#1 Chernobyl Cast: David Dencik, Emily Watson, Stellan Skarsgård, Jared Harris, Alex Ferns, Sam Troughton, Robert Emms, Paul Ritter , Con O'Neill, Adrian Rawlins, Jessie Buckley. Overview: Chernobyl dramatizes the story of the 1986 nuclear accident — one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history — and the sacrifices made to save Europe from unimaginable disaster. Genres: Drama, Mini-Series. |
#2 Band Of Brothers 2001 Cast: Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston, Matthew Settle, Robin Laing, Peter Youngblood Hills, James Madio, Ross McCall, Neal McDonough, Donnie Wahlberg, Scott Grimes, Dexter Fletcher, Kirk Acevedo, Matthew Leitch, Dale Dye, Eion Bailey. Overview: Executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks for HBO, Band of Brothers is a ten-part miniseries based on the book Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne From Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest by Steven E. Ambrose. The Series dramatically re-creates the path of Easy Company, an elite paratrooper unit, from their basic training at Camp Toccoa in Georgia in 1942, to D-Day, to their critical involvement in the Battle of the Bulge, through their triumph at the close of the war. Genres: Action and Adventure, Drama, Mini-Series. Runtime: 11h 45m. |
#3 Sherlock 2010 Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Mark Gatiss, Rupert Graves, Louise Brealey, Lara Pulver, Andrew Scott, Una Stubbs. Overview: Sherlock depicts "consulting detective" Holmes, assisting the Metropolitan Police Service, primarily DI Greg Lestrade, in solving various crimes. Holmes is assisted by his flatmate, Dr John Watson, who has returned from military service in Afghanistan. Although the series depicts a variety of crimes and perpetrators, Holmes' conflict with his archnemesis Jim Moriarty is a recurring feature. Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama. Runtime: 9h. |
#4 Planet Earth 2006 Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Sir David Attenborough. Overview: A hundred years ago, there were one and a half billion people on Earth. Now, over six billion crowd our fragile planet. But even so, there are still places barely touched by humanity. This series will take you to the last wildernesses and show you the planet and its wildlife as you have never seen them before. Genre: Documentary. Runtime: 9h 10m. |
#5 Firefly 2002 Cast: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Summer Glau, Sean Maher, Ron Glass, Christina Hendricks. Overview: In the far-distant future, Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds is a renegade former brown-coat sergeant, now turned smuggler & rogue, who is the commander of a small spacecraft, with a loyal hand-picked crew made up of the first mate, Zoe Warren; the pilot Hoban "Wash" Washburn; the gung-ho grunt Jayne Cobb; the engineer Kaylee Frye; the fugitives Dr. Simon Tam and his psychic sister River. Together, they travel the far reaches of space in search of food, money, and anything to live on. Genres: Drama, Science-Fiction. Runtime: 11h 15m. |
#6 I, Claudius 1976 Cast: Brian Blessed, Derek Jacobi, George Baker, John Hurt, Patrick Stewart, Sheila White, Siân Phillips. Overview: Based on Robert Graves' epic novels about the decline of Roman civilisation in the first century AD, this award-winning drama redefined the boundaries of television when it was broadcast in 1976. Jack Pulman's brilliant script conveys the unrelenting depravity during the reigns of the four Emperors who succeeded Julius Caesar: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius. The star-studded cast includes Derek Jacobi as Claudius, John Hurt as Caligula and Brian Blessed as Augustus. Genres: Drama, Mini-Series. Runtime: 10h 50m. |
#7 Pride and Prejudice 1995 Director: Simon Langton. Cast: Jennifer Ehle, Colin Firth, Susannah Harker, Lucy Scott, David Bamber, Adrian Lukis, Lucy Robinson, Anna Chancellor, Lucy Briers, Polly Maberly, Crispin Bonham-Carter, Benjamin Whitrow, Alison Steadman, Julia Sawalha, Tim Wylton. Overview: This is the 1995 mini-series of Jane Austen's romantic comedy of upper class life and games of love in early 19th century England. The story revolves around the pretty but sharp-tongued Elizabeth Bennet, whose sharp wit and good sense usually keep her out of mischief and trouble, as she spars with the haughty Fitzwilliam Darcy. Meanwhile, Elizabeth's sisters Jane and Lydia have admirers of their own. Genres: Drama, Mini-Series. Runtime: 5h. Rated: PG. |
