Favourite TV shows ?

Quote from Gabble Ratchet

Thank God, for that! We've had our fill of 'Neighbours' and "Home & Away" (Lol)

I don't watch those, any more than I ever watched Coronation Street. I did watch EastEnders for a time.

We did use to make some decent cop shows back in the 60s, the best being Homicide. There were a couple of decent costume dramas like Rush (about the goldrush era) & The Dismissal which was about the Whitlam Government in the early 70s. I watched a recent show called Cleverman, about indigenous issues, only because Iain Glen from Game of Thrones was in it.

My Mom, being a Brit ex-patriot, loved Coronation Street. Eastenders was televised here in the states. We watched that too.

Other great shows that made it here were Ballykissangel, Poirot, Inspector Morse, Fawlty Towers, Benny Hill, Jonathan Creek, Father Ted, As Time Goes By, Doc Martin, Downton Abbey, Cracker, Monarch Of The Glen.

We LOVE them all!!

How could I forget Hyacinth and Keeping Up Appearances?

Quote from CountingOutTime

My Mom, being a Brit ex-patriot, loved Coronation Street. Eastenders was televised here in the states. We watched that too.

Other great shows that made it here were Ballykissangel, Poirot, Inspector Morse, Fawlty Towers, Benny Hill, Jonathan Creek, Father Ted, As Time Goes By, Doc Martin, Downton Abbey, Cracker, Monarch Of The Glen.

We LOVE them all!!

IMO, Fawlty Towers was the comedy of the 70's, and Father Ted (same initials ) the comedy of the 90's. So, I hear you ask (I have very good hearing) what was it in the 80's? Red Dwarf, a sci-fi comedy that maybe overstayed it's welcome, but when it was good, it was very good. Ignore the US remake, it sucks, apparently, you need the original. And for the Noughties, and still going strong, Not Going Out, a sitcom by UK comedian Lee Mack, can't say if it would travel well, though.

Quote from Gabble Ratchet

Thank God, for that! We've had our fill of 'Neighbours' and "Home & Away" (Lol)

Not me, I love Neighbours, it's one of the most unintentionally hilarious shows ever.

Here's how a character leaves Neighbours. This happened pretty much as described:

After many anxious looks and egging-on by others, she has a bash at writing a piece for the Erinsborough News. It gets accepted and published. She is seen holding the paper and laughing with delight at having got the piece published. Just then the phone rings, she answers and says "Yes speaking. Really? No! Seriously?! Yeah, great, thanks!" Puts the phone down and says to the others "That was the New York Times, they've seen my piece and want me to be their International Correspondent. I've got to pack, I'm flying out there this afternoon!" Packs, gets in taxi, never seen or referred to again.

That sort of life change happens a lot and can also include people moving into or out of other people's houses amid the astonishingly fluid accommodation arrangements on Ramsay Street.

Erinsborough High School has one small classroom and about 8 students, all apparently in their mid-20s. It's not unknown for a student to almost immediately become a teacher and then head or deputy head in the space of 1-2 episodes.

The entire gym seems to be smaller than most people's kitchens. Despite the smallness of everything though, it's possible to take two steps away from someone and have a completely private conversation about them without their hearing any of it. Conversely, a character can be on the opposite side of a busy road and watch with horror as two people with their backs to him have a scheming conversation about him while he hears every detail.

It's a fascinating and hysterically funny little world, Erinsborough. Anyway sorry, a bit off-topic as I can't really include Neighbours as a favourite show, inadvertently entertaining as it is.

The mentions of Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister above remind me that it too should be on my list, along with their 21st century analogue The Thick Of It, which in turn reminds me The Day Today is up there too.

Quote from foxfeeder

IMO, Fawlty Towers was the comedy of the 70's, and Father Ted (same initials ) the comedy of the 90's. So, I hear you ask (I have very good hearing) what was it in the 80's? Red Dwarf, a sci-fi comedy that maybe overstayed it's welcome, but when it was good, it was very good. Ignore the US remake, it sucks, apparently, you need the original. And for the Noughties, and still going strong, Not Going Out, a sitcom by UK comedian Lee Mack, can't say if it would travel well, though.

Red Dwarf really hit its stride from series IV to VI, with a few from II and III getting honourable mentions too. From IV, White Hole is an absolute classic. "It's a felt-ripper. That planet's off the table and into someone's pint!"

