Brit & Aussie TV & Movies

Thanks panzade! I look forward to lots of good shows to rent when Dys and I get back from our trip. (Wish you could meet us in NYC).

I must recommend a Brit comedy serial that I've just finished watching on video. BLACK BOOKS. Clever, black-ish & a very funny show about an inebriated & obnoxious bookshop owner who likes alcohol, hates his customers, has absolutely no head for business. He also has some very entertaining friends. Loved it!

The few I remember - besides the one and only Monty Python - are Benny Hill and of course Mr. Bean.

Ah, and of course not forget the incredible Morecambe and Wise.

Here's a few, some you may know, some you may not:

TV:

Fawlty Towers (need I say more?)
Men Behaving Badly (sitcom about 2 boozy housemates, US remake fell on it's arse)
Red Dwarf (comedy sci-fi sitcom, cult classic here, first 4 series are best)
Coupling (like Friends, but dirtier, recent US remake fell on it's arse)
The Office (dark, cringe-worthy, filmed like a documentary, v funny, recent US remake fell on it's arse)

One of the ABC's most popular Oz series in (fairly) recent years was Sea Change. It was on at 7:30 every Sunday night & it seemed half the nation was hooked. Including moi. I will find some info about it to post here, rather than burble on, endlessly ....

And here's a thread from not to long ago on Oz films. Some good suggestions here:

DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE AUSTRALIAN FILM?

http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3605

I love Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Love it love it!

Brit T.V.a few I love and a few I don't:

Ant and Dec (Saturday night Takeaway)
Black books - (this is really good for reasons previosly stated)
Green Wing - bit weird, not sure about this. My mum loves it.
Little Britain (This is one of my favourites at the minute)
The Good Life (This is ace, timeless and so watchable)
Carrie and Barry
All about me
Open Doors
Calendar Girls


But to name a few...x

I watch Eastenders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale...

And occasionally catch neighbours. lol

Here's some information on SeaChange, as promised earlier:

http://www.anglicanmedia.com.au/old/cul/SeaChange.htm

Check out the link to the SeaChange Homepage if you want to know more about Pearl Bay & the locals.

Faulty Towers, Monty Python, Dr. Who and Good Neighbors are two both Dys and I have enjoyed. Some of the others sound like must-see's.

Prisoner is another all-time favorite! From the list already, it looks like we will be searching Amazon for old Brit and Aussie films and programs. If some of you who have made recommendations could expound a little more it would be helpful to these ignorant Yanks.

I hope you can keep this thread going so that it will be easy to find when we get back from out trip.

Will do Diane. Would have waited for your return but this way you've got something to look forward to.

Princess Di is back from her travels so I'm bumping this thread.

Don't forget my old Pommy favourite: The Bill. And I'm enjoying "Cracker" and some of those PD James murder mysteries.
And there's Yes Minister and Yes Prime Monister - about 20 years old and still brilliant.

There are a lot of soaps in Oz, but I tend not to watch them. I think we do satire, especially political satire extremely well - we have a basic lack of reverence for politicians. I loved the Chaser series leading up to the elections.

For off-beat comedy there's Roy and HG. They can spoof anything. During the Athens Olympics, they did a show every night - and some of them were bloody brilliant. They had the American swimmer Gary Hall on - he must have an ego the size of the Pacific Ocean - and they sent him up mercilessly - and he didn't even realise. You'd think he would have learned after they had him on their show at the Sydney Olympics and did the same. Some people just can't get over their own importance.

Likewise the Sefrican swimmer Ric van N..... I think their ability to take the piss must be peculiarly Australian. Masters at deflating the big-headed. They gave Ian Thorpe the treatment too, but he at least knew they were doing it and played along.

I'm a big Bill fan, Margo - can I ask if you prefer the old style of stand-alone episodes, or the more recent style of continuing drama, with greater character development?

Along a similar line are our 2 main hospital dramas (both BBC) of Casualty and Holby City. Drama, tension, blood and guts. Good viewing.

I can also recommend the film "Shaun Of The Dead" - Gus started a thread about it last week. It is funny and scary all together, and being set in London's suburbs makes it look more like a TV programme than a film. I'd also recommend "28 Days Later" about a killer virus on the loose in Britain, released a couple of years ago. Scary, sick, black comedy.

My housemate has all of the "Yes Minister" and "Yes Prime Minister" on DVD, and they are a regular view in our house. I also like "The New Statesman" with Rick Mayall as the Tory MP Alan B'Stard. Quality comedy.

Yes minister and yes prime minister are probably the most cleverly written comedies of all time, they don't actually make me laugh out loud but I cant help but marvel at how clever the script is.

What was the name of the comedy that had a Ms Bucket( pronounced Bouqet) as the protagonist. My favorite character's name started with the letter O.

Pan - the series was called "Keeping Up Appearances" and the character you refer to was a slobbish fellow by the name of Onslow. Not one of my personal favorites, but it definately had its funny moments.

Yay, here we are again! Thanks to Panzade and the rest who are continuing to list favorites.

Some of the Oz shows sound great. Roy and HG sounds like a must for us.

Hyacinth Bucket (Bouquet) is a classic. Keeping up Appearances is always sure to be funny, but I sometimes find it irritating--I guess because that kind of person is so off-putting--but the actress who plays the part of Hyacinth is outstanding. Yes, Onslow is perfectly and wonderfully disgusting!

Maybe it hit too close to home....

(Turns and runs away...)


I love to tweak the Duke