Rise of international TV (1 Viewer)

[WaveCrest]

Highly recommend Waking the Dead, which was sadly dropped by the BBC after nine series. It's spin-off series The Body Farm aired earlier this autumn, and was good, but if renewed it needs some work done to it to improve the quality.

Later...with Jools Holland is well worth watching. A late night music programme with something like six or seven artists on each week, sharing the studio.

 

[mattCR]

It's funny looking back on this list three years ago; Life on Mars made an attempted US switch; Secret Diary had a good run on Showtime; and the Showtime rendition of Shameless comes back this spring, and I'm grateful for the differences.

The strongest version of Law & Order anywhere in the world right now is L&O:UK, it's a good way to look at old L&O cases in a whole different light. I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Downton Abbey has been one of the best shows on TV anywhere in the world.
International TV is definitely stronger now then it has ever been.

 

[WaveCrest]

Forbrydelsen II (aka The Killing II) has more of a political feel to it than in the first series. But six episodes into this second series (two more double bills to go), it's getting very interesting. Sofie Grabol fully deserves the praise she gets. Aside from being attractive (but looking usually miserable in the series), she can act (very well) and is refreshing in a well trodden genre.

Case Sensitive, a detective drama which starred Olivia Williams, started off as a two-part pilot earlier this year. The last I read, a further episode or two has been ordered by ITV.

DCI Banks, started off as a two-part pilot on ITV in September 2010. A further three two-parters aired this autumn. Hopefully more adaptations of the Peter Robinson books will follow, as this is worth watching. Stephen Tompkinson in this is a world away from that of Wild at Heart (in which he plays animal vet Danny Travanion), which is returning for a seventh series in the New Year.

Above Suspicion usually has a new story air at the start of the New Year, so there may be a fourth story in January. This detective series stars Ciaran Hinds.

EDIT: A fourth Above Suspicion story, "Silent Scream" is currently airing on ITV1.

 

[WaveCrest]

The original Austrailian Wilfred TV series is being released in the UK by Fabulous Films. The BBFC passed both two series this week (each consisting of eight episodes).

 

[Hanson]

Misfits, about a bunch of work release 20-somethings with super powers in the UK is doing some good stuff in season three. Not as strong as the first two seasons (they're still trying to make their way back from having lost their most dynamic cast member), it's still wickedly funny even if it's 10%-15% incomprehensible to my American ears.

Waiting patiently for the new season of The IT Crowd and the InBetweeners movie.

I used to watch the Australian version of SYTYCD, but that got axed after three seasons.

 

[WaveCrest]

Top of the Pops, a long running UK music programme, is currently being repeated on BBC Four on Thursday evenings. The next edition (some editions were wiped by the BBC, so when an edition no longer exists in the BBC archives, The Sky at Night is shown instead) will be from December 1976.

 

[mattCR]

Yeah, IT Crowd is a must. I have to say, I wondered if it would come about. The rumors about a Black Adder reunion series are too tempting for me, I'm just hoping it comes off.

 

[WaveCrest]

Mongrels - shown in the UK on BBC Three, a puppet comedy about a group of dogs.

Also, the Austrailian TV film series BlackJack, starring Colin Friels and Maria Dusseldorp. About an ex-detective who works on cold cases in the basement of a police building. Available on Region 4 DVD (two boxsets).

 

[mattCR]

Downton Abbey Christmas Special should air soon.. VERY much looking forward to it; that is an absolutely incredible ensemble cast. It's fantastic casting, great scripts and the production quality on it is fantastic.

 

[WaveCrest]

Downton Abbey did very well in the ratings for it's second series. A third series is in the works. It will likely be one of the very few ITV shows which will finish in the Christmas Day Top 10 TV ratings (the last few years the BBC have had the majority of shows in the Top 10).

A comedy news quiz which I highly recommend is Have I Got News for You, which has been running now for around 20 years on the BBC. Also worth recommending is Mock the Week, a comedy panel news quiz.