#8 The Decalogue 1989 Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski. Cast: Artur Barcis, Olgierd Lukaszewicz, Olaf Lubaszenko. Overview: This is a series of ten shorts created for Polish Television, with plots loosely based upon the Ten Commandments, directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski. Two of these, Dekalog 5 and 6, are shorter cuts from the feature-length films--Krotki film o zabijaniu (A Short Film About Killing) and Krotki film o milosci (A Short Film About Love), respectively. They deal with the emotional turmoil suffered by humanity, when instinctual acts and societal morality conflict. Genre: Drama. Runtime: 9h 10m. |
#9 Black-Adder II 1983 Cast: Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Stephen Fry, Tim McInnerny, Brian Blessed, Elspet Gray, Patsy Byrne, Robert East, Helen Atkinson-Wood, Miranda Richardson, Hugh Laurie. Overview: Through four series and a few specials, Edmund Blackadder and his greasy sidekick Baldrick conjure up cunning plans as Edmund tries to take advantage of desperate times. These "situation tragedies" had obvious parallels from the Dark Ages to Elizabethan times, the rule of mad George III, and The Great War. Some character names from the first series are open to debate as they are shown in fancy script on screen, usually against unhelpful backgrounds. Genre: Comedy. Runtime: 3h. |
#10 House of Cards 1990 Cast: Ian Richardson, Susannah Harker, Alphonsia Emmanuel, Colin Jeavons, Damien Thomas, David Lyon, Diane Fletcher, Isabelle Amyes, James Villiers, Malcolm Tierney, Miles Anderson, Nicholas Selby, William Chubb. Overview: The PM made a deadly mistake when he passed over Francis Urquhart. With his recent dire performance in the general election, he's going to need all the friends he can get. But Urquhart won't be ignored by anyone and now he's out for revenge. As the trusted Chief Whip, he has his hands on every grubby little secret in politics, and with innocent journalist Mattie Storin unwittingly drawn into his web, he'll stop at nothing to get what he wants. A black tale of greed, corruption and burning ambition. Based on the best selling novel by Michael Dobbs, a former aide to Margaret Thatcher. Genres: Drama, Mini-Series. Runtime: 3h 50m. |
#11 North & South 2004 Director: Brian Percival. Cast: Daniela Denby-Ashe, Richard Armitage, Brendan Coyle, Lesley Manville, Pauline Quirke, Sinead Cusack, Tim Pigott-Smith. Overview: Set against the backdrop of Victorian England's industrial north, Daniela Denby-Ashe and Richard Armitage star in Sandy Welch's adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's passionate love story.... Genre: Drama. Runtime: 3h 55m. |
#12 Cowboy Bebop 1998 Cast: Steven Jay Blum, Beau Billingslea, Wendee Lee, Melissa Fahn, Aoi Tada, Kōichi Yamadera, Megumi Hayashibara, Unshou Ishizuka. Overview: Wherever humanity goes, so goes its criminal element, and thus the need for those who hunt criminals. The solar system police reinstated the bounty system of the Wild West. Cowboy Bebop is the story of the four inhabitants of the spaceship Bebop, and the living they barely make at bounty hunting. Genres: Action and Adventure, Animation, Science-Fiction. Runtime: 10h 50m. |
#13 Summer Heights High 2007 Cast: Chris Lilley, David Lennie, Kristy Barnes-Cullen, Asolima Tauati, Iro Utaifeau, Zach Fa'atoe, Ofa Palu. Overview: Chris Lilley, creator of "We Can Be Heroes" brings a whole new meaning to high school with his various characters in his new ABC comedy "Summer Heights High" which include Mr G, Ja'mie and Jonah. Lilley stars as all three characters in this comedy which small issues become huge and social groups are important. Genre: Comedy. Runtime: 4h. |
#14 Fawlty Towers 1975 Cast: John Cleese, Andrew Sachs, Connie Booth, Prunella Scales, Ballard Berkeley, Brian Hall, Gilly Flower, Renee Roberts. Overview: Fawlty Towers (1975–1979) is a British television sitcom about hotel owner Basil Fawlty's incompetence, short fuse, and arrogance that form a combination that ensures accidents and trouble are never far away. Although only twelve episodes were produced, the programme has had a lasting and powerful legacy. Genre: Comedy. Runtime: 6h. |
