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Any decent TV series?

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zico
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Re: Any decent TV series?

#117586

Postby zico » February 12th, 2018, 12:38 pm

Agree with you on 'Lark Rise to Candleford' - it's my one weakness!
I'm not usually keen on this sort of series, but there are just so many good characters. Surely it can't be beyond some writer to come up with new material for these characters.

AleisterCrowley
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Re: Any decent TV series?

#117614

Postby AleisterCrowley » February 12th, 2018, 2:25 pm

SalvorHardin wrote:...

Anyway, the others that worked well that I've rewatched and can highly recommend are: The Sopranos, Babylon 5, China Beach, Northern Exposure, plus Our Friends in the North and Lovejoy (the two British shows on my list), finishing with the more modern Deadwood where I've just finished the first series.

...

I really liked the first Lovejoy series but thought it had lost something when it came back after a multi- year gap.
Amazingly I was watching the first series when I was away at poly - that long ago (1986) :-(

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Re: Any decent TV series?

#117748

Postby JMN2 » February 12th, 2018, 10:01 pm

AleisterCrowley wrote:
SalvorHardin wrote:...

Anyway, the others that worked well that I've rewatched and can highly recommend are: The Sopranos, Babylon 5, China Beach, Northern Exposure, plus Our Friends in the North and Lovejoy (the two British shows on my list), finishing with the more modern Deadwood where I've just finished the first series.

...

I really liked the first Lovejoy series but thought it had lost something when it came back after a multi- year gap.
Amazingly I was watching the first series when I was away at poly - that long ago (1986) :-(


On Saturdays we'd always come back from the Sauna by 9pm when Lovejoy would be on. :lol:

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Re: Any decent TV series?

#117754

Postby AleisterCrowley » February 12th, 2018, 10:18 pm

Another one I miss, from even longer ago, is Shoestring.
Very rarely repeated, and then severely cut apparently (music licencing?)
I did manage to get Series 1 on DVD a few years back and happy to say it was as good as I remembered -from way back in 1979!
Didn't look like Series 2 (1980) would ever appear, but having just checked the Beeb have now released a series 1+2 box set (for £45 ouch)
Means I have to effectively buy Series 1 again, but I probably will

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Re: Any decent TV series?

#117784

Postby JMN2 » February 13th, 2018, 7:54 am

AleisterCrowley wrote:Another one I miss, from even longer ago, is Shoestring.
Very rarely repeated, and then severely cut apparently (music licencing?)
I did manage to get Series 1 on DVD a few years back and happy to say it was as good as I remembered -from way back in 1979!
Didn't look like Series 2 (1980) would ever appear, but having just checked the Beeb have now released a series 1+2 box set (for £45 ouch)
Means I have to effectively buy Series 1 again, but I probably will


I remember it, Radioetsivä ie "Radio Detective" was the translation.

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Re: Any decent TV series?

#117800

Postby AleisterCrowley » February 13th, 2018, 8:52 am

"Bristol Noir" perhaps ?
Looks dated of course, but that's part of the appeal. All the 1979 cars, music, and prices...
And Bristol as it was, although the interior stuff, and some of the exteriors were shot in Ealing (where i lived in the mid 90s)
The 'Radio West' building was BT Bristol I think- now, inevitably, student flats.

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Re: Any decent TV series?

#117817

Postby Mike88 » February 13th, 2018, 10:00 am

Another excellent early series was Life on Mars:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_on_M ... _TV_series)

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Re: Any decent TV series?

#117837

Postby SalvorHardin » February 13th, 2018, 11:18 am

AleisterCrowley wrote:I really liked the first Lovejoy series but thought it had lost something when it came back after a multi- year gap.
Amazingly I was watching the first series when I was away at poly - that long ago (1986) :-(

The big difference is that series one closely followed the books, which have much nastier plots (and more murders) than the later series (for which they had fewer books to follow).

The books have a very different tone to the TV series. In order to make it acceptable to the BBC they had to make considerable changes to some characters, notably Lovejoy (if they filmed the books the BBC would never have broacast it on a Sunday evening). Lovejoy is not the loveable rogue of the TV series; he's quite vicious, prone to violence (including against women) and will rip off anyone if he thinks that he can get away with it. Tinker is an alcoholic tramp who stinks the place out. There's no Eric nor Lady Jane (Jane Felsham in the books is a minor character who is a rival antiques dealer).

Lovejoy pops up quite often on the satellite TV channels. Potential viewers should be aware that the episodes are usually cut a bit to make them fit the timeslot with adverts (the entire uncut series has been out on DVD for several years; I just looked and Amazon do it for £38).

Fans of the TV series might like this short trailer for the BBC's Antiques Roadshow from 1991

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW3g2S6nr-g

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Re: Any decent TV series?

#117844

Postby AleisterCrowley » February 13th, 2018, 11:44 am

I've read a few of the books (by 'Jonathan Gash'*)
As you say the Lovejoy of the novels is a different character, not always likeable!
The first series seemed to take plot elements from the early books, but they were loose interpretations. The Judas Pair was probably the closest adaptation. "The Firefly Cage" is approximately "Firefly Gadroon"(book), and "Friends, Romans and Enemies" has elements of "Gold from Gemini" (book).

