CS Weekly Archive > The Big Picture > 02/23/07

The Seven Best British TV Shows

Unavailable on American DVD

By jason davis

With a new British invasion of TV imports like Hustle and Doctor Who infiltrating the cable schedules, and no shortage of PBS stations devoting weekends to U.K. comedy programs, CS Weekly thought now would be a good time to take you on a tour of quality DVD imports from old Blighty that you might not know about.

BBC Video, A&E Home Entertainment, Acorn Media, and others do a pretty good job of stocking US shelves with British TV shows, but there are dozens of great shows from across the pond that are virtually unknown to American audiences. With the advent of inexpensive DVD players capable of playing British DVDs on American TVs, as CS Weekly's DVD manager, I thought we might take this opportunity to showcase some titles worth opening your wallet (and borders) for.

If you liked The Constant Gardener or The China Syndrome, you'll like:
Edge of Darkness (1985)
Written by Troy Kennedy-Martin
A six-part thriller, Edge of Darkness was a hugely influential drama often quoted as an inspiration by today's best British scribes. When his daughter (Joanne Whalley) is gunned down in an attack meant for him, police detective Ron Craven (Bob Peck) embarks on an investigation that soon reveals that his beloved daughter had a secret life hidden from her widowed dad. Environmental themes weave in and out of the paranoid narrative that follows Craven on a hunt for the sinister powers behind his daughter's death. Stealing the screen with every appearance is American actor Joe Don Baker as CIA Special Agent Darius Jedburg, who embodies Reagan-era style of subverting foreign interests for American gain. With more twists and turns than the human intestinal tract, the story goes for the gut and finishes with Eric Clapton's score and the accompanying story haunting you for weeks.

If you liked Twin Peaks, you'll like:
Funland (2005)
Written by Simon Ashdown & Jeremy Dyson
Set in the seaside resort of Blackpool, Funland follows holidaymakers Dudley (Kris Marshall) and Lola Sutton (Sarah Smart) into the city's seedy underworld run by sinister purveyor of vice Mercy Woolf (Judy Parfitt). Mixing offbeat humor with depraved horror in a similar vein as Twin Peaks, the series serves up an array of grotesque characters and disturbing situations as the Suttons find themselves deeply in debt to Woolf's antagonistic son, Shirley (Ian Puleston-Davies), while the enigmatic Carter Krantz (Daniel Mays) searches for his mother's murderer among the city's wicked elite. Co-creator Simon Ashdown's background as a soap opera scribe insures that the cast find themselves in unexpected Dickensian relationships, while his colleague Jeremy Dyson's experience with Britain's macabre comedy troupe, The League of Gentleman, adds a dose of humor and horror to the 11-part adventure. A word of warning, though -- Funland is not for the faint of heart.

If you liked Twelve Monkeys or action-packed 1970s cop shows, you'll like:
Life on Mars (2006-2007)
Created by Matthew Graham & Tony Jordan & Ashley Pharoah
Heavily edited for running time in its 2006 US airing on BBC America, Life on Mars tells the story of Detective Sam Tyler (John Simm) who, after being hit by a car, awakens 33 years earlier to find himself serving on the Manchester police force under Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister), the antithesis of the modern, politically correct sensitive male. Unsure if he's a time traveler, a madman, or a coma patient in a present-day hospital, Sam finds he must accept his existence in 1973 and use his knowledge of the future to refine the somewhat unsophisticated methods employed by Hunt and his bullying cops while running into (and sometimes shaping the later behavior of) some of his modern-day friends and nemeses. Developed over seven years by the writers behind Hustle and MI- 5, Life on Mars offers a novel take on the fish-out-of-water scenario while indulging in some humorous social commentary interspersed with old- fashioned, cop-show action. The clash of personalities between Tyler and Hunt plays like a violent Odd Couple, and the ongoing questions behind Tyler's arrival in the '70s make for a compelling mystery. A second and final season is currently airing in the U.K., while David E. Kelley (Boston Legal) prepares an American take on the format.