#15 Spaced 1999 Cast: Nick Frost, Jessica Hynes, Simon Pegg, Julia Deakin, Katy Carmichael, Mark Heap. Overview: Spaced is a sitcom like no other. The premise is simple enough: Daisy (Jessica Stevenson) and Tim (Simon Pegg) are out of luck and love, so pretend to be a couple in order to rent a flat together. Downstairs neighbour and eccentric painter Brian suspects someone's fibbing, and almost blows their cover with their lecherous lush of a landlady, Marsha. Fortunately he soon falls for Daisy's health-freak friend Twist, while Daisy herself goes ga-ga for pet dog Colin. Tim remains happily platonic with lifemate Mike; a sweet-at-heart guns 'n' ammo obsessive. The series is chock-full of pop culture references. In fact, each episode is themed after at least one movie, with nods to The Shining and Close Encounters of the Third Kind proving especially hilarious. Hardly five minutes goes by without a Star Wars reference, and every second of screen time from Bill Bailey as owner of the comic shop where Tim works is comedic gold. The look of the series is its other outstanding element, with slam-zoo Genre: Comedy. Runtime: 5h 43m. |
#16 Life 2009 Cast: Sir David Attenborough. Overview: "Life" is a spectacular new nature documentary series produced by the BBC. Ten chapters filmed in HD pursuing an ambitious goal: to be the definitive exploration of the diversity of the animal world. Throughout the series we will watch all kinds of amazing behaviours that defy our concept of other beings who inhabit this planet. For four years, the multi-Natural History Unit of the BBC has visited all the continents and types of environments in search of the most amazing stories about the continuing struggle for animal survival. Genre: Documentary. Runtime: 10h. |
#17 The Life of Mammals 2002 Cast: Sir David Attenborough. Overview: David Attenborough looks at why mammals are the most successful creatures on the planet. Genre: Documentary. Runtime: 8h 20m. |
#18 Mesto vstrechi izmenit nelzya 1979 Director: Stanislav Govorukhin. Cast: Vladimir Vysotsky, Vladimir Konkin. Overview: After WWII is over, a young officer Volodya Sharapov returns to Moscow to work in MUR - Moskovskiy Ugolovny Rozysk (Moscow Criminal Police). There he meets Gleb Zheglov who is a chief of a squad which fights organized crime. Genres: Action and Adventure, Drama, Mini-Series. Runtime: 5h 59m. |
#19 From the Earth to the Moon 1998 Director: Michael Grossman. Cast: Ben Marley, Mark Rolston, George Newbern, Joe Spano, Ann Cusack, Tony Goldwyn, Cary Elwes, Chris Isaak, Peter Scolari, Gary Cole, David Andrews, Dave Foley, Mark Harmon, Timothy Daly, Dan Butler. Overview: This twelve part HBO mini-series tells the story of the United States' space program, from its beginnings in 1961 to the final moon mission in 1972. Tom Hanks served as Executive Producer and introduced each segment. Genre: Drama. Runtime: 12h. |
#20 Lonesome Dove 1989 Director: Simon Wincer. Cast: Anjelica Huston, Rick Schroder, Robert Urich, Danny Glover, Robert Duvall, Barry Corbin, Chris Cooper, D.B. Sweeney, Diane Lane, Frederic Forrest, Glenne Headly, Steve Buscemi, Timothy Scott, Tommy Lee Jones, William Sanderson. Overview: Retired Texas Rangers Gus McRae and Woodrow Call are content to live out their remaining years in the tiny Texas town of Lonesome Dove. Then their old friend Jake comes to town, and tells them about the incredible opportunities for cattle ranching in Montana. Encouraged by this, Call convinces Gus and many other townspeople to go on a perilous cattle drive to Montana. Gus has another agenda though: his former sweetheart now lives in Nebraska, and he hopes for a second chance with her. As the drive goes on it takes on an epic scale, ultimately becoming what could well be called the central event in the lives of all involved. Genres: Action and Adventure, Drama, Western. Country: United States of America. Runtime: 6h 24m. |