Oddly enough the first Lovejoy episode, "The Firefly Cage", has a lot in common with a Shoestring episode "An Uncertain Circle" - possibly because Robert Banks Stewart was involved with both series


Horrifying fact about Shoestring - the BBC wanted to set it in Slough, as it was cheaper to film there :o



*Dr John Grant, former director of bacteriology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

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Re: Any decent TV series?

#117972

Postby JMN2 » February 13th, 2018, 8:39 pm

Mike88 wrote:Another excellent early series was Life on Mars:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_on_M ... _TV_series)


Sure. If you're about 12 years old.

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Re: Any decent TV series?

#117974

Postby melonfool » February 13th, 2018, 8:43 pm

Well, I loved Life On Mars and was waaay away from 12 when I watched it.

Mel

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Re: Any decent TV series?

#117989

Postby Mike88 » February 13th, 2018, 10:29 pm

JMN2 wrote:
Mike88 wrote:Another excellent early series was Life on Mars:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_on_M ... _TV_series)


Sure. If you're about 12 years old.


I think you must be thinking of a different programme as I recall the series having excellent reviews at the time and they were not from 12 year olds.

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Re: Any decent TV series?

#118054

Postby JMN2 » February 14th, 2018, 9:22 am

Mike88 wrote:
JMN2 wrote:
Mike88 wrote:Another excellent early series was Life on Mars:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_on_M ... _TV_series)


Sure. If you're about 12 years old.


I think you must be thinking of a different programme as I recall the series having excellent reviews at the time and they were not from 12 year olds.


Yes, but the TV-series was quite recent wasn't it, from 2007 or so.

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Re: Any decent TV series?

#119681

Postby Pastcaring » February 22nd, 2018, 1:42 pm

Just had something on down here called Mum.

Forget the name of the lead actress ( it might come back),she always played upper class snobs when she was younger.

The Geordie girl from George Gently plays the ditzy girlfriend.They are the only two I know.

I think everything about it is great.Theme song seems to be ,find what you can in the kitchen and it is a percussion instrument.Great song.

Kind of a modern expanded Royle Family without the perfectly timed pauses .

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Re: Any decent TV series?

#119684

Postby Pastcaring » February 22nd, 2018, 1:46 pm

Googled it,Lesley Manville

redsturgeon
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Re: Any decent TV series?

#119765

Postby redsturgeon » February 22nd, 2018, 9:54 pm

Pastcaring wrote:Just had something on down here called Mum.

Forget the name of the lead actress ( it might come back),she always played upper class snobs when she was younger.

The Geordie girl from George Gently plays the ditzy girlfriend.They are the only two I know.

I think everything about it is great.Theme song seems to be ,find what you can in the kitchen and it is a percussion instrument.Great song.

Kind of a modern expanded Royle Family without the perfectly timed pauses .


Just finished watching the first series in two days! Great!

Series 2 has just started.

John

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Re: Any decent TV series?

#119773

Postby melonfool » February 22nd, 2018, 10:53 pm

I saw that when it was on, a couple of years ago?

Loved it, so gentle and well observed.

Will add the new series to my catch up list.

Mel

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Re: Any decent TV series?

#119816

Postby kempiejon » February 23rd, 2018, 8:37 am

melonfool wrote:Loved it, so gentle and well observed


Now that confused me as I thought i'd seen it and there were no Geordies and it was a chaotic middle class single mum's group of parent friends and her disfunctional relationship with her partner, mother and inlaws - but I have double checked and I was thinking of Motherland http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05j1jkp by comic Holly Walsh and Graham LIneham (of Ted and IT crowd) starring the very droll Diane Morgan.

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Re: Any decent TV series?

#119837

Postby redsturgeon » February 23rd, 2018, 9:20 am

kempiejon wrote:
melonfool wrote:Loved it, so gentle and well observed


Now that confused me as I thought i'd seen it and there were no Geordies and it was a chaotic middle class single mum's group of parent friends and her disfunctional relationship with her partner, mother and inlaws - but I have double checked and I was thinking of Motherland http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05j1jkp by comic Holly Walsh and Graham LIneham (of Ted and IT crowd) starring the very droll Diane Morgan.


I think she was actually married but we hardly ever see her husband.

John

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Re: Any decent TV series?

#120588

Postby Slarti » February 26th, 2018, 5:25 pm

Has anybody mentioned the Strike detective stories?

I've just watched episode 1 of series 1, as Mrs S is certain that we've seen them and is recording series 3 that is on at the moment.
I hadn't seen it, but I'm glad that I now have.

Series 1 and 2 are only available on the BBC iPlayer until about 14th March, while series 3 is on BBC1 at the moment.

Starts Tom Hardy (Porthos from The Musketeers) whitten under pseudonym by JK Rowling.

Slarti


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