Don't know if this has been shown in the US, but Republic of Doyle is worth watching. The third series is due to start in Canada on CBC next month (the show airs in the UK on Alibi). It's about a father and son private detective agency in St. John's, Newfoundland. It reminds me a bit of The Rockford Files.

 

[WaveCrest]

Originally Posted by mattCR /t/280499/rise-of-international-tv#post_3879697
Downton Abbey Christmas Special should air soon.. VERY much looking forward to it; that is an absolutely incredible ensemble cast. It's fantastic casting, great scripts and the production quality on it is fantastic.

Premiering on ITV1 (in the UK) on Christmas Day evening/night.


*****

The Night Shift - Icelandic comedy series set at a petrol station during the night shift. Three series were made, followed by a feature film.

 

[mattCR]

Yep, I saw it pop up on the ITV Schedule and already have it locked on my DVR. I loved season 2, so I'm hoping this really has something to it.

 

[WaveCrest]

Just in case you didn't know about this, there was an hour-long making of Downton Abbey programme on ITV1 tonight.

Also, the BBFC passed today the Christmas special for it's Region 2 (UK) release, and the second series will be released on both DVD and Blu-ray.

 

[mattCR]

Yep, I saw that. The problem with subscribing to ITV over the net, is the best you get is (roughly) 720P.. and it's a not-full-bitrate 720P. So I will snag the sets. I haven't figured out how to get the BBC Player integrated into my media center where I can record it; that's a real negative... I can KIND OF make it work, but it's a big PITA. ITV player is so straightforward to work with. Hell, once you put in your proxy or gateway, you're set.. all good. BBC's is an annoying piece of trash in comparison. You'd think they'd just let us pay the fee and watch without all the annoyance.
Thank goodness for the ITV staff and others (thank you Stephen Fry, who's voice not only charms kids with Harry Potter but still makes me laugh in BlackAdder/Fry&Laurie) for posting the right proxies.
Now that I have a global VPN client for our office in the UK, I have no problem hooking in.

 

[MikeFR]

Just burned through The Hour (BBC 6 part miniseries) on Netflix. Great show. It's like Madmen except stuff actually happens . (I do like Madmen)
It's basically part 50's period piece/spy thriller/political thriller with Madmen office politics. There are a couple weak points and distractions in the plot, but overall I thought it was really good. So much so that I watched it all in one sitting.
It's self contained, but was picked up for a second season which I'm looking forward to.

 

[WaveCrest]

Don't know if these two long running UK medical drama/soap opera series are shown in the US, but Casualty and spin-off series Holby City are worth checking out. There was a second spin-off called Holby Blue (a police series), but it only lasted two series before it ended. Casualty celebrated it's 25th anniversary back in September (although the BBC didn't do anything to mark the anniversary, like a documentary about the series). Holby City has been on the air since 1999 and is set in Holby General. Casualty is set in the ED of the hospital.

 

[Hanson]

Originally Posted by mattCR /t/280499/rise-of-international-tv#post_3878119
Yeah, IT Crowd is a must. I have to say, I wondered if it would come about.

Sadly, there will be no season 5:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15404501

There may be a movie. Speaking of movies, the InBetweeners movie was pretty good. I wouldn't mind a send off like that for The IT Crowd.

 

[WaveCrest]

New Austrailian drama series Underbelly starting this week in the UK on FX, although it's been running since 2008 in Austrailia (a fourth series finished last November). A Region 1 set of the first three series was released last December. Below is a TVShowsOnDVD news article about the boxset:


Underbelly: The Trilogy - 3 Seasons [Uncut] Uncensored - TVShowsOnDVD.com news article

 

[mattCR]

Originally Posted by Hanson /t/280499/rise-of-international-tv/30#post_3884383
Sadly, there will be no season 5:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15404501

There may be a movie. Speaking of movies, the InBetweeners movie was pretty good. I wouldn't mind a send off like that for The IT Crowd.

Too bad. One of the most consistently zany and over the top comedies on TV.. so many great moments.
We had a moment at work today which made me directly think of IT Crowd as we had to deal with an end user who just didn't get it.

 

[Hanson]

Did they turn off and turn it back on?