#21 The Office (UK) 2001 Cast: Ricky Gervais, Lucy Davis, Martin Freeman, Mackenzie Crook, Ralph Ineson, Stacey Roca, Ewen Macintosh, Patrick Baladi, Alexander Perkins, Jamie Deeks, Joel Beckett, Julie Fernandez, Kiki Kendrick, Oliver Chris, Rachel Isaac. Overview: A mockumentary about life in a mid-sized suboffice paper merchants in a bleak British industrial town, where manager David Brent thinks he's the coolest, funniest, and most popular boss ever. He isn't. That doesn't stop him from embarrassing himself in front of the cameras on a regular basis, whether from his political sermonizing, his stand-up 'comedy', or his incredibly unique dancing. Meanwhile, long-suffering Tim longs after Dawn the engaged receptionist and keeps himself sane by playing childish practical jokes on his insufferable, army-obsessed deskmate Gareth. Will the Slough office be closed? Will the BBC give David a game show? Will Tim and Dawn end up with each other? And more importantly, will Gareth realize what a hopeless prat he is? Genre: Comedy. Runtime: 7h 30m. |
#22 Garth Marenghi's Darkplace 2004 Cast: Matthew Holness, Richard Ayoade, Matt Berry. Overview: Garth Marenghi's Darkplace is the brainchild of celebrated horror writer and self-styled "fabulist" Garth Marenghi, author of such genre classics as Afterbirth (a mutated placenta attacks Bristol) and Crab! ("One of the three best horror books about crabs I've ever read" - Hard Gore Magazine). Back in the 1980s, he branched out into television production, writing and starring in a series so radical, so scary and so downright crazy that when the bosses of Channel 4 saw what they had on their hands, they ran away screaming, like little girls. Only now, twenty years on and amid the worst programming drought in television history, have the station finally allowed the show on the air. Intercut with new interviews with Marenghi himself and his co-stars Dean Learner and Todd Rivers, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace is perhaps the most disturbing vision of hospital life ever broadcast. Genres: Comedy, Science-Fiction. Runtime: 2h 24m. |
#23 Heimat: A Chronicle of Germany 1984 Cast: Marita Breuer, Kurt Wagner, Rüdiger Weigang. Overview: Heimat is a trilogy of episodic films by Edgar Reitz which views life in Germany between 1919 and 2000 through the eyes of a family from the Hunsrück area of the Rhineland. Personal and domestic life is set against glimpses of wider social and political events. The title Heimat is a German word meaning "homeland". Its use is partly an ironic reference to the film genre known as Heimatfilm which was popular in Germany in the 1950s. Heimatfilms were noted for their rural settings, sentimental tone and simplistic morality. Genre: Drama. Runtime: 15h 25m. |
#24 Generation Kill 2008 Cast: Chance Kelly, Alexander Skarsgård, James Ransone, Eric Nenninger, Marc Menchaca, Michael Kelly, Benjamin Busch, Brian Wade, Neal Jones, Sal Alvarez, Rudy Reyes, Billy Lush, Jon Huertas, Jonah Lotan, Stark Sands. Overview: A Rolling Stone reporter, embedded with The 1st Recon Marines chronicles his experiences during the first wave of the American-led assault on Baghdad in 2003. Genres: Action and Adventure, Drama, Mini-Series. Runtime: 7h 50m. |
#25 Spartacus 2010 Cast: Antonio Te Maioho, Hanna Mangan Lawrence, Andy Whitfield, Gwendoline Taylor, Dustin Clare, Viva Bianca, Jeffrey Thomas, Todd Lasance, Jai Courtney, Ditch Davey, Lucy Lawless, Daniel Feuerriegel, Liam McIntyre, Peter Mensah, Stephen Lovatt. Overview: Betrayed by the Romans. Forced into slavery. Reborn as a Gladiator. The classic tale of the Republic’s most infamous rebel comes alive in the graphic and visceral new series, Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Torn from his homeland and the woman he loves, Spartacus is condemned to the brutal world of the arena where blood and death are primetime entertainment. But not all battles are fought upon the sands. Treachery, corruption, and the allure of sensual pleasures will constantly test Spartacus. To survive, he must become more than a man. More than a gladiator. He must become a legend. Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama. Runtime: 5h 47m. |
#26 Brideshead Revisited 1981 Cast: Anthony Andrews, Charles Keating, Claire Bloom, Diana Quick, Jane Asher, Jeremy Irons, Jeremy Sinden, John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, Phoebe Nicholls, Simon Jones, Stephane Audran. Overview: Based on a book by Evelyn Waugh , this Mini-Series is a lament for an aristocratic England which at the end of the 1939-45 War seemed to be vanishing for ever. Charles Ryder, a wartime British Army captain, is posted to Brideshead Castle and remembers his doomed pre-war love affairs there. Genres: Drama, Mini-Series. Runtime: 10h 59m. |
