The reason I'm asking is because my ratio for a bit torrent site I use which specializes in 'Empire' programmes has suddenly become healthy enough that I can take a punt on new programmes.


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## Greebo (Apr 26, 2012)

Farscape


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## skyscraper101 (Apr 26, 2012)

Prisoner Cell Block H


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## imposs1904 (Apr 26, 2012)

skyscraper101 said:


> Prisoner Cell Block H


 
Nah, but I'm sure you suggested it with the best of intentions.


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## imposs1904 (Apr 26, 2012)

Greebo said:


> Farscape


 
It's not on this particular bit torrent site, so I'm guessing that though it's filmed in Australia, it's made by a US production company.


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## spring-peeper (Apr 26, 2012)

Try Corner Gas.

It's a Canadian sit-com and was popular in the States.


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## imposs1904 (Apr 26, 2012)

spring-peeper said:


> Try Corner Gas.
> 
> It's a Canadian sit-com and was popular in the States.


 
Cheers for the recommendation. I'll check it out.

Just stumbled across this Canadian show that looks interesting:


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## spring-peeper (Apr 26, 2012)

imposs1904 said:


> Cheers for the recommendation. I'll check it out.
> 
> Just stumbled across this Canadian show that looks interesting:





I keep seeing it advertised but never saw any episodes.   Let me know if it's any good.


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## Superdupastupor (Apr 26, 2012)

Trailer Park Boys!  Canada
Flight of The ConChords, if you've not seen it   NZ

??? Australia.


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## redsquirrel (Apr 26, 2012)

Nanker Phelge said:


> Underbelly - Series one was great, haven't finished season 2 yet, but not as good, apparently season 3 is much better.
> 
> All based on true tales of organised crime families in Aus. Good stuff.


All of the of Underbelly seasons have been absolutely woeful. Australian TV is pretty dire in general to be honest - unimaginative, cliche-ridden and poorly written for the most part.


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## Epona (Apr 26, 2012)

This Is Not My Life - utterly superb NZ mystery/thriller/near-future dystopia TV series. Well worth watching! (sort of reminded me of The Prisoner, but updated and done extremely well)

I actually rank it as one of the top 5 series that I have seen over the last few years.


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## albionism (Apr 26, 2012)

Summer Heights High
We Could Be Heros
from Aus.


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## albionism (Apr 26, 2012)

Canadian-German co-production sci=fi called LEXX is well worth a look.


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## biggus dickus (Apr 26, 2012)

Due South


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## Stigmata (Apr 26, 2012)

Round the Twist


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## Greebo (Apr 26, 2012)

Being Erica


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 26, 2012)

The Sullavans.


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## gentlegreen (Apr 26, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> The Sullavans.


Darn - beat me to it.


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## Dan U (Apr 26, 2012)

redsquirrel said:


> All of the of Underbelly seasons have been absolutely woeful. Australian TV is pretty dire in general to be honest - unimaginative, cliche-ridden and poorly written for the most part.


 
disagree with this. Season 4 was pretty ordinary but the rest was alright, particulalry S1 if you know Melbourne and some of the history attached to the gangs etc.

some other good Aussie TV

Cloudstreet - based on the best selling book - was enjoyable, quite weird in parts as well.
My Wife (and me I must admit) have been enoying Offspring. Its about a 30 something womans love life and her bonkers family but its pretty funny and the comedy is quite Arrested Development in parts.

We get sent a lot of stuff over from the in-laws..


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## gabi (Apr 26, 2012)

NZ television is fucking terrible, without exception.. 

Australian - Summer heights high...


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 26, 2012)

gentlegreen said:


> Darn - beat me to it.


 
Home at lunchtime for a sandwich and the Sullivans, maybe a little 'let's pretend' if I was lucky.


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## seeformiles (Apr 26, 2012)

Richmond Hill - it only ran for a few episodes because it was shit. I was on the dole at the time and followed Neighbours religiously. The same day Gail's sinister ex-husband Jeremy died in a ball of fire while racing Rob Lewis' jinxed racing car, he popped up as a copper on this programme - right after Neighbours ( a lightning ressurection):


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## chilango (Apr 26, 2012)

Summer Heights High
Round the Twist
Kath and Kim

all Australian...


