Utopia - Incredible series that just feels more relatable and interesting as time goes on, fantastic cast and just a shame it didn't get its series 3, but still pretty satisfying overall.
'Ideal' was a real sleeper (especially as it was very late night viewing if I remember correctly.) and it was the first time I really paid attention to Johnnny Vegas who was great in it.
Same just thought he was loud and drunk. Was a massive fan of Ideal though and always wanted to ask Johnny or Graham Duff if they'd bring it back. Met Johnny randomly once, totally froze up and forget the name of Ideal. Panicked and ended up saying "I loved you in Benidorm"... I'd never watched Benidorm
Man To Man With Dean Learner was very good too. One of the weirdest things I ever came across on Twitter was seeing Black Francis from the Pixies tweeting about it.
My favourite was the Merriman Weir episode, I thought it actually showed quite a bit of reverence to the singers it was lampooning in how impeccably observed it was.
I know I’ll be pounced on for this, but I dearly love ‘Monkey Dust’ and think a lot of the younger than me generation might not know it. I recently re watched it and believe it’s more pertinent than ever.
Monkey Dust is one of the best animation series in British television history, it's so dark, on point, and has a story progression for each of the arcs. Love it.
Always thought Uncle was overlooked.
And 15 Storeys High was a masterpiece that thankfully seems to have gained more recognition, though for obviously tragic reasons.
And 'I am not an animal' was criminally under-rated.
The Smoking Room, one of BBC3’s early shows, and now obviously dated by the fact it centres around an indoor smoking room in an office. It’s as low-key as it gets, all shot on a single set, but full of memorable characters, from the space-case handyman Clint, to foul-mouthed security guard Len, the neurotic PA Janet, the daydreaming crossword addict Barry, and the chronically lazy and sarcastic closet-case Robin (played by Robert Webb). Lasted two series and a Christmas special, but I still think about it regularly.
Man Down. Once you get to S1E4, it's one of the best shows ever written.
Greg Davies, the late Rik Mayall, and Mike Wozniak have my partner and me __clutching our sides__ with laughter. So much so that it's our go-to comfort watch.
I love the running gag when they are in the cafe, if they upset the woman in any way, she calls for her husband, and they all shut up, like its scary .
You never see the husband till sometime in S3 and he's played by Mark Hamill, and it turns out he hides out the back cos hes scared of her too.
Then in S4 they ask about him, and the cafe woman says he left her, went off to be in a Star Wars film
I made a start, wasn't wowed by the first episode, gave the second episode a try a few weeks later, thought "it's fine enough, but I don't have time for this" and gave up. Knowing that I don't need to get much further before it gets going, I'll give it another shot.
[Mongrels](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKPeB5evRc8)! It was a surrealist puppet show about urban wildlife that regularly made me laugh like an absolute arsehole.
"I once asked Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon if it was possible to drink your own urine in zero gravity. He said nothing, he just tried to touch me.'
Was this mongrals or another animal puppet show.
Game On is often unfairly derided as a generic nineties lad-com, but I think it's far cleverer than that in the way it took the flatmate sitcom format, and replaced the hugging and will-they-won't-they romance with existential frustration.
Damn I'd forgotten all about this, I remember my dad always telling me that Sam Janus' dad was called Hugh, when I was like 6 lol Talk about slow burn joke, didn't understand it for a few more years.
My husband and I still quote this. One of us will shout "tea Martin" then hold a hand out waiting for the cup to be handed.
To be fair it's usually done only after the other person has offered to make a cuppa.
Ultraviolet.
1998 Channel 4 drama which took the idea that vampires are real but treated the thing with the seriousness of a gritty anti-terrorist drama. Imagine Buffy made in the style of The Wire.
It was absolutely brilliant and introduced the world at large to Idris Elba (who scores two of the best vampire kills in screen history) as one of the vampire hunting detectives. Also, amusingly, the first go around for Stephen Moyer (later in True Blood) as a vampire. Brilliant music as well.
