Bluemoon's Official Top 100 TV Shows

FogBlueInSanFran said:
OK, now you’ve done it. I think I pay pretty close attention, and whatever our collective sense of humo(u)r, the specific sense as written in Seinfeld is going to be smarter, better and funnier than an awful lot of Britcoms and US sitcoms that will rank above it — not to mention the longevity of Seinfeld. And I’m going to beat this drum over and over.
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I had 9 comedies in my list - 4 American and 5 British - plus 2 more American ones (Seinfeld & Scrubs) that just missed out. None of my British choices have featured yet, but 4 of the 6 American ones have (Seinfeld, Frasier, The US Office and, my top pick, The Larry Sanders Show). Quality writing is quality writing on both sides of the pond, and shite is shite! What makes the good American ones stand out even further is their longevity. 100, 150, 200 episodes, no problem!
 
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FogBlueInSanFran said:
OK, now you’ve done it. I think I pay pretty close attention, and whatever our collective sense of humo(u)r, the specific sense as written in Seinfeld is going to be smarter, better and funnier than an awful lot of Britcoms and US sitcoms that will rank above it — not to mention the longevity of Seinfeld. And I’m going to beat this drum over and over.
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See...no sense of humour

;-)
 
Love/Hate was a brilliantly brutal show.

I remember Channel 5 showed the first season, only four episodes, but didn’t take the option of showing the following seasons and I don’t think it’s been shown on any other U.K. channel. Madness really as I’ve never known anyone who didn’t love it.

I noticed all seasons are on BritBox now, would recommend to anyone who hasn’t seen it.
 
Right, when's the next batch out.

Give me something I've at least seen damn it!
 
64. The Thick Of It 6/63

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The Thick of It is a British comedy television series that satirises the inner workings of British government. Written and directed by Armando Iannucci, it was first broadcast for two short series on BBC Four in 2005, initially with a small cast focusing on a government minister, his advisers and their party's spin-doctor. The cast was significantly expanded for two hour-long specials to coincide with Christmas and Gordon Brown's appointment as prime minister in 2007, which saw new characters forming the opposition party added to the cast. These characters continued when the show switched channels to BBC Two for its third series in 2009. A fourth series about a coalition government was broadcast in 2012, with the last episode transmitted on 27 October 2012.

The series has been described as the 21st century's answer to Yes Minister. It highlights the struggles and conflicts between politicians, party spin doctors, advisers, civil servants and the media. In similar fashion to Yes Minister, the political parties involved are never mentioned by name, although the context makes clear which is which particularly during Series 4 when the real life government coalition between the Conservatives and the Lib Dems is reflected in the show.


64. Shameless 6/63

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Shameless is a British comedy series set in Manchester on the fictional Chatsworth council estate, created and partially written by Paul Abbott, who is also the programme's executive producer. Produced by Company Pictures for Channel 4, the series aired from 13 January 2004 to 28 May 2013. The comedy drama, centred on British working-class culture, was accorded critical acclaim by various sections of the British media, including the newspaper The Sun and Newsnight Review on BBC Two. In 2005, the show won Best Drama Series at the BAFTA TV Awards and Best TV Comedy Drama at the British Comedy Awards. The network Showtime created an American version of the series (also called Shameless), which debuted in 2011.


63. The Bridge 5/64

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The Bridge is a Nordic noir crime television series created and written by Hans Rosenfeldt. A joint creative and financed production between Sweden's Sveriges Television and Denmark's Danmarks Radio, it has been shown in more than 100 countries.

The first series begins with the discovery of a dead body exactly on the Denmark–Sweden border, the centre of the Øresund Bridge, which links Malmö with Copenhagen, necessitating a joint investigation. Sofia Helin, as the Swedish police detective Saga Norén, stars in all four series. In the first and second, her Danish counterpart, Martin Rohde, is played by Kim Bodnia, and in the third and fourth Thure Lindhardt plays Henrik Sabroe.


62. Dr Who 6/66

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Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC since 1963. The programme depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called "the Doctor", an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the universe in a time-travelling space ship called the TARDIS. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. With various companions, the Doctor combats foes, works to save civilisations and helps people in need.

The show is a significant part of British popular culture, and elsewhere it has gained a cult following. It has influenced generations of British television professionals, many of whom grew up watching the series. The programme originally ran from 1963 to 1989. There was an unsuccessful attempt to revive regular production in 1996 with a backdoor pilot, in the form of a television film titled Doctor Who. The programme was relaunched in 2005, and since then has been produced in-house by BBC Wales in Cardiff. Doctor Who has also spawned numerous spin-offs, including comic books, films, novels, audio dramas, and the television series Torchwood (2006–2011), The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–2011), K-9 (2009–2010), and Class (2016), and has been the subject of many parodies and references in popular culture.

Beginning with William Hartnell, thirteen actors have headlined the series as the Doctor, and in 2017 Jodie Whittaker became the first woman to play the role. The transition from one actor to another is written into the plot of the show with the concept of regeneration into a new incarnation, a plot device in which a Time Lord "transforms" into a new body when the current one is too badly harmed to heal normally. Each actor's portrayal is unique, but all represent stages in the life of the same character, and together, they form a single lifetime with a single narrative. The time-travelling feature of the plot means that different incarnations of the Doctor occasionally meet.


61. Grange Hill 6/67

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Grange Hill is a British children's television drama series, made by the BBC and portraying life in a typical comprehensive school.

The show began its run on 8 February 1978 on BBC1, and was one of the longest-running programmes on British television when it ended its run on 15 September 2008. It was created by Phil Redmond, who is also responsible for the Channel 4 dramas Brookside and Hollyoaks; other notable production team members down the years have included producer Colin Cant and script editor Anthony Minghella.

After 30 years, the show was cancelled in 2008, as it was felt by the BBC that the series had run its course.
 
The Bridge is #2 on my list.

Utterly engrossing, fabulous characters, exciting storylines and atmospheric locations. Don't think I've ever seen a series where the cliffhangers are as good as this in just about every episode.

Series #1 was so good, I was worried whether #2 would be a let down but, no, they did it again. Then, without giving too much away, you think that's the end of the road. Nope, in comes Henrik with a shady backstory and series #3 is possibly even better! Wrapped up nicely in series #4.

If you've never watched a subtitled show - start here. It was the show that finally convinced my wife to watch foreign series and we've watched plenty since. But none are as good as this.

I wrote a spoiler-free analysis of the series for my blog a couple of years ago:-

monkeyarkwright.wordpress.com

TV Review – The Bridge

Introduction Writing this review is difficult for two reasons. One: I’ve just watched the final episode of The Bridge series 4, and although we are in a golden age of television, I’m a little sad t…
monkeyarkwright.wordpress.com monkeyarkwright.wordpress.com
 
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