#27 The Singing Detective 1986 Cast: Alison Steadman, David Ryall, Geff Francis, George Rossi, Gerard Horan, Janet Suzman, Jim Carter, Joanne Whalley, Leslie French, Lyndon Davies, Michael Gambon, Patrick Malahide, Ron Cook. Overview: The best-known work of celebrated TV dramatist Dennis Potter, The Singing Detective is actually the second of a trilogy of series by Potter using the device of lip-synching to well-known recordings of popular music. The first, set in the 1930s, was Pennies from Heaven (1978), the third, set during the 1956 Suez Crisis, was Lipstick on Your Collar (1993). The Singing Detective focusses musically on the 1940s. (Much earlier, Potter had briefly used lip-synching in his 1969 play for ITV, Moonlight on the Highway.) There are four mutually interfering narrative strands in The Singing Detective. First is the hospital-ward story, described by Potter as a "sitcom", which owes a certain debt to an earlier play, Emergency--Ward 9 (itself a satirical reaction to the popular hospital soap opera of that time, Emergency--Ward 10, which Potter had watched while hospitalised, like his protagonist Philip Marlow, with a flareup of psoriatic arthropathy). Second is the detective story being created mentally by the protagonist, Philip Marlow, as he lies helpless in his hospital bed... Genres: Drama, Mini-Series. Runtime: 6h 55m. |
#28 Semnadtsat Mgnoveniy Vesny 1973 Director: Tatyana Lioznova. Cast: Вячеслав Тихонов, Леонид Броневой, Wilhelm Burmeier, Василий Лановой, Евгений Евстигнеев, Екатерина Градова, Ефим Копелян, Константин Желдин, Леонид Куравлёв, Михаил Жарковский, Николай Граббе, Николай Прокопович, Олег Табаков, Ростислав Плятт, Юрий Визбор. Overview: The series is based on a true story of a Russian spy Colonel Isaev (Stirlitz) in Fascist Germany during 17 days in very end of WWII. Stirlitz has worked his way to the very top of the Fascist hierarchy without being caught. However, his "colleagues", top Hitler's officers Borman, Mueller, Schellenberg are beginning to suspect him. Stirlits is constantly walking on the edge between his two identities, sending information to Russia, while skillfully maintaining the appearance of loyalty to fascist regime. Genres: Action and Adventure, Drama, Mini-Series. Country: Russian Federation. Runtime: 14h. |
#29 Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog 2008 He has a Ph.D. in horribleness! Director: Joss Whedon. Cast: Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day, Nathan Fillion, Jed Whedon, Lance Lanfear, Nick Towne, Otto Michael Penzato, Rob Reinis, Simon Helberg. Overview: Dr. Horrible, an aspiring supervillain with his own video blog, is attempting to join the prestigious Evil League of Evil (led by the legendary "thoroughbred of sin", Bad Horse), but his plans are usually foiled by the egotistical superhero Captain Hammer. Horrible's life is thrown for a loop when he falls in love with Penny, a beautiful and optimistic advocate for the homeless he meets at the laundromat, a situation which complicates itself even further when Penny begins dating the boorish, oafish Hammer after he apparently saves her life. Faced with the task of impressing the League, can Horrible overcome his own incompetence to ruin the day, kill the hero, and still get the girl? Genres: Comedy, Mini-Series, Science-Fiction. Country: United States of America. Runtime: 43m. |
#30 Berlin Alexanderplatz 1980 Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Cast: Günter Lamprecht, Dragomir Stanojevic-Bata Kameni, Claus Holm. Overview: Berlin Alexanderplatz, originally broadcast in 1980, is a 14-part television series adapted and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder from the Alfred Döblin novel of the same name, and stars Günter Lamprecht, Hanna Schygulla, Barbara Sukowa, Elisabeth Trissenaar and Gottfried John. The complete series is 15½ hours long. Genre: Drama. Runtime: 15h 31m. |
#31 John Adams 2008 He United the States of America. Cast: Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney. Overview: U.S. history buffs won't want to miss this epic miniseries about one of America's greatest founding fathers John Adams. The mini-series is based on the 2002 book, John Adams, written by David McCullough, and stars two Academy Award nominated actors: Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney. Genres: Drama, Mini-Series. Runtime: 8h 21m. Rated: PG-13. |
