Show Recommendations Topic: Ask Or Give

[ethalfrida]

 If the Amish culture still intrigues you there is a show called Amish: Out of Order. Nothing overtly scripted in the 10-episode tv series. It was circa 2011. The narrator is a conflicted ex-Amish who helps others who leave. Warning: he sounds like Abe. His voice is not exactly monotone but is less than riveting. However, it is still a good show.

eta... year show aired.

Edited August 17, 2014 by ethalfrida

[tennisgurl]

Has anyone else ever heard of Remember WENN? It was a work place comedy set in a radio station the late 1930s and early 1940s, it was on AMC, in its pre-Mad Men era? I loved that show, and it sucks that I can never find the DVDs. Its really too bad it wasn't made now, I think it would be a much bigger hit, with AMC having more prestige, and period pieces being all the rage. If you can find it, I highly recommend it. Its funny, it has great characters, lots of fun historical detail, and a lot of genuine emotion and heart. I always have had a soft spot for old school radio, plus 30/40s era style, so this was basically made for me. And maybe if more people start watching, AMC will officially release a DVD set!

[ParadoxLost]

So HBO is having a free preview weekend and they seem to have every season of every show they ever aired available.  So what to watch in the next three days?

 

I'm already watching season 4 GoT.

[DittyDotDot]

Here's a few off the top of my head that I enjoyed...

• I watched True Detective this summer and thought was fan-feakin'-tastic. It's dark and grimy, so if your into that sort of thing you might like it. It's probably one of the best procedural type, long running mystery I've watched in a very long while. It's in the same vein of The Killing where they follow one case for the whole season and you glimpse into the lives of the detectives as much as the case itself.
• I also enjoy Boardwalk Empire, just didn't love it, but the first season was pretty good. Period piece set during Prohibition in Atlantic City.
• Veep is some lighthearted and funny political commentary with Julia Louis Dreyfus as the Vice President.
• Going back a bit, I thought Enlightened was funny and pretty good with Laura Dern trying to find herself in corporate America.
• A show that didn't get much attention, but I found charming and delightful was Family Tree with Chris O'Dowd looking for his family roots.

Edited September 6, 2014 by DittyDotDot

[BellaLugosi]

I'd second Veep, and I'd also offer Silicon Valley. I didn't expect to like it and I was pleasantly surprised. 

[ethalfrida]

 Thanks, that is a nice list of recommendations.

[ganesh]

Boardwalk Empire can be slooooow, but they certainly immerse you in that world, and it's really one of the widest casts of 3D characters. I actually think it's something that benefits from binge watching, even if maybe 1-2 episodes per day. 

 

The thing I really liked about True Detective was that it was actually a pretty straightforward show. It wasn't pompous or pretentious, didn't try to be anything it wasn't or pretend To Mean Something. They said exactly what it was in the final episode. 

[Jac]

Any comparisons to be made between it and any other shows we might be more familiar with?

 

A quick bit of Google Fu says it's based on a Brit show of the same name. 

 

I haven't seen the version with Kim Catrall but I highly recommend the original British series which stars Joanna Lumley from Absolutely Fabulous. It is a difficult show to describe the tone of, I'd describe it as a drama with a healthy dose of dark humour. Basically the plot is that the Joanna Lumley character is in her early 60s and has an seemingly successful life but is having the growing realisation that she isn't as fulfilled as she thought.

 

Has anyone watched both The Thick of It and Veep? I loved TTOI and my dad loves Veep and keeps telling me to watch it but I keep putting it off because I don''t see how it can possibly be as good as TTOI. If I loved TTOI is Veep worth watching, especially considering that I don't have a lot of time to watch TV.

Edited September 14, 2014 by JacquelineLHope

[DittyDotDot]

I haven't watched In The Thick Of It, but it's on my list of things to get to. Veep, on the other hand, I really enjoy and think would be worth your while if your into political satire (which is sounds like you are). The entire cast is fantastic and the writing is witty--probably not as dry as In The Thick Of It, though. Sorry, I can't really give you a comparative view, but suggest you try a couple of episodes and see what you think.