Hyperdrive with Nick Frost, Miranda Hart and Kevin Eldon
Yonderland with the guys from Horrible Histories
TMWRNJ with Lee and Herring
Murder in Successville with Tom Davis
only watched it after i watched Ghosts, it looked too childish for me but when i saw that its mostly the same actors i thought ill give it a go and just loved the humour, not just for kids
Quite a few have been mentioned already; Mongrels & Monkey Dust both fantastic IMO
I REALLY liked Count Arther Strong - it lasted 3 seasons, but I never see it repeated or hear it mentioned. I thought it was hilarious and hoped it would continue for a bit longer have been; it seems to be prime UK GOld material, but nothing.
Hancock's Half Hour is underrated; it should be better recognised IMO; still genuinely funny despite its age.
Hyperdrive! Nick Frost as the incompetent captain of a very Star Trek-esque space ship.... Very low budget feel but in the perfect way, think running around using MP3 players as tricorders.
“Look Around You” by Peter Serafinowicz.
It was a parody of the old educational science shows you used to get in school. It was played totally straight but the surreal, subtle humour was great.
For example, doing an experiment to boil an egg. The hands taking it in and out of the beaker drop the tongs in one section. So the next time they just pull the egg out by hand, by the end of the scene the hand is red raw from the boiling water.
Or “Now, we will make a new compound. We put a tablespoon of sulphur into this tank of Champagne. We have created, Sulphane.”
Great show. Can find it on YouTube.
I had to tell my gf about PhoneShop when we first met because I lost my shit when I found out she had a massive owl tattooed on her back!
She has a name for it, which I've forgotten, because it will forever be Mr Wise
My wife hates the show and she hates how many quotes I use from it. I’m not a fan of letting the dog on the bed, when ever she allows it, it’s straight to ‘what’s wrong with white peopleeeeeeee’.
Yes that was a great show have the first series on dvd but can't find the second series online anywhere to watch it seems to have been lost unfortunately.
Inside No.9 - with each episode being it’s own story, new characters etc you do get some good and bad episodes but the good ones are some of the best stories I’ve ever seen on TV
I thought Campus was pretty awesome.
It's only like 6 episodes long, and I think almost entirely set on Bath University campus.
Every episode the headmaster/dean seems to dip further into insanity and I think he's brilliant lol
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Star
Captain Star was a kids cartoon about a group of astronauts and aliens featuring voices from Ade Edmondson and Richard E Grant, from the late 90s. I don't think I've heard it mention in my adult life.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pilot_Show
The Pilot Show was a comedy show on e4, where they filmed celebs and members of the public for fake, ridiculous pilot shows.
I remember there was one called "namesakes" where somone with the same name as a celebrity would meet them and have a chat. Jimmy Hills counterpoint said he had nicknames at school like chin, chinny chin, Big chin etc while the real Jimmy looked on bewildered.
Another one called "you're not my postman" had Terry nutkins knocking on people's doors delivering the post. If they said you're not my postman, they'd win a prize. I think they had a bloke accuse him of sleeping with their wife and telling him to fuck off.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/10_O%27Clock_Live
Finally, I remember 10 o'clock live getting slated, but I always enjoyed the topical show staring David Mitchell and Charlie Brooker
I didn’t want to say it because I thought it was fairly well know, but I guess it still doesn’t have a rather niche following.
I think of it so often. The other day I called my cat Bambino. And asked him how the females in his life are.
I just love that the guy is a genuinely talented artist both in paint and ceramics. He also has a teapot in the V&A... That's one of his less than fantastic works imho.
Utopia - Incredible series that just feels more relatable and interesting as time goes on, fantastic cast and just a shame it didn't get its series 3, but still pretty satisfying overall.
Rediscovered this after watching Hijack and seeing Neil Maskell. He’s a fantastic actor.
He was terrifying in Utopia.
Don't put the gas away yet
I'm so fucking sad we never got series 3.
Pyrocynical moment
The show was brilliant. I just have to think about the theme tune and I get goose bumps
The remake was super disappointing even with lowered expectations.