#32 Samurai Champloo 2004 Cast: Takayuki Sugou, Ginpei Sato, Fumihiko Tachiki, Sakiko Tamagawa, Ayako Kawasumi, Otoya Kawano, Kazuya Nakai, Ryuuzaburou Ootomo, Unshou Ishizuka, Ai Maeda, Sayuri [Sayuri] Yamauchi. Overview: From the makers of Cowboy Bebop comes Samurai Champloo! Sometime during the 17th-19th century, during the Japanese "Edo era", two Samurai Warriors known as Mugen and Jin, have a chance meeting with a 15 year old girl named Fuu. Through a series of events, Fuu leads the warriors on a quest into several differant Japanese locations to find the samurai who smells of sunflowers. Little do the 3 unique characters realize just where fate will take them through situations of sex, violence, and drugs. Genres: Action, Adventure, Animation, Anime. Runtime: 10h 50m. |
#33 Neon Genesis Evangelion 1995 Cast: Aaron Kr, Allison Keith, Amanda Winn Lee, Fumihiko Tachiki, Guil Lunde, Iwanaga Tetsuya, Kôichi Yamadera, Kurt Stoll, Matt Greenfield, Megumi Hayashibara, Megumi Ogata, Mitsuishi Kotono, Ogata Megumi, Spike Spencer, Sue Ulu. Overview: In the year 2015, the Angels, huge, tremendously powerful, alien war machines, appear in Tokyo for the second time. The only hope for Mankind`s survival lies in the Evangelion, a humanoid fighting machine developed by NERV, a special United Nations agency. Capable of withstanding anything the Angels can dish out, the Evangelion`s one drawback lies in the limited number of people able to pilot them. Only a handful of teenagers, all born fourteen years ago, nine months after the Angels first appeared, are able to interface with the Evangelion. One such teenager is Shinji Ikari, whose father heads the NERV team that developed and maintains the Evangelion. Thrust into a maelstrom of battle and events that he does not understand, Shinji is forced to plumb the depths of his own inner resources for the courage and strength to not only fight, but to survive, or risk losing everything. Genres: Action and Adventure, Animation, Drama, Science-Fiction. Runtime: 10h 50m. |
#34 Black Books 2000 Cast: Dylan Moran, Bill Bailey, Tamsin Greig. Overview: Black Books is a second-hand bookshop in London run by an Irishman named Bernard Black. He is probably the planet's worst-suited person to run such an establishment: he makes no effort to sell, closes at strange hours on a whim, is in a perpetual alcoholic stupor, abhors his customers (sometimes physically abusing them) and is often comatose at his desk. Help comes in the lumpy shape of Manny Bianco, a hairy, bumbling individual who (almost by osmosis) becomes Bernard's assistant. Manny is not exactly great at the job either but he is a million times better than Bernard. Next door is Fran, an anxious, frustrated woman who runs a sort of new-age shop selling the most unlikely bits of arty junk. Fran is friends with Bernard and, through him, with Manny; together the trio become embroiled in escapades that are sometimes extreme or violent or fantastically ludicrous, and always bizarre. Genre: Comedy. Runtime: 7h 6m. |
#35 Extras 2005 Cast: Ricky Gervais, Ashley Jensen, Shaun Williamson, Stephen Merchant. Overview: Andy Millman has given up his day job to be an actor, but finds he just can't land the big parts. In fact, he's never even had a speaking role, so spends much of his time hanging around on set with fellow extra and best friend, Maggie Jacobs. Andy envies the A-list stars, but never misses an opportunity to ingratiate himself with them, hoping it will lead to that first elusive line of dialogue. Extras is a comedy series from creators and writers of hit BBC comedy The Office (2001): Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Genre: Comedy. Runtime: 6h 30m. |
#36 Brass Eye 1995 Cast: Christopher Morris, Barbara Durkin, Mark Heap, Amelia Bullmore, Kevin Eldon, Doon Mackichan, David Cann. Overview: Brass Eye was a controversial show that reported the issues of British popular culture. Drugs, Animal Rights, Crime, Paedophilia, these are the issues that the tabloids seem to spend their careers cashing in on. Brass Eye focused on the press and society's irrational focus on them. It takes full advantage of c-list celebrities desperate to look like they care about these 'important' issues but who only end up exposing their own ignorance and willingness to say anything if it gets them on TV. Genre: Comedy. Runtime: 2h 47m. |