[Jeebus Cripes]

So HBO is having a free preview weekend and they seem to have every season of every show they ever aired available.  So what to watch in the next three days?

 

I'm already watching season 4 GoT.

 

If Deadwood is available, that'd be my pick. Rome and Carnivale as well.

[DittyDotDot]

If Deadwood is available, that'd be my pick. Rome and Carnivale as well.

 

I can't believe I forgot to mention Carnivale, one of my very favorite creepy and disturbing shows of all times--it's a perfect balance of beautiful and disturbing, IMO.

 

Which reminded me of No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency (only because I found and watched them at the same time, I was very late to the Carnivale party). No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency was set and filmed in Botswana, has a great cast with interesting characters and one of the few cable shows that didn't do violence and sex and language just because they could and still told intriguing stories with depth and heart.

[MaryMitch]

Which reminded me of No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency (only because I found and watched them at the same time, I was very late to the Carnivale party). No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency was set and filmed in Botswana, has a great cast with interesting characters and one of the few cable shows that didn't do violence and sex and language just because they could and still told intriguing stories with depth and heart.

This was a WONDERFUL series. I wish they had continued with it. I don't know if it was cancelled or if it was planned to be only 7 episodes.

[DittyDotDot]

This was a WONDERFUL series. I wish they had continued with it. I don't know if it was cancelled or if it was planned to be only 7 episodes.

 

There was some discussion about this in the Shows That Died Before Their Time thread. There were a couple of reasons it didn't continue, probably foremost being the untimely death of showrunner, director and writer Anthony Minghella. I think there was some issues with financing too since it was a co-production with BBC and HBO and probably ratings may have been an issue too. I don't know all the issues only know I was disappointed it didn't get another go.

 

It was based on a series of books by Alexander McCall Smith. I haven't read them myself, but they might fill a hole for you.

[ganesh]

It was a fun show. Miss 97 percent. 

[selkie]

For the two seasons of Boardwalk Empire I made it through, I thought that it did have something of a similar atmosphere to Carnivale. So i was always vaguely disappointed that all of the monsters in Boardwalk were entirely human and thought the show could have been livened up by a few vampires or something similar.

[Kromm]

I didn't know what to expect from Comedy Central's Another Period (I've seen a few Drunk History episodes but didn't really know the two shows shared a lineage until afterwards).  So I was pleasantly surprised how damn funny it is and it's got to go on my open "Recommend" list.  At least for anyone who isn't too sensitive about very over the top broad farcical humor. If you like more subtlety, then look elsewhere.

 

Then again since this website has given A.P. a decent bit of coverage, this may not be an unusual recommendation.  I'll try to think a bit on what other recent shows have made my list.

[ganesh]

Another Period is not interested in nuance. 

[Shannon L.]

Would anyone be willing to make some recommendations?.  Several years ago, we found out that a friend of ours was watching 24.  We started getting together every Friday to watch it and have made it a tradition.  Later, with Netflix and Amazon Prime, we were able to start watching two series at a time, one hour of each.  We are now in the middle of season 3 of Alias, but have finished Better Call Saul.  We like Alias, but not quite enough to watch two episodes in a row. 

 

Our only rules are that we don't want it too much graphic sex (my husband and I are watching GoT, but wouldn't want to watch it with her) and we start losing interest when plots go too far into soap opera territory with the romance.  Here's are examples of what we've already seen:

 

Burn Notice

Dexter

Breaking Bad

Heroes

 

Our family watches programs together, too, so here are some examples of what my husband and I have already seen or are in the middle of:

 

Chuck

Numbers

Shield

Sleepy Hollow

Black List

Arrow

Bones (the first few seasons, then it got too stupid for us to care anymore)

 

There are more--like I said, this goes back years-- but those are some examples of shows we've enjoyed. 

