Fav TV.
by McSwag | created - 10 Apr 2014 | updated - 09 Jan 2016 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Only Fools and Horses (1981–2003)
TV-PG | 95 min | Comedy
Comedy that follows two brothers from London's rough Peckham estate as they wheel and deal through a number of dodgy deals and search for the big score that'll make them millionaires.
Stars: David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Roger Lloyd Pack, Buster Merryfield
Votes: 56,725
The first couple of series with Leonard Pierce were the best.
2. Minder (1979–1994)
TV-14 | 60 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Roguish comedy drama following the misadventures of small-time crook Arthur Daley. Can his ex-boxer bodyguard Terry stay level-headed whilst working for the King of Dodgy Deals?
Stars: George Cole, Glynn Edwards, Dennis Waterman, Gary Webster
Votes: 2,830
A big favourite at the time. 79/80 series were more grittier than later ones.
3. The Kenny Everett Video Show (1978–1981)
30 min | Comedy, Music
This show featured music set to imagery, just prior to MTV. Most of it was concert footage though some had effects and a theme. It had a choreography segment featuring dancers known as "Hot Gossip".
Stars: Kenny Everett, Hot Gossip, Anna Dawson, Cliff Richard
Votes: 265
Very funny characters, good music and of course Hot Gossip
4. The Sopranos (1999–2007)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama
New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano deals with personal and professional issues in his home and business life that affect his mental state, leading him to seek professional psychiatric counseling.
Stars: James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli
Votes: 471,682
Brilliant!
5. Rome (2005–2007)
TV-MA | 60 min | Action, Drama, Romance
A down-to-earth account of the lives of both illustrious and ordinary Romans set in the last days of the Roman Republic.
Stars: Kevin McKidd, Ray Stevenson, Polly Walker, Kerry Condon
Votes: 185,444
Sopranos in Rome 1st Century AD
6. The Prisoner (1967–1968)
TV-PG | 1,010 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
After he resigns, a secret agent is abducted and taken to what looks like an idyllic village, but is actually a bizarre prison. He refuses to give his warders information while attempting to escape.
Stars: Patrick McGoohan, Angelo Muscat, Peter Swanwick, Peter Brace
Votes: 15,047
Cool 1960's series...one of the best of the era.
7. Boys from the Blackstuff (1982)
50 min | Drama
Five unemployed men would do anything just to have a job in Thatcher's Britain.
Stars: Michael Angelis, Bernard Hill, Alan Igbon, Peter Kerrigan
Votes: 1,577
Groundbreaking drama from the early 80s recession. Moving stuff
8. Brookside (1982–2003)
25 min | Drama
The everyday life and times of the residents, friends and enemies who live in a suburban street in the city of Liverpool in the north of England.
Stars: Dean Sullivan, Paul Byatt, Claire Sweeney, Alexandra Fletcher
Votes: 949
Used to watch this a lot in the early days, best soap on TV then.
9. The Sweeney (1975–1978)
TV-PG | 51 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Jack Regan and George Carter are hard-edged detectives in the Flying Squad of London's Metropolitan Police. They pursue villains by methods which are underhanded and often illegal, frequently violent and - more often than not - successful.
Stars: John Thaw, Dennis Waterman, Garfield Morgan, John Alkin
Votes: 2,654
A favourite as a child.
10. Dad's Army (1968–1977)
30 min | Comedy, War
A ragtag group of Home Guard volunteers prepare for an imminent German invasion during World War II.
Stars: Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier, Clive Dunn, John Laurie
Votes: 7,234
Ageless comedy.
11. The Tube (1982–1987)
90 min | Music
Seminal Channel 4 live music series, famed for having the biggest music acts of the day performing live.
Stars: Jools Holland, Paula Yates, Leslie Ash, Muriel Gray
Votes: 124
Channel 4 music show - Originally with Paula Yates and Jools Holland.
12. Rising Damp (1974–1978)
30 min | Comedy
Popular sitcom set in a seedy bedsit lorded over by the mean, vain, boastful, cowardly, racist landlord Rigsby. In each episode, his conceits are debunked by his long-suffering tenants.