If you liked the idea ofForrest Gump, but want something less sentimental and more politically savvy, you'll like:
Our Friends in the North (1996)
Written by Peter Flannery
A seminal series chronicling the lives of four friends from the North of England over some 31 years, Our Friends in the North mixes the politics of four decades with compelling characters to create a portrait of British life in Newcastle. Originally conceived as a play for the Royal Shakespeare Company, playwright Peter Flannery adapted it for television in nine parts, each set in a different year, but the series wasn't produced until after the deaths of several political figures featured in its narrative. Starring future Doctor Who lead Christopher Eccleston alongside eventual James Bond Daniel Craig, the series was lauded for its scathing social commentary and strong characterizations.

If you liked The X-Files, you'll like:
Quatermass and the Pit (1958)
Written by Nigel Kneale
Considered an influential program by the likes of Stephen King and John Carpenter, Quatermass and the Pit is the third six-part serial starring writer Nigel Kneale's rocket scientist Bernard Quatermass (André Morrell). As with its predecessors: 1953's The Quatermass Experiment and 1955's Quatermass II, many elements of the program found their way into the mythology of The X-Files and will doubtless seem eerily familiar to fans of that series. Performed live on the BBC, the story follows Quatermass' study of a bizarre artifact found in a London archeological dig. Indicative of Kneale's strong story-based narrative with an emphasis on science fiction rather than the more easily crafted genre of science fantasy, the story would later be adapted by Hammer Films, as had its predecessors. Alongside Quatermass, Kneale's standalone plays The Year of the Sex Olympics, wherein reality television rules the masses, and The Stone Tape, where a group of scientists hypothesize that a haunted house is a viable recording medium for the technology firm that employs them, are worth a look.

If you like The Stand and Jericho, you'll like:
Survivors (1975-1977)
Series devised by Terry Nation
After creating Doctor Who's principal villains the Daleks but before crafting the dystopian space opera Blake's 7, writer Terry Nation took the 1970's craze for self-sufficiency to a catastrophic extreme in Survivors. With the Earth's population virtually wiped out by a virulent plague, a group of English survivors attempt to rebuild their civilization in the anarchy that follows. Attentive to the realities of an advanced society reduced to the Dark Ages overnight, Nation's series examines everything from the acquisition of foodstuffs to the recreation of law and order, never letting the human element of the drama slip out of the spotlight. With even the most optimistic episodes tainted by the fact that the last vestiges of civilization can slip away in a heartbeat, Survivors is a fine example of the gritty realism that characterized much of the BBC's output at the time.

If you liked Men in Black, but think it was just a little too light-hearted, you'll like:
Torchwood (2006- present)
Created by Russell T Davies
Building on the success of his re-launch of Doctor Who, showrunner Russell T Davies plucked the omnisexual, future-born con man Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) from the first season's cast to star in a spin-off. Based in the Welsh capitol of Cardiff, Harkness leads Torchwood, a team of specialists dedicated to investigating paranormal and extraterrestrial events on Earth. Intended as an adult companion to Doctor Who's more family- friendly format, Torchwood is a grittier take on the concept, with the Harkness haunted by his mysterious past and each investigation awakening personal demons for his teammates. Having recently finished its first season in the U.K., and already renewed for a second, the series will likely find its way to America sooner or later, but the R-rated content might result in severe editing before the adventure series hits U.S. screens.

Of course, for every title on this list, there are dozens of top-notch shows already filling the shelves of your local DVD shop. The League of Gentlemen offers up a healthy dose of dark comedy, while Yes, Minister (and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister) present a more world-weary, and amusing, look at politics than America's West Wing. For fans of stylish mysteries, Campion fits the bill with action, adventure, and romance all rolled into one period show. For drama fans with a nostalgic bent, you can't beat the plays of Steven Polliakoff (I recommend Shooting the Past or Almost Strangers), and the late Dennis Potter was a master of surrealism (The Singing Detective—the original British miniseries, not the American film version—has to be seen to be believed). So, put the kettle on and settle in for some quality telly from across the pond.

Jason Davis is the DVD Manager for CS Weekly , a contributing editor for Creative Screenwriting Magazine, and has written for Cinescape.com, MSN.com, and created the TV series Studio 13, which ran on Lorne Michaels' Burly TV network. He lives in the small space left over by his ever-expanding library of books, movies, and music.

Life on Mars, Our Friends in the North, Torchwood courtesy BBC

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