[Kromm]

Would anyone be willing to make some recommendations?.  Several years ago, we found out that a friend of ours was watching 24.  We started getting together every Friday to watch it and have made it a tradition.  Later, with Netflix and Amazon Prime, we were able to start watching two series at a time, one hour of each.  We are now in the middle of season 3 of Alias, but have finished Better Call Saul.  We like Alias, but not quite enough to watch two episodes in a row. 

 

Our only rules are that we don't want it too much graphic sex (my husband and I are watching GoT, but wouldn't want to watch it with her) and we start losing interest when plots go too far into soap opera territory with the romance.  Here's are examples of what we've already seen:

 

Burn Notice

Dexter

Breaking Bad

Heroes

 

Our family watches programs together, too, so here are some examples of what my husband and I have already seen or are in the middle of:

 

Chuck

Numbers

Shield

Sleepy Hollow

Black List

Arrow

Bones (the first few seasons, then it got too stupid for us to care anymore)

 

There are more--like I said, this goes back years-- but those are some examples of shows we've enjoyed.

It sounds like you are mainly favoring Action/Adventure (with the subdivisions of Spy, Superhero, Supernatural Drama, that are all adjacent to that--Dexter perhaps being a partial exception/odd-man-out). It's a fairly wide net.  What's NOT on that list are standard franchised Police Procedurals like Law & Order, NCIS, CSI, Criminal Minds, NBC's Chicago {Fill-in-the-blank}, etc.  Which I say is... good for you. You may have seen some of those, of course, but I sense it's not worth talking about.  You do have some slightly less standard Police Procedurals though (Numbers, The Shield, to a degree Dexter in a few ways, Sleepy Hollow around the edges a bit, and Bones when it didn't suck--most of the time it did though). 

 

I can think of a few other non-standard procedurals to expand into.  For example, "Person of Interest" seems to push those boundaries a bit.  I personally liked "The Mentalist", although it did near the end veer into some silliness. What else... hmmm.

 

Dig up the ORIGINAL UK version of "Life On Mars". Not the US remake.  Stick with the UK version throughout it's sequel, Ashes To Ashes. I think this should all be on Netflix.

 

Go light in a far smarter way than the achingly stupid Bones with "Monk".

 

Hmm.  For a straight up comedy, but one with a few procedural elements, try Brooklyn 99. Yes, there are storyarcs and straight procedural elements there between the silly stuff.

 

I've only seen Fargo Season 1, but I imagine just from that it seems to fit your previous profile--especially more towards the "Dexter"-loving end of things.

Not very procedurey, but if you enjoyed Arrow I suppose it's possible you might like The Flash. Which is in some ways sillier, but in a good way IMO.

Edited August 31, 2015 by Kromm

[Trini]

Our family watches programs together, too, so here are some examples of what my husband and I have already seen or are in the middle of:

 

Chuck

Numbers

Shield

Sleepy Hollow

Black List

Arrow

Bones (the first few seasons, then it got too stupid for us to care anymore)

 

There are more--like I said, this goes back years-- but those are some examples of shows we've enjoyed. 

 

Perhaps Scorpion -- fairly family friendly; action; humor; romance sub-plot; not a standard crime procedural, but it does have a caper/case-of-the-week format.

[possibilities]

I was going to say Elementary, but it's not very actiony.

 

Orphan Black or Mr. Robot, if you like conspiracies.

 

I'm trying to think of something with a slight supernatural element, because of seeing Sleepy Hollow on your list, and I feel like I've watched a lot of stuff like that, but I'm not coming up with any names.... Maybe the UK version of Being Human, or the current US show iZombie? iZombie has a little humor to it, which I'm thinking you might like because of Chuck. I loved Chuck!

[Kromm]

Perhaps Scorpion -- fairly family friendly; action; humor; romance sub-plot; not a standard crime procedural, but it does have a caper/case-of-the-week format.