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## gabi (Apr 26, 2012)

Angry Boys, the follow-up to summer heights high was also pretty good


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## chilango (Apr 26, 2012)

Haven't see that yet. It's been recommended by a few friends though...


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## maya (Apr 26, 2012)

*'The girl from tomorrow'*- enjoyable australian 1980's science fiction series for kids, about- surprise, surprise!- 'a girl from the future'...  The few 'futuristic' glimpses of her home world (white interiors, shiny silver costumes and some sort of hovering triangles used for telepathic communication) really fascinated me when I watched it back in the day (well, I was eight, so it looked plausible then).

*'Spellbinder'*- very early '90s fantasy show about some Stargate-like portal and a quasi-medieval world of intrigue of some sort (never managed to catch more than a few episodes, so it's all very vague in the mind). Australian.

*'Children of the Dog Star*'- early 80's New Zealand, brilliant kids' science fiction series about cosmic contact all revolving round the mysterious 'Dog Star'(Sirius?), _very_ glum rural setting and ugly eighties look to everything, but a great storyline and very memorable- had a great theme tune aswell 

Canada: *'The Odyssey'*(early 1990s), this is like a pure distillation of everything that's great about kids' fantasy series, in one neat little package. Parts of the plot have been rehashed and borrowed ever since (read: The Tribe, which nicked most of the 'tribe of children, alternative society'-thing), except that here the 'alternative world' exists in the mind of the boy Jay who's in a coma, and every person in the real, waking world have their archetypal 'dream world' counterpart (his best friend who in the real world is crippled and stumbling along on crutches, can walk and is a strong hero character in the dreamworld) I even think at some point his 'real world' friends enters the dreamworld in his mind on a quest to 'get him back'- but as I never managed to catch all episodes in this crucial and epic series, this is just rumours of legend- enough said, lets watch a clip:


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## spring-peeper (Apr 26, 2012)

maya said:


> *'The girl from tomorrow'*- enjoyable australian 1980's science fiction series for kids, about- surprise, surprise!- 'a girl from the future'...  The few 'futuristic' glimpses of her home world (white interiors, shiny silver costumes and some sort of hovering triangles used for telepathic communication) really fascinated me when I watched it back in the day (well, I was eight, so it looked plausible then).
> 
> *'Spellbinder'*- very early '90s fantasy show about some Stargate-like portal and a quasi-medieval world of intrigue of some sort (never managed to catch more than a few episodes, so it's all very vague in the mind). Australian.
> 
> *'Children of the Dog Star*'- early 80's New Zealand, brilliant kids' science fiction series about cosmic contact all revolving round the mysterious 'Dog Star'(Sirius?), _very_ glum rural setting and ugly eighties look to everything, but a great storyline and very memorable- had a great theme tune aswell



Spellbinder - that's it!!!!     I was trying to think of the name.

It is excellent - we taped the entire series


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## ruffneck23 (Apr 26, 2012)

the almighty johnsons, is not as bad as i thought it was going to be form auz/nz


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## Frances Lengel (Apr 26, 2012)

Come Midnight Monday - It was on in the 6 week holidays one year, I thought it was top.



And Home, Home, Home on the other side as well.

Eta no one's mentioned Shortland Street. Not surprised though, coz it was shit.

Lexx though - That was Canadian and the first two series were banging. Went a bit shit in the third series an I lost intrest so I can't tell you what the fourth series was like.


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## redsquirrel (Apr 27, 2012)

Dan U said:


> disagree with this. Season 4 was pretty ordinary but the rest was alright, particulalry S1 if you know Melbourne and some of the history attached to the gangs etc.


It's crap. The Bill was better made.  Underbelly is one of laziest shows in existence, the fact that it's considered good TV down here is proof that Aussie TV is dreadful.


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## Chz (Apr 27, 2012)

From Australia: Danger 5 - It has Nazi dinosaurs. All you really need to know.
From Canada: (very old) SCTV, if you can find it.
From NZ: ???? Isn't that where Farscape was shot?


