[TV] TV this month

[Gwylan]

Has there ever been a better month for television than this one? I know that's a bold statement but I'm struggling to think of a time when there were so many top quality programmes on at once.

This was prompted by the thread on Unforgotten, which is one of the best British cop dramas I've seen. Clashing with Unforgotten is the excellent The Last Kingdom, stirring historical drama with a sense of humour.

We also have the completely brilliant Fargo (the second series is even better than the first), the compelling River - which is inevitably compared to Unforgotten as they both have Nicola Walker in it. It's not as good as Unforgotten but in most other weeks would be a highlight. We have a new series of Homeland, which is better than the previous one, and The Returned, a bit scarier than the previous series but perhaps not quite so thought-provoking.

Fans of Scandinavian noir have Arne Dahl to keep them happy - not as good as Wallender or The Killing perhaps but superior stuff. And we have The Bridge coming back this week.

I know people talk about the golden age of television but they remember shows that were a week's highlight - there were never this many excellent programmes on at the same time. The only thing that's missing is a decent sitcom - we seem to have lost the ability to write those but there's so much

 

[8ace]

New series of Peep Show and Toast of London to come as well

 

[Return of the Rev]

Tipping point!

 

[Notters]

WHOAH there. I've been thinking it's hardly worth having a TV any more and thinking about ditching it. It's mostly a load of vacuous rubbish. Have barely had it on this week. I assumed it was down to BBC budget cuts.

Not seen the new series of Homeland but only heard bad things.

 

[Marshy]

I have never watched any of the programs mentioned !

 

[Tony Towner's Fridge]

Tipping Point and the Chase....both excellent game show programmes.

MasterChef Australia is the very best foody programme on. After last night's first MasterChef UK Pro , you can see how limp we are by comparison with the Auissie blockbuster.

Rick Stein's from Crawley to Katmandu is excellent

The Hunt with David Rottenboroug is sublime.

Good TV indeed.

I still hate Soaps with a passion!

TNBA

TTF

 

[Hiney]

Unforgotten is superb.

The Last Kingdom is also excellent - the series of books that it is based on are also well worth a read. Bernard Cornwall is a master of historical fiction.

Watched the first episode of River and found it a bit weird - got the rest on the planner so will give it another go.

Loved the first series of Fargo - brilliantly crazy. Second series if also nestled on the planner.

Great stuff.

 

[El Presidente]

Ooh good. I'm on the last DVD of House of Cards Season 3 and was wondering how to fill the void.

Although I did was Professor Green's 'Suicide and Me' last night, and that was very good.

 

[Withdean11]

The Hunt is the best thing on TV at the moment.

 

[Gwylan]

The Last Kingdom is also excellent - the series of books that it is based on are also well worth a read. Bernard Cornwall is a master of historical fiction.

Yes, it's certainly made me want to read the books - not read any of his before

 

[Hiney]

Yes, it's certainly made me want to read the books - not read any of his before

Good luck

The Last Kingdom
The Pale Horseman
Lords of the North
Sword Song
The Burning Land
Death of Kings
The Pagan Lord
The Empty Throne
Warriers of the Storm

That's just the Uhtred series

 

[Paul Reids Sock]

WHOAH there. I've been thinking it's hardly worth having a TV any more and thinking about ditching it. It's mostly a load of vacuous rubbish. Have barely had it on this week. I assumed it was down to BBC budget cuts.

Not seen the new series of Homeland but only heard bad things.

I have never watched any of the programs mentioned !

I'm glad it's not just me!

I was thinking last night just how poor television has become and how it is a victim of there being way too many chanels and therefore everyone scrapping to cut costs due to reduced viewing figures. The worst thing for me was when BBC2 last night had the pottery version of bake off. I mean seriously!? They will be onto Britans best hedge trimmer before long

 

[Papa Lazarou]

New series of The Blacklist as well.

 

[WhingForPresident]

Saw the new episode of Peep Show on Monday (O2 Priority), didn't have particularly high hopes for it as the last couple of seasons weren't nearly as good as the early ones but it's bloody hilarious. Definitely worth a watch on 4 tonight.

 

[Official Old Man]

As we move gracefully into Autumn / Winter the big guns come back for their winter run. My Sky+ box has suddenly started to fill up with the usual stuff after it automatically looks for anything I've had on series link.

 

[Bombadier Botty]

TV - a complete waste of your life. It's not called 'the idiot box' for nothing.

 

[Notters]

I'm glad it's not just me!

I was thinking last night just how poor television has become and how it is a victim of there being way too many channels and therefore everyone scrapping to cut costs due to reduced viewing figures. The worst thing for me was when BBC2 last night had the pottery version of bake off. I mean seriously!? They will be onto Britans best hedge trimmer before long

That's the crux of it. There was far more of interest when there were only four channels!

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

It is the golden age of TV to be honest. Guys you just need to FIND it amongst the reality shit and soaps.

Its also true that most of it is US based made but see past that and you are good to go.

 

[Gwylan]

That's the crux of it. There was far more of interest when there were only four channels!

No, it's your age. When I was in my 20s, I hardly watched any TV (apart from news and sport), I had better things to do with my life. I didn't watch much in the 30s either but as I get older and stay in more, I'm more interested in what's on the box. There are generally a couple of things a week that were of interest but I can't recall any time when there were so many decent programmes on.

There were four channels throughout the 80s but the number of programmes I watched could probably be counted in the fingers of one hand. There was Minder, Blackadder and ... er ... er

 

[lost in london]

No mention of Catastrophe and The Detectorists? Both are incredible in completely different ways, but having the two new series at the same time feels like we're being spoiled.