Stars: Leonard Rossiter, Don Warrington, Frances de la Tour, Richard Beckinsale
Votes: 2,819
Rigsby is one of the best ever sitcom characters...still watchable now.
13. The Dick Emery Show (1963–1981)
30 min | Comedy
Comedy skits featuring the talents of Mr Dick Emery.
Stars: Dick Emery, Pat Coombs, Victor Maddern, Helen Fraser
Votes: 213
Hilarious Comic
14. Red Riding: The Year of Our Lord 1974 (2009 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 102 min | Crime, Drama, History
Rookie journalist Eddie Dunford is determined to find the truth in an increasingly complex maze of lies and deceit surrounding the police investigation into a series of child abductions.
Director: Julian Jarrold | Stars: Andrew Garfield, David Morrissey, John Henshaw, Anthony Flanagan
Votes: 13,686
One of the best British dramas of recent times(first part of a trilogy)
15.
Play for Today (1970–1984)
Episode:
The Muscle Market
(1981)
Comedy, Drama
Danny Duggan's rough-house business methods and lifestyle owe more to early influences than the CBI. But with the bottom falling out of the building game playing at gangster is only fun on the winning side.
Director: Alan Dossor | Stars: Pete Postlethwaite, Pip Donaghy, Terence Rigby, Alison Steadman
Votes: 54
Only ever seen this once. Has stuck in the mind ever since. A story of a man desperately trying to hold on to his business in difficult times. Great Drama from Bleasdale.
16. The Singing Detective (1986)
70 min | Drama, Musical, Mystery
Tormented and bedridden by a debilitating disease, a mystery writer relives his detective stories through his imagination and hallucinations.
Stars: Michael Gambon, Patrick Malahide, Joanne Whalley, David Ryall
Votes: 4,810
I remember it first time round. Much lauded Dennis Potter series with a fine Michael Gambon performance.
17. Edge of Darkness (1985)
53 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
When his daughter Emma is murdered, cop Craven discovers that she was in a GAIA group of activists occupied with exposing Northmoor nuclear waste storage facility for illegal activities.
Stars: Bob Peck, Joe Don Baker, Charles Kay, Ian McNeice
Votes: 4,165
Excellent conspiracy thriller of the kind they don't make anymore.
18. Pennies from Heaven (1978–1979)
450 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A travelling sheet music salesman with an uptight wife throws everything away for the love of an innocent school teacher in the romantic spirit of the music he loves, that bursts into his life in full song-and-dance numbers.
Stars: Cheryl Campbell, Bob Hoskins, Gemma Craven, Kenneth Colley
Votes: 1,209
Bob Hoskins on top form as dreamer Arthur Parker.
19. Extras (2005–2007)
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy, Drama
Andy Millman is an actor with ambition and a script. Reduced to working as an extra with a useless agent, Andy's attempts to boost his career invariably end in failure and embarrassment.
Stars: Ricky Gervais, Ashley Jensen, Stephen Merchant, Shaun Williamson
Votes: 60,395
Great comedy - best for years.
20. Fawlty Towers (1975–1979)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy
Hotel owner Basil Fawlty's incompetence, short fuse, and arrogance form a combination that ensures accidents and trouble are never far away.
Stars: John Cleese, Prunella Scales, Andrew Sachs, Connie Booth
Votes: 100,179
Speaks for itself.
21. The League of Gentlemen (1999–2017)
TV-MA | 60 min | Comedy, Horror
An interweaving narrative chronicling the antics of such diverse characters as: a transgender taxi driver, a family obsessed with hygiene and toads, a fiery reverend, a carnival owner who kidnaps women into marriage, and a xenophobic couple who run a local shop for local people.
Stars: Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith, Jeremy Dyson
Votes: 12,224
Completely batty.
22. The Young Ones (1982–1984)
TV-14 | 35 min | Comedy
The crazy and sometimes surreal comedic adventures of four very different students in Thatcher's Britain.
Stars: Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Nigel Planer, Christopher Ryan
Votes: 16,457
Brilliant(for its time)
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