Not Going Out was at its best while Tim Vine was still in it, in my view. There were still some good ones after he left, but I think it was a mistake to keep it going after the marriage, which felt like the logical place to end the show. I have a real soft spot for series 1, pre-Lucy. Partly through having a bit of a thing for Megan Dodds.

I went to the recording of the camping episode. Mack was surprisingly irascible and irritable during the session, but of course not everyone is like their public persona (or it was an off-day for him).

Quote from Noni

I used to love when either ITV or the BBC had difficulties or had extra time on their hands, they used to play a Fred Quimby Cartoon in between to fill this gap. Loved it!!....

Love Bugs Bunny too!!....

YES!! Id completely forgotten about those timing errors. You're right, they used to stick on a cartoon to fill the gap. What a great bonus that was!

Quote from Backdrifter

Not me, I love Neighbours, it's one of the most unintentionally hilarious shows ever.

Here's how a character leaves Neighbours. This happened pretty much as described:

After many anxious looks and egging-on by others, she has a bash at writing a piece for the Erinsborough News. It gets accepted and published. She is seen holding the paper and laughing with delight at having got the piece published. Just then the phone rings, she answers and says "Yes speaking. Really? No! Seriously?! Yeah, great, thanks!" Puts the phone down and says to the others "That was the New York Times, they've seen my piece and want me to be their International Correspondent. I've got to pack, I'm flying out there this afternoon!" Packs, gets in taxi, never seen or referred to again.

That sort of life change happens a lot and can also include people moving into or out of other people's houses amid the astonishingly fluid accommodation arrangements on Ramsay Street.

Erinsborough High School has one small classroom and about 8 students, all apparently in their mid-20s. It's not unknown for a student to almost immediately become a teacher and then head or deputy head in the space of 1-2 episodes.

The entire gym seems to be smaller than most people's kitchens. Despite the smallness of everything though, it's possible to take two steps away from someone and have a completely private conversation about them without their hearing any of it. Conversely, a character can be on the opposite side of a busy road and watch with horror as two people with their backs to him have a scheming conversation about him while he hears every detail.

It's a fascinating and hysterically funny little world, Erinsborough. Anyway sorry, a bit off-topic as I can't really include Neighbours as a favourite show, inadvertently entertaining as it is.

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..and let's not forget 'Eastenders', where absolutely nobody owns a washing machine and everyone, and I mean everyone, barges into anyone else's front room on the slightest whim

Quote from Backdrifter

Well, I'd distinguish from 'scary', I don't think I was ever scared by it as such. It's hard to explain but I just didn't like them. In a way it was probably even worse when I caught one or two as an adult! It seemed like a load of formless gibbering and silly noises and while normally that would just be dull and/or annoying, in this case it kind of bothered me. I have one theory, probably daft but here goes - there were kids at school I couldn't stand because they were kind of like that. Obviously they didn't look like that! But they sort of acted like that - they just gabbled and acted stupid to the point it seemed there was no reason or normality or a proper person in there at all, so they might just as well be in those stupid costumes. I've met some of them in adulthood too. There are loads of them on twitter as well.

So I'm thinking that certainly my adult reaction to them might be drawn from that memory!

I have a similar experience to this. I was a bit young when this show was around (it originally aired from '68-70, so my memories will stem from repeats as I'd only just started school when it finished) but anyone who's seen it will know that the characters career around like dodgems knocking into each and everything in their path. It became a great vehicle for the class thugs who would lark around mimicking the characters in the show and thumping into anyone who got in their way. A bit of a pain really!

Quote from Gabble Ratchet

..and let's not forget 'Eastenders', where absolutely nobody owns a washing machine and everyone, and I mean everyone, barges into anyone else's front room on the slightest whim

Friends. The characters spend all their time either in the same huge apartment which seems far too expensive for people on their salaries, or in the coffee bar. Frasier. Would a DJ no matter how well paid have an apartment with the most spectacular view in Seattle?

Quote from FeelItComing

Friends. The characters spend all their time either in the same huge apartment which seems far too expensive for people on their salaries, or in the coffee bar. Frasier. Would a DJ no matter how well paid have an apartment with the most spectacular view in Seattle?

Well technically Frazier before moving to Seattle was a Doctor who had a successful practice in Boston (Cheers) which is not a cheap place to live. I didn't find his apartment or lifestyle to be that hard to believe to be honest. Now if it was Martin's place and Frazier just lived there, that would be hard to believe on a retired policeman's salary.

I also seem to remember something about the ladies apartment on Friends as being a rent controlled apartment. Otherwise I'd agree 100% that place with a terrace would be way out of their league considering their jobs.