BBC shows Americans should watch

[noisyturtle]

Here's a few I've discovered and enjoyed over the years:

IT Crowd
Top Gear
The Mighty Boosh
Black Books
Snuff Box
Red Dwarf

[demik]

minus top gear. while they have a cool job i cannot stand any of the hosts.

[Flyersfan1]

I just started watching the series "Luther", I'm enjoying it so far!

[vun]

Also QI. Nobody ever mentions QI.

[lcs]

Sherlock!

[Tym]

Obviously as soon as I read this I forget all Tv shows I have ever seen, let me get back to you.

Outnumbered was funny for awhile.

[Techno Trousers]

Lately I'm loving Luther, Top Gear, Orphan Black, and... ahem... Downton Abbey.

Edit: one of my favorite older shows is Coupling. "Oh, Jeffrey!"

[nubbinator]

Some of my favorites were already mentioned (namely Boosh and Sherlock), but I need to add Bluestone 42 to the mix as well.

[iri]

Here's a few I've discovered and enjoyed over the years:

IT Crowd
Top Gear
The Mighty Boosh
Black Books
Snuff Box
Red Dwarf

where's the "green wing"?

and coupling is for teenagers.

[Photekq]

That Michell and Webb Look!

[noisyturtle]

I can't believe I forgot to mention:
Spaced
The Inbetweeners (except not the movie, that was terrible)

[Tym]

I can't believe I forgot to mention:
Spaced
The Inbetweeners (except not the movie, that was terrible)

Not BBC, British shows, but not made by the BBC.

Also "The Inbetweeners Movie" was still better than the American POS excuse for a rip off show, I don't know why they even bothered to re-make it? Same story line, American version of the characters... It didn't work with Top Gear, why did they think this would be any different...

[HoffmanMyster]

Here's what I watch (yes there's overlap with what others have mentioned):
-QI
-Doctor Who
-8 Out of 10 Cats
-Top Gear
-Peep Show
-Never Mind the Buzzcocks
-Dara Ó Briain's Science Club
-Stephen Fry Gadget Man

Honestly anything that any of the guests on QI are in is usually good too.
And god damn do I love British panel shows...

Good comedians to check out:
-Anyone who appears on QI - seriously; Rob Brydon, Bill Bailey, Jimmy Carr, Sean Locke, the list goes on and on.

As an American, I watch an awful lot of British television...

[korrelate]

The Power of Art by Simon Schama.

I bought the discs and watch this over and over and over again. Joseph Campbell said, "The greatest teacher is the one who reveals the radiance of his own discovery." That's this guy: that's what he's doing.

I can't recommend this one enough. And I'm not recommending it because I want to give anybody, myself included a reason to sound pretentious. This isn't some "Oooohh, look at me, I like art. I must be smart" thing. This is a "when you get done with this you're gonna feel like you did something good for yourself" thing.

And my favorite the episode about Jacques Louis David. So extraordinarily relevant.

[Burz]

Two (mini)series that thunderstruck me are The Century Of The Self and The Mayfair Set. Both of these documentaries are written and narrated by Adam Curtis, and are available for download at Archive.org.

I got a kick out of the IT Crowd, oh and um... Star Maidens. 

[baldgye]

Here's a few I've discovered and enjoyed over the years:

IT Crowd
Top Gear
The Mighty Boosh
Black Books
Snuff Box
Red Dwarf

where's the "green wing"?

and coupling is for teenagers.

It's on Channel 4


And older show that might not translate perfectly for Americans but is still very much relevant is Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister, they are both timeless master peices.

[tp4tissue]

Show Image

minus top gear. while they have a cool job i cannot stand any of the hosts.

I find Top Gear difficult to watch as well..  They seem to "force" themselves to have emotion..  It's a car, very cool, yay.....   but then they go into this "character" mode, which is both unnecessary and distracting.

[noisyturtle]

People who don't care for Top Gear I always recommend they at least watch the Vietnam special. If you don't enjoy that, then you defiantly will never like the show.

[vun]

I find that Top Gear UK is pretty good, rarely feel like hosts are trying to force something. Can't say the same for Top Gear USA though...

[Tym]

People who don't care for Top Gear I always recommend they at least watch the Vietnam special. If you don't enjoy that, then you defiantly will never like the show.

Do you Americans like the American special? That was brilliant, but i suppose horrible stereo typical.

[Feign]

Here's what I watch (yes there's overlap with what others have mentioned):
-QI
-Doctor Who
-8 Out of 10 Cats
-Top Gear
-Peep Show
-Never Mind the Buzzcocks
-Dara Ó Briain's Science Club
-Stephen Fry Gadget Man

Honestly anything that any of the guests on QI are in is usually good too.
And god damn do I love British panel shows...

Good comedians to check out:
-Anyone who appears on QI - seriously; Rob Brydon, Bill Bailey, Jimmy Carr, Sean Locke, the list goes on and on.

As an American, I watch an awful lot of British television...

I'm sure you'd like "Would I Lie To You?" as well, in case you haven't seen it. Rob Brydon hosting David Mitchell + Lee Mack + guests panel show.

[Glenn315]

Sherlock! It's pretty good.