#37 Sherlock Holmes (1984) 1984 Cast: Jeremy Brett, David Burke, Edward Hardwicke, Colin Jeavons, Rosalie Williams. Overview: This series (made by Granada between 1984 and 1994) in which the late Jeremy Brett played the detective, includes The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The Sign of Four, and The Hound of the Baskervilles. Granada Television had set themselves the task of filming every one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. A number of the mysteries were still waiting to be filmed at Jeremy Brett's death in 1995, but Granada decided not to continue without him. Genre: Drama. Runtime: 11h 30m. |
#38 I'm Alan Partridge 1997 Cast: Steve Coogan, Felicity Montagu, Simon Greenall, Amelia Bullmore, Barbara Durkin, David Schneider, James Lance, Phil Cornwell, Sally Phillips. Overview: This classic BBC comedy comes courtesy of Steve Coogan. Alan is a fictional self-obsessed DJ who has had several TV jobs in the past (including chat show 'Knowing Me Knowing You') and has failed to bounce back from his long dead career. Each episode normally sees Alan resorting to embarrassing anecdotes, insulting someone without noticing and failing to revive his career. Genre: Comedy. Runtime: 5h 44m. |
#39 Berserk 1997 Cast: Akiko Yajima, Akira Ishida, Carolyn Keranen, Chris Kromer, Hayashi Nobutoshi, Jeff Ward, Kevin T. Collins, Mark Diraison, Mark Sebastian, Masuo Amada, Michelle Newman, Morikawa Toshiyuki, Sean Schemmel, Tomohiro Nishimura, Unsho Ishizuka. Overview: In this world, is the destiny of mankind controlled by some transcendental entity or law? Is it like the hand of God hovering above? At least it is true and man has no control, even over his own will. In medieval times war raged throughout the countryside. Feudal lords would give large sums of money to mercenaries who could rid them of their enemies. One such mercenary is Guts. He wields a sword almost larger than he is and holds tremendous strength and courage. When he joins a band of mercenaries known as the Band of the Hawk, he finds a purpose to fight for other than money and helps the Hawks to become the most feared enemy on the battlefield. This anime is adapted from the manga of the same name created by Kentaro Miura. Warning: This show is not suitable for persons under the age of 18 due to extreme violence, gore, nudity, course language and mature content. Genres: Action and Adventure, Animation, Fantasy. Runtime: 10h 25m. |
#40 Yes Minister 1980 Cast: Paul Eddington, Derek Fowlds, Nigel Hawthorne. Overview: This is the story of the endless battles between the Government in the form of Jim Hacker, a brand new Cabinet Minister and the Civil Service of his department run by Sir Humphrey Appleby. Stuck in the middle of it all is civil servant Bernard Woolley. Genre: Comedy. Runtime: 10h 13m. |
#41 Terriers 2010 Cast: Donal Logue, Michael Raymond-James, Kimberly Quinn, Jamie Denbo, Rockmond Dunbar, Laura Allen. Overview: Terriers is a comedic drama that centers on “Hank Dolworth” an ex-cop, who partners with his best friend “Britt Pollack” in an unlicensed private investigation business. This comedic, edgy, original, show is about high stakes in the face of low expectations, exploring what it’s like in today's America to be "too small to fail." Genre: Drama. Runtime: 11h 16m. |
#42 The IT Crowd 2006 Cast: Chris O'Dowd, Katherine Parkinson, Richard Ayoade, Matt Berry, Chris Morris, Noel Fielding. Overview: At the UK company Reynholm Industries, their corporate high-rise towers are full of beautiful happy people with one success story after another. Well, except for the employees that work in the basement - the IT department. While their colleagues work in fantastic surroundings, Jen, Roy and Moss must work below ground in the dark and horrible basement, struggling to make it into normal society. The IT Crowd is a playful and somewhat surreal look at what it's really like to be the underclass of every company - the IT Department. Genres: Comedy, Drama. Runtime: 9h 12m. |
#43 Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy 1979 Director: John Irvin. Cast: Alec Guinness, Anthony Bate, Bernard Hepton, George Sewell, Ian Richardson, Michael Aldridge, Michael Jayston, Terence Rigby, Alexander Knox, Hywel Bennett, Ian Bannen, Sian Phillips. Overview: Tinker, tailor,soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar-man, thief. George Smiley, the aging master spy of the Cold War and once heir apparent to Control, is brought back out of retirement to flush out a top level mole within the Circus. Smiley must travel back through his life and murky workings of the Circus to unravel the net spun by his nemesis Karla 'The Sandman' of the KGB and reveal the identity of the mole before he disappears. Genres: Drama, Mini-Series. Runtime: 4h 50m. |