Scorpion hasn't all been bad, but at times it's veered into Bones level stupidity with some of the conceits of the show. If they just kept the action but ditched some of the silly sop and too-deliberate seeming over-quirkiness it might be better. It also doesn't help knowing that the real guy the show is based upon looks and acts more like the side-character who's portrayed as kind of pathetic, vs. the handsome leading man the show has crafted him into. There's just something hypocritical about that.

Edited August 31, 2015 by Kromm

[Kromm]

I was going to say Elementary, but it's not very actiony.

 

Orphan Black or Mr. Robot, if you like conspiracies.

 

I'm trying to think of something with a slight supernatural element, because of seeing Sleepy Hollow on your list, and I feel like I've watched a lot of stuff like that, but I'm not coming up with any names.... Maybe the UK version of Being Human, or the current US show iZombie? iZombie has a little humor to it, which I'm thinking you might like because of Chuck. I loved Chuck!

Well if we're going to bring up iZombie, and also have as a whole included total rewatches of older shows on Netflix or other similar sources, then Veronica Mars should possibly be on the list too. Definitely not a classic procedural, that one. Might seem a little girly/teeny at first until the viewer realizes it's actually neither of those. It also has that dark humor aspect a lot of the strongest shows on that list have.

Getting back to the list overall, for a Supernatural Police Procedural (so similar to Sleepy Hollow--vs. sillier non-procedural supernatural shows like Vampire Diaries or in fact "Supernatural") people keep telling me I should watch Grimm, but I've never gotten around to it. So all I can do is pass on the recommendation, not endorse it.

Edited August 31, 2015 by Kromm

[DittyDotDot]

I'd second the UK Life on Mars. Quirky with interesting characters...so very good. Haven't seen the sequel Ashes to Ashes yet, so I can't comment on that.

 

Also would second Orphan Black as you said you liked Alias. Not the same premise, but a similar tone, so to speak. Good twists and turns, good action, excellent cast. 

 

Maybe Justified would be a good fit? Not strictly a procedural and definitely not supernatural, but does have it's crime, cops (US Marshalls) and cases to be solved. Also, it's light on the sex and I would never think of the show as stupid. 

 

Lighter fare that's fun and goofy could be Psych. Kinda of a buddy-crime-solving comedy. The cases are interesting and the two leads are priceless.

 

I really enjoyed In Plain Sight. Witness protection procedural with some good cases and interesting characters.

 

That's all I can think of right now, there's got to be a whole lot more, though.

Edited August 31, 2015 by DittyDotDot

[possibilities]

I just thought of another: Life, starring Damian Lewis and Sarah Shahi. Cop is framed for a crime he didn't commit, goes to prison, becomes a Buddhist while locked up (or does he?), gets exonerated and reinstated as a detective. He and his partner (Shahi) solve crimes, develop a bond, and deal with everything from organized crime to "everyday murders"-- it's about the case of the week but also the character development of how Lewis's character gets over the trauma of having been framed, locked up, etc. Good action, lots of tension, not much romance. One of my favorite shows ever, especially the first season. But the second is good, too. The show is actiony and suspenseful and emotionally charged, and also thoughtful (they deal with "issues" like trafficking of women, racism and sexism on the police force, corruption, and Lewis's Zen demeanor is a constant wildcard for the rest of the characters, who don't know what to make of it and whether or not he's serious or just doing it to distract them from his real feelings).

[Kromm]

I just thought of another: Life, starring Damian Lewis and Sarah Shahi. Cop is framed for a crime he didn't commit, goes to prison, becomes a Buddhist while locked up (or does he?), gets exonerated and reinstated as a detective. He and his partner (Shahi) solve crimes, develop a bond, and deal with everything from organized crime to "everyday murders"-- it's about the case of the week but also the character development of how Lewis's character gets over the trauma of having been framed, locked up, etc. Good action, lots of tension, not much romance. One of my favorite shows ever, especially the first season. But the second is good, too. The show is actiony and suspenseful and emotionally charged, and also thoughtful (they deal with "issues" like trafficking of women, racism and sexism on the police force, corruption, and Lewis's Zen demeanor is a constant wildcard for the rest of the characters, who don't know what to make of it and whether or not he's serious or just doing it to distract them from his real feelings).