[hashbaz]

I haven't seen anything new in a long time but back in the day I used to love Red Dwarf and Mr Bean.

[IvanIvanovich]

I don't know if they are BBC, I am sure some of them are channel 4 or whatever. All I know is they are British since I download them I don't really know what channels they are from.
Utopia
The Fades
Doctor Who
Torchwood
Ripper Street
The Fall
This Is England
Ultraviolet
What Remains

I also like to keep an eye out for miniseries. They still seem to do these in UK more and I like that as I don't have to wait possibly years for conclusion, or get none if it is cancelled.
Archangel
Spies of Warsaw
Falcón
Hit & Miss

I tend to watch quite a few series from outside the US. They actually have you know like stories, character development and stuff which is few and far between it seems in US. If there is it usually gets cancelled after a few episodes because average American viewers have too hard of a time grasping anything with a semblance of depth. Not to say other countries TV does not also have it's share of programs for the lowest denominator, just that that denominator is not quite as low perhaps.

[HoffmanMyster]

Here's what I watch (yes there's overlap with what others have mentioned):
-QI
-Doctor Who
-8 Out of 10 Cats
-Top Gear
-Peep Show
-Never Mind the Buzzcocks
-Dara Ó Briain's Science Club
-Stephen Fry Gadget Man

Honestly anything that any of the guests on QI are in is usually good too.
And god damn do I love British panel shows...

Good comedians to check out:
-Anyone who appears on QI - seriously; Rob Brydon, Bill Bailey, Jimmy Carr, Sean Locke, the list goes on and on.

As an American, I watch an awful lot of British television...

I'm sure you'd like "Would I Lie To You?" as well, in case you haven't seen it. Rob Brydon hosting David Mitchell + Lee Mack + guests panel show.

Thanks for the heads up!  I'll be sure to check it out.  It's a panel show, so I'm sure I'll love it. 

[vun]

Here's what I watch (yes there's overlap with what others have mentioned):
-QI
-Doctor Who
-8 Out of 10 Cats
-Top Gear
-Peep Show
-Never Mind the Buzzcocks
-Dara Ó Briain's Science Club
-Stephen Fry Gadget Man

Honestly anything that any of the guests on QI are in is usually good too.
And god damn do I love British panel shows...

Good comedians to check out:
-Anyone who appears on QI - seriously; Rob Brydon, Bill Bailey, Jimmy Carr, Sean Locke, the list goes on and on.

As an American, I watch an awful lot of British television...

I'm sure you'd like "Would I Lie To You?" as well, in case you haven't seen it. Rob Brydon hosting David Mitchell + Lee Mack + guests panel show.

Thanks for the heads up!  I'll be sure to check it out.  It's a panel show, so I'm sure I'll love it. 

Was gonna mention that, but Feign beat me to it. It's not QI good, but still pretty good.
Didn't know about the other shows you mentioned with Dara and Stephen, gonna have to check them out. Haven't seen them on any of the BBC channels we get.

[MKULTRA]

There is this one guy who does really awesome documentaries.  Can't think of his name.

[vun]

There is this one guy who does really awesome documentaries.  Can't think of his name.

Paul Merton?
Or are you thinking srs stuff like Sir David Attenborough?

[foxer]

If you plan on watching Never Mind The Buzzcocks, only watch the ones with Mark Lamarr. The rest are awful in comparison.

[Morwrath]

Anything with british comedians pretty much.
Buzzcocks prob my favourite panel-show.
Simon Amstell is a genious.

[MOZ]

There is this one guy who does really awesome documentaries.  Can't think of his name.

The great Sir David Attenborough.

[MKULTRA]

There is this one guy who does really awesome documentaries.  Can't think of his name.

The great Sir David Attenborough.

Nah I was thinking of Louis Theroux

[le_doosh]

Show Image

minus top gear. while they have a cool job i cannot stand any of the hosts.

What?? They are a majority of the reason why the show is so great

[MOZ]

There is this one guy who does really awesome documentaries.  Can't think of his name.

The great Sir David Attenborough.

Nah I was thinking of Louis Theroux

Noone denies Sir David Attenborough's greatness.

[Leslieann]

I agree with Le-Doosh, the Top Gear guys are the biggest reason to watch. That and their adventures. Honestly, I could do with less star in a crap car and a LOT less high end supercar stories, but the guys are hilarious even if you aren't into cars.


Another fantastic, though long since discontinued show was  'Allo 'Allo!
The show is probably older than 90% of the people on this forum.

[MOZ]

BlackAdder
Monty Python
Fawlty Towers

nuff said.

[iri]

Here's a few I've discovered and enjoyed over the years:

IT Crowd
Top Gear
The Mighty Boosh
Black Books
Snuff Box
Red Dwarf

where's the "green wing"?

and coupling is for teenagers.

It's on Channel 4

whooooooops

[IvanIvanovich]

Oh, I forgot one of my classic favorites, The Young Ones.

[vasouv]

IT Crowd is hilarious, just finished watching it for the N-th time yesterday. Top Gear is awesome too, got a couple of seasons to watch.

