State of Play

[mweb]

I thought there was a thread on this, but I can't find it.

Anyway, has anyone seen this great BBC miniseries?

If not, I highly recommend it. Tremendous TV.

[Spoonless]

Really, I think people have no idea what they're missing by not watching BBC series. So many great series.

[mweb]

Really, I think people have no idea what they're missing by not watching BBC series. So many great series.

I'm going to give Downton Abbey a chance once season 1 becomes available on DVD. I'm recording season 2.

Anything else you'd suggest? Luther?

[Spoonless]

Luther
Sherlock
Wire in the Blood
MI-5
The Take
Jekyll
The Last Enemy
To the Ends of the Earth

From memory, those are the series I've watched on Netflix, and all have been excellent. Most definitely check out Luther and Sherlock.

[Lucky Jim]

Luther
Sherlock
Wire in the Blood
MI-5
The Take
Jekyll
The Last Enemy
To the Ends of the Earth

From memory, those are the series I've watched on Netflix, and all have been excellent. Most definitely check out Luther and Sherlock.

First, let me say that State of Play is some of the best television I've ever seen. And I do love me some Kelly MacDonald.

I agree that Luther and Sherlock are worth watching - particularly the latter. I think Idris Elba is great, and great in Luther, but it's so self-serious and stretches into the kind of melodrama that strains belief at times. Sherlock is just very well-done. Well-cast, well-written. Funny. Clever.

I've watched all of Wire in the Blood, too. Pretty good show. Robson Greene, in the main role, is excellent, though it lacks some of the production value and sharpness of first-class British television. I haven't, yet, really been able to get into MI-5. The good news is that all of these two shows are free streaming on Netflix. I think the first season of Sherlock and even Luther may be as well.

In terms of classic British television, anyone who hasn't watched Prime Suspect - the standard bearer - really needs to sit down and do so. Also, if you can find it, from around the same time, there's a fantastic crime drama starring Robbie Coltrane called Cracker, where he plays a trainwreck of a criminal psychologist. A great watch.

[Spoonless]

I agree that Luther and Sherlock are worth watching - particularly the latter. I think Idris Elba is great, and great in Luther, but it's so self-serious and stretches into the kind of melodrama that strains belief at times. Sherlock is just very well-done. Well-cast, well-written. Funny. Clever.

The second series of Luther was a bit of a let-down after the first series, IMO. I do still like it, though.

Sherlock might be my favorite recent production on television, period. The second series should be on PBS in March, but it's already aired on BBC, and I bought the DVD so I didn't have to wait. The casting is superb, and they do a most excellent job adapting the classic Sherlock Holmes stories to a modern setting.

I'm also amused that both leads in Sherlock are in the new Hobbit movie. Martin Freeman (Watson) plays Bilbo, and Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) plays Smaug.

I somehow failed to mention Prime Suspect, which is really must-see television.

Also, Traffik is supposed to be very good but I haven't watched it myself.

[Lucky Jim]

The second series of Luther was a bit of a let-down after the first series, IMO. I do still like it, though.

Sherlock might be my favorite recent production on television, period. The second series should be on PBS in March, but it's already aired on BBC, and I bought the DVD so I didn't have to wait. The casting is superb, and they do a most excellent job adapting the classic Sherlock Holmes stories to a modern setting.

I'm also amused that both leads in Sherlock are in the new Hobbit movie. Martin Freeman (Watson) plays Bilbo, and Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) plays Smaug.

I somehow failed to mention Prime Suspect, which is really must-see television.

Also, Traffik is supposed to be very good but I haven't watched it myself.

I liked the first season of Whitechapel, too. Which I forgot to mention. Traffik is also available on Netflix streaming, though I haven't watched it, either.