Life was a pretty good show, but is it available via one of the major streaming services? I'm sure the the DVDs exist, but not as sure of the streaming.

EDIT - Okay, Hulu Plus (the non-free version) has it.

Edited August 31, 2015 by Kromm

[ethalfrida]

Here is a recommendation along with a request.

 

I just discovered Damages, starring Glenn Close and a host of other very fine actors. It is the most intriguing tv series I've watched in a long while. I highly recommend it and there are sixty episodes. Binge watching is a must and you will even go back and re-watch the first few eipsodes so you can sort everyone out. Glenn Close is ruthless but so believable. All of the minor characters are also well-written.

 

If anyone can recommend other shows that follow the same intensity and  great storyline I'd appreciate it.

[possibilities]

Netflix also has Life to stream (or as DVDs).

Edited August 31, 2015 by possibilities

[MargeGunderson]

Would anyone be willing to make some recommendations?.  Several years ago, we found out that a friend of ours was watching 24.  We started getting together every Friday to watch it and have made it a tradition.  Later, with Netflix and Amazon Prime, we were able to start watching two series at a time, one hour of each.  We are now in the middle of season 3 of Alias, but have finished Better Call Saul.  We like Alias, but not quite enough to watch two episodes in a row.

I second the recommendation of Justified (Amazon Prime). I'll also add Leverage (Netflix) which is highly underrated.

[Shannon L.]

Thanks for the recommendations everyone!  The kids and husband weren't liking Scorpion after a few episodes, so I'm watching that one on my own. We also love Brooklyn 99.  I read these recommendations to my husband and he said that he watched a couple of episodes of Person of Interest and Mentalist a while ago and liked them, he just didn't think of them.  I also watched all of the episodes of the American version of Life on Mars and liked the concept, so I'll look for that one, too.  And a few of the others listed here.  It usually comes down to us watching a couple episodes of a couple of different shows then determining what looks the most interesting.  But, since this will go on and on for God knows how long, I now have a good list to keep handy! 

 

Kromm, my mom introduced me to Grimm a few weeks ago and I'm already in the middle of the second season.  It's good, cheesy fun, but there's a dramatic arc that looks like is going to be around for quite a while, and it started getting really good by season 2.  IMO, anyway. 

Edited August 31, 2015 by Shannon L.

[Kromm]

I also watched all of the episodes of the American version of Life on Mars and liked the concept, so I'll look for that one, too.  

The UK version is approximately 900 times better than the US one.

[ChaseMCP]

I'll second Leverage, and I believe it's also on Hulu Plus and the ION channel airs reruns of it. 

 

Now that it's finished its first season a show I'll recommend to anyone is The Brink. I don't hear many people talk about it, which is a shame because it's actually a fun show - as long as you know what you're getting into. It's vulgar and has a fair amount of sex, but it's hilarious and has a great cast. It's a political show and the best thing about it is that all the characters are given personalities, including secondary characters. It's not just "Americans are good, other countries aren't". All of the characters are given chances to shine which makes it more of a diverse show than you'd expect, especially since a lot of the great lines come from said secondary characters. And Jack Black isn't as...Jack Black as usual in it (I think he actually does a good job). It's ridiculous, it's fun, and is surprisingly original. Just something to watch if you've got a few half hour breaks to kill and want a few laughs.

[xls]

The British version of Shameless (Netflix) can't be beat! It' s so wonderfully crazy! I tried to watch the American remake but meh, it looses a lot in translation.

[roseha]

If you like quirky cop shows an if you can find it "Death in Paradise".  About an English detective sent to the island of Ste Marie.

 

 

I absolutely LOVE this little gem of a show.  It airs on PBS on Thursday nights in my area (repeats early Sunday mornings). 