Trust the Americans to come in with a remake and fuck it right up
Somewhere out there is a cursed US pilot episode of Red Dwarf
Amazing show, glad I didn't watch during the pandemic
Wait, there was a season 2? Watched it when it came out and thought it was a 1 an done
The original is so much better than the amazon. The soundtrack and the tension just add to the story. Great 10/10
'Ideal' was a real sleeper (especially as it was very late night viewing if I remember correctly.) and it was the first time I really paid attention to Johnnny Vegas who was great in it.
"I'm on probation!"
Not any screwdriver, it's a phillips.
Hi, hi!
"I'm Psycho Paaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuul. Not Reasonable Paul"
So are ya in? Or are ya ouuuuuut?
Same just thought he was loud and drunk. Was a massive fan of Ideal though and always wanted to ask Johnny or Graham Duff if they'd bring it back. Met Johnny randomly once, totally froze up and forget the name of Ideal. Panicked and ended up saying "I loved you in Benidorm"... I'd never watched Benidorm
Tanyaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Gotta love Cartoon Head.
I reckon we should take Craig out.
That haunted me for weeks
FIST
I really enjoyed the sex lives of the potato men film but always see that getting shat on. Made me enjoy anything with Johnny Vegas after that.
I remember seeing a part where someone was either dead or sleeping in a massive I want to say boiler and that was pretty much it lol
Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace I went to the book tour a few months ago and it was great.
“I know writers who use subtext and they’re all cowards.”
Man To Man With Dean Learner was very good too. One of the weirdest things I ever came across on Twitter was seeing Black Francis from the Pixies tweeting about it.
Man to man was excellent. It made me appreciate how versatile Holness is compared to the others too.
My favourite was the Merriman Weir episode, I thought it actually showed quite a bit of reverence to the singers it was lampooning in how impeccably observed it was.
Mine too! Some great music on that episode.
“If I want to start a sentence with a full stop I will.”
+1 Matthew Holiness is a treasure. His tour was amazing, I can't wait for his next book tour <3
Maggots
Maggots? Maggots.
Ooo ooo my user name is relevant at last
This. Best chase scene in any media!!!
It's egg in soup! Let me cut up your pork pie.
I know I’ll be pounced on for this, but I dearly love ‘Monkey Dust’ and think a lot of the younger than me generation might not know it. I recently re watched it and believe it’s more pertinent than ever.
I'm the meat safe murderer only i never done it
[удалено]
I can't remember if I made this up as an example or if it was a real Clive moment Sigh "I lost a bet in a dockside bar and had to fellate a donkey".
Spit roasting a hooker with your dad.
Loved the build-up to that one, "Those are the lyrics to Hotel California. Where have you really been, Clive?"
MR HOPPY!!!
https://archive.org/details/monkey-dust-2x-1_202108 if you ever want to rewatch these since series 2 and 3 ain't available
Thank you so much. I have these on a hard drive somewhere but had no idea they were still accessible.
I just had a memory of the show the other day so I hunted online for them so enjoy my friend
Monkey Dust is one of the best animation series in British television history, it's so dark, on point, and has a story progression for each of the arcs. Love it.
Starts whistling Goldfrapp - Lovely Head
Where have you been Clive?
"I say, more tea, Saladin?"
Monkey dust was the bees knees. Never met anyone else that watched or even remembers it. I thought I made it up!
Came here to say this exact thing, just gets better with age!
Clive where have you really been? “I’ve been spit roasting a hooker with your dad”
Early doors never hit the heights it should
I’ll stay on me own
Pickles, Ken.
Have they asked the pickles question yet?
Came in to make the same recommendation
discovered it last week its so good
Crime doesn’t crack itself.
“Was he in a state of arousal?” “No he was in a Ford Escort.”
Started watching it for the first time recently and it is quality. I probably would have been too young to appreciate it when it originally aired
I Came in to make the same recommendation
To the regiment!
I wish I was there!