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## gabi (Apr 27, 2012)

theres nothing good from NZ. end of. conchords doesnt count. written by a canadian, made by yanks.


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## redsquirrel (Apr 27, 2012)

Chz said:


> From NZ: ???? Isn't that where Farscape was shot?


I thought it was shot in Aus. Either way it's a US show.


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## Captain Hurrah (Apr 27, 2012)

maya said:


> *'The girl from tomorrow'*- enjoyable australian 1980's science fiction series for kids, about- surprise, surprise!- 'a girl from the future'...  The few 'futuristic' glimpses of her home world (white interiors, shiny silver costumes and some sort of hovering triangles used for telepathic communication) really fascinated me when I watched it back in the day (well, I was eight, so it looked plausible then).


 


I used to watch that in the early 90s.


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## Reno (Apr 27, 2012)

There was an 80s mini-series called Bangkok Hilton which I really liked. It starred a very young Nicole Kidman as a girl tricked into being a drug mule and getting "banged up abroad".

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096540/


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## belboid (Apr 27, 2012)

ruffneck23 said:


> the almighty johnsons, is not as bad as i thought it was going to be form auz/nz


that doesn't make it good tho...it was, mildly entertaining

I did quite like the first couple of series' of Outrageous Fortune. havent seen the later ones


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## miniGMgoit (Apr 28, 2012)

When I saw this thread I was going to write that there wan't any and its all crap but you have reminded me there's loads of good stuff. The Underbelly series is probably my favorite stuff mentioned. I really liked the Golden Mile and the about the Mafia who lived out in the hills (can't remember what it was called).


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## maya (Apr 28, 2012)

gabi said:


> theres nothing good from NZ. end of.


"Xena, Warrior Princess" was definitely NOT crap!  (... )


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## peterkro (Apr 28, 2012)

And while shot in NZ was not a NZ production.


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## Kidda (Apr 28, 2012)

It's all about Pugwall


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## Kidda (Apr 28, 2012)

Then there is this genius of tele


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## maya (Apr 29, 2012)

Chz said:


> From Australia: Danger 5


'Danger 5' = greatness, it restored my faith in the medium of television... and I love the little details (like Hitler's notepad in the 'bar' room at Goring's secret tropical island lair:
"1. Buy Blondie new leash 2. Ring Himmler RE: "Them" 3. Annex Spain 4. Trust Italians?" )

And since the producers are Australian, they had to pick a Frenchman ('Pierre') to represent Europe in their 'super team' of Danger 5 agents, no way were they going to give Britain the credit 



That said, 'Italian Spiderman' was kind of cool too:


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## contadino (May 5, 2012)

Epona said:


> This Is Not My Life - utterly superb NZ mystery/thriller/near-future dystopia TV series. Well worth watching! (sort of reminded me of The Prisoner, but updated and done extremely well)
> I actually rank it as one of the top 5 series that I have seen over the last few years.


 
Started watching this last night. Pretty darned good. Thanks.


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## Epona (May 7, 2012)

contadino said:


> Started watching this last night. Pretty darned good. Thanks.


I'm glad you're enjoying it, I felt it managed to strike a very good balance between atmosphere/setting up the story/relationships between the characters and action/paranoia type stuff.  There's plenty of character development as well as enough suspense to keep you interested throughout the run, it's well-paced and never feels too slow or too rushed.  A prime example of how to make a suspense/thriller one-off series IMO.


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## Johnny Canuck3 (May 7, 2012)

Canada:


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## Epona (May 7, 2012)

If you are inclined to like something a bit whimsical and saccharine with a moral at the end of the episode, "Being Erica" was a Canadian series which ran for a few seasons, with a time-travel element. I quite enjoyed it watching it but I wouldn't say it was first class telly - more like a time travel soap opera than a serious show, but if you particularly want a Canadian show to add to your repertoire then you might want to have a look at it. As I say, I quite enjoyed it, it's sort of easy viewing and kind of sweet.

In terms of Australian TV, have you seen Winners and Losers? About a group of friends who win the lottery. Again it's quite nice TV, not anything groundbreaking, but you asked about shows from particular parts of the world and this is one I quite enjoyed from Australia.  The characters are quite well done.


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