 

I found Death in Paradise on WLIW in the Long Island New York area (Channel 21 over the air).  It's a very charming show.  However they are currently re-running older episodes with the original cast, so it's possible they are being shown out of order here. The current British detective, Humphrey Goodman, arrives later, I think in Season 3.  I think it's on Netflix as well.

 

By the way, speaking of quirky, there is the brilliant Canadian sitcom Corner Gas, set in "Dog River" in Saskatchewan, which I mention mainly because as far as I know no TV channel shows it in the US though I think you can get the DVDs from Netflix (or Amazon.ca).  I discovered it while visiting Newfoundland.  It ended a few years ago but they made a follow up movie recently.  It's worth searching out, the small-town humor is somehow understated yet hilarious.  I had the advantage of discovering it mainly via buying the DVDs and thus watching it without commercial breaks which makes it even better.  I wish Netflix or Hulu would stream it but no such luck.

Edited September 1, 2015 by roseha

[Tabbyclaw]

Shannon L, you may be interested in checking out Haven, an underrated little gem on the SyFy network that will start its final season in October. It's a 'new person arrives in a small town and discovers it has a supernatural secret' story based incredibly loosely on a Stephen King novella, and it hits a lot of the same action/mystery/banter buttons as the shows on your list that I recognize. It has taken some soapy turns in the past couple seasons (and there was one sex scene last year that made me a bit uncomfortable), but overall it might be up your alley.

[festivus]

To Shannon L: I second the recommendation of Haven and third the Life on Mars UK one. I think you might also like Daredevil if you enjoy watching Arrow. Daredevil is a much better show. No sex scenes that I remember but it is violent with lots of fight scenes. I am just now finishing watching Vexed on Netflix. It's a British show about two homicide detectives. It's definitely not a serious show it's more of a lighthearted type thing but I am enjoying it.

[Shannon L.]

Thanks, Tabbyclaw, I'll look for it.  Sounds to me like Life on Mars might be the one to check out first--I've seen it the most on this thread.  festivus, my husband, our son and I loved Daredevil! 

[ganesh]

UK Life on Mars isn't even in the same universe as the US version. I actually thought the original US unaired pilot was more promising, but TPTBs just didn't get it. 

 

The UK version is only 16 episodes. I cannot say enough; sometimes just tell the story you want to tell and get out. 

[Crisopera]

I'd like to put in a word for Foyle's War, one of the very best shows ever on Masterpiece.  Set in the seaside town of Hastings during WWII, the protagonist is the police inspector, Christopher Foyle, played by the brilliant Michael Kitchen.  The guest cast is marvelous, full of those "Hey! It's That Guy!" British actors.  The entire series streams on Acorn TV, but Ovation is showing it every Wednesday and Thursday at 11AM, in order, and poking around, I see that episode 1 can be seen for free (with ads) on Amazon Instant Video.  Ovation is about up to Season 3 or 4 now, I think.  The period atmosphere is very convincing, and the mysteries are engrossing.  Terrific.

[Kromm]

The UK version is only 16 episodes. I cannot say enough; sometimes just tell the story you want to tell and get out. 

Well they did do an entire sequel series (and I mean the more literal US interpretation of series that doesn't mean "season") with much of the same cast (but a different protagonist). And THAT lasted another 24 episodes. So between the two that's 40 episodes.  Still very light compared to US shows where they pound out 22-24 episodes per annum, sometimes for 10-12 years.

Although thanks to seasonal runs of 9 to 13 also becoming fairly common in the US for certain kinds of shows, that's beginning to change.

[ganesh]

You can just watch LOM though and it's a closed story. You don't need A2A for closure. 

[Kromm]

UK Life on Mars isn't even in the same universe as the US version. I actually thought the original US unaired pilot was more promising, but TPTBs just didn't get it. 

 

The UK version is only 16 episodes. I cannot say enough; sometimes just tell the story you want to tell and get out. 

Taking

"Mars" literally

was pretty shoddy.