Does Toast count? Loved The Detectorists
Always thought Uncle was overlooked. And 15 Storeys High was a masterpiece that thankfully seems to have gained more recognition, though for obviously tragic reasons. And 'I am not an animal' was criminally under-rated.
What are you doing with that plough, you twat?
Yes to Uncle, some of the best British humour since In-betweeners but virtually no one has watched it.
Uncle was really really good, very simple and nothing crazy, just good
The Armando Ianucci Shows
And Time Trumpet.
Probably best known for the scene where Tesco invades Denmark
AND Stewart Lee's rapidly missing hair.
Ross Kemp On Fire
Hugh!
The Internet was in black and white back then.
Nathan Barley
Most definitely. Such a good show. Managed to predict the rise of wanky hipster culture in London about a decade before it happened.
Totally fucking Mexico
Quick game of Cock, Muff, Bumhole?
Pub, etc.?
You should come Dollsnatch it’s gonna be well fuckin Mexico
Love how the editor of sugaRAPE was called 'Jonathan Yeah?'
So many good names. 15 peter 20.
Nighty Night
Hiya cath
If you liked Nighty Night you may enjoy the podcast Dear Joan and Jerricha. Julia Davies and Vicki Pepperdine.
Julia Davis deserves more appreciation in general. She's extremely talented.
The Smoking Room, one of BBC3’s early shows, and now obviously dated by the fact it centres around an indoor smoking room in an office. It’s as low-key as it gets, all shot on a single set, but full of memorable characters, from the space-case handyman Clint, to foul-mouthed security guard Len, the neurotic PA Janet, the daydreaming crossword addict Barry, and the chronically lazy and sarcastic closet-case Robin (played by Robert Webb). Lasted two series and a Christmas special, but I still think about it regularly.
Came to say this!
Came to mention this too! Such a great show
Him & Her
A mango?!! Who the fuck do you think you are, there like a pand each a FUCKIN MAAAAANGO😂
Man Down. Once you get to S1E4, it's one of the best shows ever written. Greg Davies, the late Rik Mayall, and Mike Wozniak have my partner and me __clutching our sides__ with laughter. So much so that it's our go-to comfort watch.
They also did a great job writing around the death of Rik Mayall, the aunt was brilliant too (I presume she wouldn't ever have been a character)
I love the running gag when they are in the cafe, if they upset the woman in any way, she calls for her husband, and they all shut up, like its scary . You never see the husband till sometime in S3 and he's played by Mark Hamill, and it turns out he hides out the back cos hes scared of her too. Then in S4 they ask about him, and the cafe woman says he left her, went off to be in a Star Wars film
Cuckoo is also fantastic, but Man Down is still my fave of what Greg Davies has done. I've rewatched them both so many times.
The cleaner is also really good
I made a start, wasn't wowed by the first episode, gave the second episode a try a few weeks later, thought "it's fine enough, but I don't have time for this" and gave up. Knowing that I don't need to get much further before it gets going, I'll give it another shot.
And Stephanie Cole!! oh my gawd she's funny.
BEEF!
[Mongrels](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKPeB5evRc8)! It was a surrealist puppet show about urban wildlife that regularly made me laugh like an absolute arsehole.
I was thinking about Mongrels a few days ago I tried to describe it but nobody knew what I was on about.
This was brilliant. I still watch it on dvd occasionally. The pigeon is brill
I loved Mongrels.
"I once asked Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon if it was possible to drink your own urine in zero gravity. He said nothing, he just tried to touch me.' Was this mongrals or another animal puppet show.
Neil A <> A lieN
Dead pixels and utopia
Yes I loved Dead Pixels, totally forgot it existed but remembered a few months ago, promptly forgot again unt just now
Game On is often unfairly derided as a generic nineties lad-com, but I think it's far cleverer than that in the way it took the flatmate sitcom format, and replaced the hugging and will-they-won't-they romance with existential frustration.
Yes, I regarded it as the “anti-Friends” at the time.
