Streaming Recommendations (Netflix, HBO, Amazon, etc.)

Quote: TheCesspit

Midsomer Murders is conveyor belt TV..
.

It's what the series Bones is to US TV.
Been on forever and it's pure drek.
Unwatchable if you're looking for
any kind of quality.

NCIS is the real thing. 14 seasons and
still going strong. It's the only serious
police drama I ever saw that skilfully
manages to get humor into just about
every scene. I marvel at how they do it.
It's the constant interaction of the main
characters with each other, their quirky
personalities lighten the somber theme,
which is always solving a murder.

It's not like real life at at all, I suppose
that's what makes it so watchable.

Quote: Evenbob

It's what the series Bones is to US TV. Been on forever and it's pure drek.

As of 17 February 2016, 110 episodes have been broadcast of Midsomer Murders, comprising 18 series (maximum of 8 in one series). Bones is going to end with 246 episodes. Bones would never have the viewership to survive on CBS, but with the lower expectations of Fox Network the show lasted 12 years.

The origins of ITV lie in the passing of the Television Act 1954, designed to break the monopoly on television held by the BBC Television Service. ITV has plenty of the shows like Murder She Wrote and Britain's Got Talent, along with Coronation Street which has aired since 1960.

But it has some quality shows like: Endeavour , Broadchurch, and Mr Selfridge.

Quote: Pacomartin

Endeavour , Broadchurch, and Mr Selfridge.

I haven't watched Broadchurch because there's
only 16 ep's and the 3rd season is it's last.
You just start to like a show and they cancel
it.

Quote: Evenbob

I haven't watched Broadchurch because there's
only 16 ep's and the 3rd season is it's last.
You just start to like a show and they cancel
it.

You can watch Gracepoint, if you want to watch a crappy version that's only on for 10 episodes. It was weird comparing them... the dialogue and plotting is very similar, but the difference is immense. I only sat through Gracepoint as it was filmed here. Otherwise I'd have not got past episode 2. Anna Gunn ain't very good, David Tennant was miscast playing a grizzled American detective and the rest of the cast struggled or was under used. Nick Nolte was probably the best of them.

But what do I know... it got a half decent score on Metacritic it seems, and David Tennant won an award for his role.

I said I was going to watch half an ep and
I couldn't do it. The first of the 2nd season
was so good I watched it all.

There was a VG TV mini series in the early
80's called Winds of War. I thought it did
an excellent job with the production values
in capturing the war era, Foyle I think is
even better. They especially do a good
job with the day to day Brit life, decorating
the homes with Victorian bric-a-brac from
the previous era.

"Bric-à-brac or bric-a-brac (origin French), first used in the Victorian era, refers to lesser objets d'art forming collections of curios, such as elaborately decorated teacups and small vases, compositions of feathers or wax flowers under glass domes, decorated eggshells, porcelain figurines, painted miniatures or photographs in stand-up frames, and so on."

Whoever was the set decorator for this
show certainly knew their business.
Bric-a-brac is everywhere and it adds
to the charm of the production. How
time consuming it must have been
to get it all just right.

Quote: Evenbob

I haven't watched Broadchurch because there's only 16 ep's and the 3rd season is it's last.

There are only 40 episodes of Mr. Selfridge. Since it is biographical, they essentially finished his life.

Inspector Morse is a fictional character, but the novels were written between 1975 and 1999. The TV series aired from 1987 to 2000.

Endeavor is a series (13 episodes so far) that starts in 1965 so it's time frame is supposed to be 1965-1975. Colin Dexter, the author of the novels is age 85. Endeavor will end once the time line is closed. They have stated that they will not try and continue the series with a new actor. The implication is that there will never be more than about 20-40 episodes.

British television is fundamentally different than American TV. A run of 13 episodes is more or less considered a bare minimum in American TV for a year. I don't think there are many British shows other than Coronation Street that air more than 13 episodes in a year.

Quote: Pacomartin

British television is fundamentally different than American TV. A run of 13 episodes is more or less considered a bare minimum in American TV for a year. I don't think there are many British shows other than Coronation Street that air more than 13 episodes in a year.

Eastenders and Casualty. One is a soap like Coronation Street. The other is a weekly medical drama, that started out small, and has now passed 1000 episodes.

Some of the kids TV shows possibly have more than 13 episodes a year.

But serious drama or sitcoms... not really at all.

These are the top rated shows in GB. The
top 10 I've heard of, most of the rest not.

http://www.imdb.com/search/title?countries=gb&sort=moviemeter&title_type=tv_series

Quote: Evenbob

These are the top rated shows in GB. The
top 10 I've heard of, most of the rest not.

http://www.imdb.com/search/title?countries=gb&sort=moviemeter&title_type=tv_series

Makes sense, you tend to only hear about the good/popular stuff out of any group your not directly in. Plus there's a lot of bad TV made in the UK...just like in the US...

"The Librarians" has 10 ep seasons. It's frustrating because you can only see it a little bit at a time, assuming there's even a third season...

On the other hand, they deal with one super villain per season. The villain is not on every ep, but in many of them. At the end of the season, they invariably defeat him decisively.