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Recommend TV Shows Not From The States. The Sequel


_MJ_

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While on the subject of Black Mirror, I'd also recommend one of Charlie Brooker's other series, How TV Ruined Your Life. Done documentary style, the subject matter is pretty self-explanatory. I dunno, I'm a pretty cynical guy, so his stuff falls right into my wheelhouse.

 

It's also a dead-on parody of a History Channel style series. I keep expecting Tony Robinson to show up.

 

Plus, all 6 episodes of How TV Ruined Your Life can be watched on the Youtubes.

 

http://youtu.be/SQBwNyJDHsw

This was probably the highlight of my TV year. Even if you disagree with parts of it the series gives you loads to chew on.

 

Can't wait for the 2013 wipe show tonight.

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I totally fell off of Copper with a couple episodes left in the 1st season. I can't recall the exact reasons (beyond "kind of boring" and "twat lead"), but I really, really wanted to like it. A Gangs of New York/Deadwood style series should be a slam dunk, but I couldn't get into it at all.

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I watched a lot of BBC  and canadian series on netflix  and bbc america that I liked.  IT Squad(I can never remember the second part of it), Coupling, Slings and Arrows, Waiting for God, and keeping up appearances being just a few. The Vicar of Dibley is really good too.  MI-5 is a good watch, though some seasons are better than others. White Chapel and Bletchley Circle are very solid as well. Broadchurch is amazing, and the people remaking that can burn in hell.  I only saw one season of the thick of it on BBC america and I want to see the rest of it badly now.  Also liked the inbetweeners and 18 to life as well.

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Jonathan Creek is fantastic, even if it did start falling in quality a bit by the third season.

 

-Great writing, and maybe the best "How Did They Do It?" show ever. It might as well be called Locked Room Mystery: The Show. It's sort of like if Edgar Allen Poe and Conan Arthur Doyle teamed up to do a BBC drama about a magician's assitant and his pushy female friend.

 

-Avoids a lot of the cliches of crime shows: Creek isn't that keen to get involved usually. One of my favourite moments is when someone who needs his help tracks him down because she's heard about his mad skillz~! and he's, like, "shouldn't you be going to the police?" He's also kind of wimpy and the most physical thing he ever does is disable a bad guy by flicking a playing card at him.

 

-Alan Davies is terrific. Creek is obviously an amazingly gifted guy, but he also plays him as pretty relatable and down to Earth.

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Jonathan Creek is fantastic, even if it did start falling in quality a bit by the third season.

 

-Great writing, and maybe the best "How Did They Do It?" show ever. It might as well be called Locked Room Mystery: The Show. It's sort of like if Edgar Allen Poe and Conan Arthur Doyle teamed up to do a BBC drama about a magician's assitant and his pushy female friend.

 

-Avoids a lot of the cliches of crime shows: Creek isn't that keen to get involved usually. One of my favourite moments is when someone who needs his help tracks him down because she's heard about his mad skillz~! and he's, like, "shouldn't you be going to the police?" He's also kind of wimpy and the most physical thing he ever does is disable a bad guy by flicking a playing card at him.

 

-Alan Davies is terrific. Creek is obviously an amazingly gifted guy, but he also plays him as pretty relatable and down to Earth.

There are R1 Jonathan Creek DVDs for sale at places like BArnes and Noble stores. As a QI / Tuesday Club fan, i found Davies entertaining in these. And once i found Julia Sawalha was his companion for a while, double thumbs up.

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Mentioned it in the TV thread but Sherlock was just..not good. It's never a good thing when a series becomes too self-aware and that's exactly what happened here. Maybe a comedy show like The Simpsons can pull it off, but not a drama.

 

It spent most of the first hour literally re-inacting terrible fan theories from tumblr, and then in the last half hour futilely tried to make it serious again.  

 

Elementary is hindered by a procedural format and way too many episodes to fill, but you know, at least it takes itself seriously and everyone involved feels like a real person. Lucy Lui's frigging pony tail has more emotional depth than anyone in Sherlock right now.

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I almost turned off Sherlock at least twice.

And, while i dont blame him, i don't know if it was wise for Moffet to have a bit where his audience thinks he is mocking them. If you want to send up internet shippers, you don't need to use a stereotypical fat goth girl.

And couldnt hep but think of V for Vendetta with the main plot.

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So, what're the best UK double act sketch shows? Fry and Laurie is obviously gold. I loved Alas Smith and Jones in junior high, but haven't seen it in 20 years. Mitchell and Webb had some glorious moments but could be pretty damn lazy. (Still sad it's no longer on any of the major streaming sites.) so given that I like the format, what should I be looking for?

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Speaking of documentaries, I check out Louis Theroux's tv documentaries every now and then when I can find them.  Of course, check out The Most Hated Family In America documentary(I think it's his most famous one and probably on youtube somewhere) and his second one on them, where he goes back to the family for an update.  I'm pretty sure he has done a wrestling documentary too, but I haven't seen that one and it's probably outdated by now.

 

Most of the documentaries I've seen from him lean more toward the entertainment side than continuously spitting facts at you, especially since Theroux is on camera and usually embeds himself within the topic of the documentary.  Your tolerance of Louis Theroux's mannerisms and narration style may vary.  I don't mind his style.
 

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All of the docs he's done are worth watching I would say, particularly the newer ones. The Johannesburg one really stands out, as do the Miami prison ones. The wrestling one was much earlier. Louis gets on the wrong side of some dickhead WCW power plant trainer. The short interview with Raven slays me every time.

Hard luck Pistol Pez.

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I almost turned off Sherlock at least twice.

And, while i dont blame him, i don't know if it was wise for Moffet to have a bit where his audience thinks he is mocking them. If you want to send up internet shippers, you don't need to use a stereotypical fat goth girl.

And couldnt hep but think of V for Vendetta with the main plot.

 

Also, "the solution" to the fall thing...

 

direct rip off from a Jonathan Creek episode.

 

In fairness, maybe they could get away with a "comedy" episode if they had more time. But when you've got only three shows a season, I'm not sure you can waste a huge amount of time mocking tumblr fans and patting yourself on the back for making a hit show.

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