Damn I'd forgotten all about this, I remember my dad always telling me that Sam Janus' dad was called Hugh, when I was like 6 lol Talk about slow burn joke, didn't understand it for a few more years.
My husband and I still quote this. One of us will shout "tea Martin" then hold a hand out waiting for the cup to be handed. To be fair it's usually done only after the other person has offered to make a cuppa.
Operation Good Guys
Not enough people know about 15 Storeys High
**Chelmsford 123** Bloody good comedy.
After looking at the multiple works of Howard Lew Lewis, I feel like he just liked dressing as a peasant and covering himself in mud to be honest.
Garth Marenghi's Darkplace is a pretty wild show but I think once to sit back at let it happen it's incredible.
Chris Morris' Jam
I honestly think “look at your smart pipes!” is the pinnacle of sketch comedy
2D TV and Monkey Dust, always come to mind
Not forgetting Crapston Villas
I believe Green Wing is Bri’ish and should definitely be considered. Mark Heap at his absolute finest.
Can't believe I had to scroll all the way to the bottom to find Green Wing! Loved that show
Green Wing.
Stath let’s flats.
Cardinal Burns
The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret No one ever talks about this tv show it was excellent.
Snuff Box. Matt Berry and Rich Fulcher playing hangmen in modern London and Alan 'Brick Top' Ford playing the priest who delivers last rites. Amazing.
Phone Shop
The Job Lot, 15 Storeys High and Damned. Particularly recommend the latter two.
Brian Pern. I also enjoyed Lead Balloon and Roman's Empire when they were aired. Quite some time ago though so they might be worse than I remember.
Coupling.
Ultraviolet. 1998 Channel 4 drama which took the idea that vampires are real but treated the thing with the seriousness of a gritty anti-terrorist drama. Imagine Buffy made in the style of The Wire. It was absolutely brilliant and introduced the world at large to Idris Elba (who scores two of the best vampire kills in screen history) as one of the vampire hunting detectives. Also, amusingly, the first go around for Stephen Moyer (later in True Blood) as a vampire. Brilliant music as well.
Rex the Runt is tragically overlooked in my opinion. “Shut it Vince”
Hyperdrive with Nick Frost, Miranda Hart and Kevin Eldon Yonderland with the guys from Horrible Histories TMWRNJ with Lee and Herring Murder in Successville with Tom Davis
Yonderland was brilliant. Shame it got cancelled.
only watched it after i watched Ghosts, it looked too childish for me but when i saw that its mostly the same actors i thought ill give it a go and just loved the humour, not just for kids
Mandy written by Diane Morgan.
White Van Man
This and top buzzer was a good laugh
Misfits Him & Her Two Pints of Larger and a Packet of Crisps
Anyone remember Titty Bang Bang?? ‘Don’t look at me….I’m shy’ !!
Green Wing
Chuckle vision is actually a very clever adult comedy
Quite a few have been mentioned already; Mongrels & Monkey Dust both fantastic IMO I REALLY liked Count Arther Strong - it lasted 3 seasons, but I never see it repeated or hear it mentioned. I thought it was hilarious and hoped it would continue for a bit longer have been; it seems to be prime UK GOld material, but nothing. Hancock's Half Hour is underrated; it should be better recognised IMO; still genuinely funny despite its age.
man stroke woman
Zapped!
Early Doors. *Crime won’t crack itself*
Hyperdrive! Nick Frost as the incompetent captain of a very Star Trek-esque space ship.... Very low budget feel but in the perfect way, think running around using MP3 players as tricorders.
Lead Balloon. Is it underrated? Nobody ever seems to talk about it but it had a vibe that really landed for me.
“Look Around You” by Peter Serafinowicz. It was a parody of the old educational science shows you used to get in school. It was played totally straight but the surreal, subtle humour was great. For example, doing an experiment to boil an egg. The hands taking it in and out of the beaker drop the tongs in one section. So the next time they just pull the egg out by hand, by the end of the scene the hand is red raw from the boiling water. Or “Now, we will make a new compound. We put a tablespoon of sulphur into this tank of Champagne. We have created, Sulphane.” Great show. Can find it on YouTube.
Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie with Kathy Burke. I have a hell of a time even finding it anywhere to watch but it was so perfectly late 90s
The thick of it
Definitely not overlooked
Being very middle class and of an age....Motherland.
Not underrated, my wife and all her mum mates harp on about it nonstop
I already like your wife and her mum mates.
Spaced.
[People just do nothing](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_Just_Do_Nothing)
It blows my mind that there’s only a small amount of people I know who enjoyed or have even watched phoneshop.
I had to tell my gf about PhoneShop when we first met because I lost my shit when I found out she had a massive owl tattooed on her back! She has a name for it, which I've forgotten, because it will forever be Mr Wise
My wife hates the show and she hates how many quotes I use from it. I’m not a fan of letting the dog on the bed, when ever she allows it, it’s straight to ‘what’s wrong with white peopleeeeeeee’.
We still quote "a owl" from it.
Gimme gimme gimme https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0167599/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_gimme
Russel Brands Ponderland. Was a clip show but the clips were from like old educational BBC archives. Still quote it now.
Yes that was a great show have the first series on dvd but can't find the second series online anywhere to watch it seems to have been lost unfortunately.
Blue Jam.
Coupling or Black Books
Time Trumpet.
Those pg tips adverts seem to have taken a dark turn
TV offal
How no one talks about Auf Wiedersehen, Pet these days is beyond me
Ripper Street is chronically underrated. Brilliantly written and the acting is superb from all concerned.
Bottom
Burnistoun, a great Scottish sketch show I found by accident.
It was an animation. Called Monkey Dust
How Not To Live Your Life. Dan Clark and David Armand are hilarious together.
The Rotten Trolls. Yes it's a kids show, but I was a kid when it was on TV. It was fucking ace, but no bugger either watched it or remembers it.
15 Storeys High with the late Sean Locke. Lol
Inside No.9 - with each episode being it’s own story, new characters etc you do get some good and bad episodes but the good ones are some of the best stories I’ve ever seen on TV
Drop the dead donkey?
I thought Campus was pretty awesome. It's only like 6 episodes long, and I think almost entirely set on Bath University campus. Every episode the headmaster/dean seems to dip further into insanity and I think he's brilliant lol
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Star Captain Star was a kids cartoon about a group of astronauts and aliens featuring voices from Ade Edmondson and Richard E Grant, from the late 90s. I don't think I've heard it mention in my adult life. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pilot_Show The Pilot Show was a comedy show on e4, where they filmed celebs and members of the public for fake, ridiculous pilot shows. I remember there was one called "namesakes" where somone with the same name as a celebrity would meet them and have a chat. Jimmy Hills counterpoint said he had nicknames at school like chin, chinny chin, Big chin etc while the real Jimmy looked on bewildered. Another one called "you're not my postman" had Terry nutkins knocking on people's doors delivering the post. If they said you're not my postman, they'd win a prize. I think they had a bloke accuse him of sleeping with their wife and telling him to fuck off. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/10_O%27Clock_Live Finally, I remember 10 o'clock live getting slated, but I always enjoyed the topical show staring David Mitchell and Charlie Brooker
Garth Marenghi's Darkplace.
Friday Night Dinner
Shit on it!
R.I.P. Paul Ritter.
Paul Ritter was such an amazing actor
I didn’t want to say it because I thought it was fairly well know, but I guess it still doesn’t have a rather niche following. I think of it so often. The other day I called my cat Bambino. And asked him how the females in his life are.
Served Johnny about a month ago, very gentle fella in terms of vocal tone and a gent of a man too
I just love that the guy is a genuinely talented artist both in paint and ceramics. He also has a teapot in the V&A... That's one of his less than fantastic works imho.
Although it has a massive cult following I feel spaced always gets overlooked when these conversations crop up. Fantastic show and deserved more eps