Doing so kind of exemplifies what's worst about (a lot of) American TV. 

[ganesh]

The main actor actually is a decent actor too he just seems to get shafted.

[ToxicUnicorn]

I just discovered Damages, starring Glenn Close and a host of other very fine actors. It is the most intriguing tv series I've watched in a long while. I highly recommend it and there are sixty episodes. Binge watching is a must and you will even go back and re-watch the first few eipsodes so you can sort everyone out. Glenn Close is ruthless but so believable. All of the minor characters are also well-written.

 

Nothing is quite like Damages!  I couldn't pull my eyes away, although I was confused most of the time.

 

The show that comes to mind, not for content, but for the same sort of tense tone and emphasis on intrigue (along with some very good acting by Matthew Rhys), is The Americans.  I've only watched the first two seasons, but those I would recommend.

[BW Manilowe]

Nothing is quite like Damages! I couldn't pull my eyes away, although I was confused most of the time.

The show that comes to mind, not for content, but for the same sort of tense tone and emphasis on intrigue (along with some very good acting by Matthew Rhys), is The Americans. I've only watched the first two seasons, but those I would recommend.

The 3rd season, which aired starting either late last year or earlier this year (it was on over the winter) was at least as good as the 1st 2 seasons. It's coming back for a 4th season, but as far as I know they haven't started filming for it yet, or scheduled the premiere date. The show airs on the FX Network in the US.

The premise is, Matthew Rhys & Keri Russell are Russian Spies living as everyday Americans in 1980's America--specifically in Falls Church, VA, near Washington, DC. They have a son & daughter who are unaware of their parents' real occupations (their cover job is as owners of a travel agency), or that they aren't really Americans; but the big thing is their across the street (I think it is) neighbor is an FBI agent who now works with the agency task force whose job it is to find these embedded Russian Spies posing as average Americans.

At least the 1st 2 seasons are out on DVD (& I think Blu-Ray). You can also download at least S1 & 2, if not also S3, from iTunes (US) & Amazon.com Instant Video. I'm not sure if it's on Netflix or other streaming services like that.

Edited September 4, 2015 by BW Manilowe

[DittyDotDot]

Thanks, Tabbyclaw, I'll look for it.  Sounds to me like Life on Mars might be the one to check out first--I've seen it the most on this thread.  festivus, my husband, our son and I loved Daredevil! 

 

I thought of another one that might be a good fit--hey, Life On Mars is only 16 episodes, so you're going to need something else eventually, right? Anyway, No 1 Ladies Detective Agency is one I absolutely adored. Based on books by Alexander McCall Smith, it's set (and shot) in Botswana and features a great cast and some good little mysteries. I've never read the books, but the show was beautiful and charming while it lasted.

[Kromm]

Well if we're talking British Drama (and slightly off-kilter ones) than I guess we have to include Sherlock.

 

I know some people utterly LOATHE it, but I'm on the side who likes it and think if someone has gone through Doctor Who and Life on Mars, and at least likes the traditional Holmes already, then this out there modern interpretation is worth a shot for them.

 

IMO it's about a dozen times better than the American "Elementary". It's no more traditional than Elementary (other than being set in the UK), but at the gut level to me it still feels more like what I imagine Holmes in the modern world feeling like (whereas the guy on Elementary doesn't really feel much like Holmes to me at all).  Also, no offense to Lucy Lui, and it's not because of her gender, but she's not playing Watson.  She's playing someone who happens to be NAMED Watson who isn't like that character at all.  Martin Freeman is playing at least a pseudo-Watson, although because Watson is so passive in the original stories, even here the modern version is shown as much more of his own person.

[ganesh]

No 1 Ladies' is great.

[Trini]

Yep. I loathe BBC Sherlock. At least Elementary Sherlock resembles a human being.

[Rick Kitchen]

Yep. I loathe BBC Sherlock. At least Elementary Sherlock resembles a human being.

 

I gave up on the Elementary after the first episode, when Sherlock screamed at Watson.