Also, check the Office. The British version, not the American one. Sure, Steve Carell is awesome but Ricky Gervais is beyond this world... No offense but when the US adapt UK series, the outcome is pretty much cr*p.

[Photekq]

Of course can't forget only fools & horses

[vasouv]

Not sure if they're from BBC, but definitely watch Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) and Fawlty Towers (John Cleese).

[Malphas]

Stella Street

Top Gear has great production values, cinematography, etc., and Clarkson is a pretty entertaining writer, but the thing that bothers me about the show is the interaction between the presenters, the public schoolboy humour, the forced and obviously scripted gaffes, and the decreasing amount of actual information about cars.

Americans may not be aware, but Top Gear is a show that was around for decades in the UK. Clarkson was one presenter among many who started in the 90's and worked alongside other respected motoring personalities like Tiff Needell and Quentin Wilson. I'm not sure about the specifics but somehow Clarkson obtained the rights to Top Gear, presumably after it's decommissioning by the BBC and relaunched it under the current format. For some reason (I would guess ego related) he opted to hire two sycophantic sidekicks that no-one had heard of as his co-presenters rather than people of the calibre he worked with before Top Gear - which would have provided a nice contrast and genuine range of opinions, rather than the embarrassingly scripted "arguments" that the show currently has.

[mauri]

Dunno bout BBC but Keeping Up Appearances and One Foot in the Grave were awesome shows

[vun]

Stella Street

Top Gear has great production values, cinematography, etc., and Clarkson is a pretty entertaining writer, but the thing that bothers me about the show is the interaction between the presenters, the public schoolboy humour, the forced and obviously scripted gaffes, and the decreasing amount of actual information about cars.

Americans may not be aware, but Top Gear is a show that was around for decades in the UK. Clarkson was one presenter among many who started in the 90's and worked alongside other respected motoring personalities like Tiff Needell and Quentin Wilson. I'm not sure about the specifics but somehow Clarkson obtained the rights to Top Gear, presumably after it's decommissioning by the BBC and relaunched it under the current format. For some reason (I would guess ego related) he opted to hire two sycophantic sidekicks that no-one had heard of as his co-presenters rather than people of the calibre he worked with before Top Gear - which would have provided a nice contrast and genuine range of opinions, rather than the embarrassingly scripted "arguments" that the show currently has.

Well, Top Gear has moved from being an informative show to being pretty much about entertainment and drooling over supercars.
Personally I don't really mind the interaction between the hosts, it does get awkward at times, but it's still miles less awkward than most other TV shows. But yes, some of the arguments do feel somewhat scripted and it is getting a bit stale now. I haven't seen the old Top Gear, but I have seen Tiff in Fifth Gear, and if that is anything to go by then I don't really think I missed much. Basically, Top Gear and this one Norwegian motor show are the only ones about cars where the presenters seem fairly natural, most other shows are just awkwardly forced.

[Malphas]

Fifth Gear isn't as good as old Top Gear. It was intended as a continuation of it, but they lack the budget to do it properly.

[vun]

Fifth Gear isn't as good as old Top Gear. It was intended as a continuation of it, but they lack the budget to do it properly.

I wasn't really talking about production values, more about the presenters, of which Tiff is the only I actually remember. His performance is not what I would call good, I just find Fifth Gear pretty cringeworthy in general whenever I try to watch it. Same goes for Top Gear USA, although Top Gear USA does a good job of being background noise.

Top Gear is in a bit of a sticky situation, because if they want the arguments to not feel forced they'd probably need hosts who would genuinely argue, but chances are that'd end up going wrong before long.
Or they could move away from entertainment and towards being an informative car program, but that would most likely lose them a lot of viewers. Most people I know who watch it don't really care about the cars, it's mostly for the entertainment of it.

So yeah, I think any show like that will be forced by nature of being a TV show, things need to happen, the hosts need to get along for the show to actually be viable in the long run, and the things that need to happen are things that don't happen as often or as spectacularly between people who generally get along.

[Malphas]

I don't mean so much arguments as genuine debate and discourse about cars, which is completely absent in new Top Gear, but was present in old Top Gear. In fact there's very little information at all. I realise this is by design and the appeal to a much larger audience by being a general entertainment show, but still popular doesn't equate to good, and it's one of the reasons I find the show lacking and overrated.

[vun]

I don't mean so much arguments as genuine debate and discourse about cars, which is completely absent in new Top Gear, but was present in old Top Gear. In fact there's very little information at all. I realise this is by design and the appeal to a much larger audience by being a general entertainment show, but still popular doesn't equate to good, and it's one of the reasons I find the show lacking and overrated.

Fair enough, I don't have much interest in cars beyond the schoolboy fascination with supercars, so the lack of information was never much of an issue to me. Not that I'd mind, I am interested enough that I'd still watch it if it dropped some of the entertainment to make room for some factual discussion.
But that again requires us to place it into a category, since the way I see it it's a good entertainment show based around cars rather than a bad car show. Although again that is based on what you expect from it, and I can understand that fans of the old Top Gear want a car show, which the new Top Gear really isn't.

Edit; basically what I'm saying is that if you take it as a pure entertainment show then it is quite good, the problem arises when you look at it as a car show.