#44 Smiley's People 1982 Cast: Alec Guinness, Anthony Bate, Bernard Hepton, Ingrid Pitt, Michael Byrne. Overview: Adaptation of John Le Carré's novel, following on from the previous BBC adaptation TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY. George Smiley returns to the Game. A member of one of George Smiley's old networks seems to have caught on to something big. When he turns up dead the Circus asks George to tie up the loose ends with minimal fuss. But George Smiley does not like loose ends. Especially if they lead to the darkest recesses of the KGB - to Karla, the Sandman. Genre: Drama. Runtime: 6h. |
#45 We Can Be Heroes 2005 Cast: Chris Lilley. Overview: We Can Be Heroes is a mockumentary TV series created and performed by comedian Chris Lilley. It follows the story of five unique Australians, who have each made a large achievement and been nominated by friends and family for the Australian of the Year award. Genre: Comedy. Runtime: 2h 44m. |
#46 Elizabeth R 1971 Cast: Glenda Jackson, Ronald Hines, Stephen Murray, Anthony Ainley. Overview: Historical mini-series documenting the reign of Elizabeth I. Each episode focuses on one dramatic period in the lengthy reign of the Virgin Queen, including her ascension to the throne, her various marital intrigues, her problems with her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, and the threatened invasion of the Spanish Armada. The series is dominated by a tour de force performance by Glenda Jackson, who won an Emmy for her portrayal of Elizabeth. Genres: Drama, Mini-Series. Runtime: 9h. |
#47 Bleak House 2005 BBC 16 part adaptation of Dickens novel Cast: Anna Maxwell Martin, Gillian Anderson, Denis Lawson. Overview: Bleak House is regarded as one of Charles Dickens' best achievements - the greatest ever depiction of Victorian London, from its glittering heights to its very lowest depths; a skilfully crafted thriller; an epic feast of characters and storylines; and a passionate indictment of the legal system that is as searingly relevant today as it was in the mid 19th century.Bleak House In Numbers:# Episodes: 15# Speaking roles: 80# Principal cast members: 40# Weeks of shooting: 21# Extras (in total): 2,000# Extras (in any one scene): 75# First day of shooting: 7th Feb [Charles Dickens' birthday]It was first published in 19 monthly instalments between March 1852 and September 1853. The TV adaptation, written by the award-winning Andrew Davies, comprises a one-hour opening episode followed by 14 half-hour episodes. It will be shown twice weekly, using the pace, multiple storylines and cliff-hanger endings more usually associated with popular drama. The aim is to return Dickens to the broad audience he originally wrote for.It tells the story of the icily beautiful Lady Dedlock (Gillian Anderson), who nurses a dark secret in her past, and the merciless lawyer Tulkinghorn (Charles Dance), who seeks to uncover it... Genre: Mini-Series. Runtime: 8h 30m. |
#48 State of Play 2003 Cast: David Morrissey, Bill Nighy, John Simm, James McAvoy, Kelly Macdonald, Philip Glenister, Polly Walker. Overview: State of Play was one of the BBC's most innovative conspiracy dramas. The storyline and pacey dialogue kept the viewers riveted right till the end. This very contemporary drama was set in modern day Westminster. In 2004 the show was nominated for a Bafta award for Best Drama Serial. David Morrissey was nominated for a Bafta for Best Actor. Bill Nighy won the Best actor Bafta for his role as Cameron Foster. Genres: Drama, Mini-Series. Runtime: 5h 50m. |
#49 Edge of Darkness 1985 Cast: Bob Peck, Charles Kay, Ian McNiece, Joanne Whalley, Joe Don Baker. Overview: This award-winning drama focuses on Yorkshire detective Ronald Craven investigating the murder of his daughter. From there the story spirals into a gripping eco-thriller of political conspiracy, secret service machinations and even shady medieval societies. As he draws closer to the dangerous inner sanctums of organised environmental protests and nuclear power interests, he discovers the ultimate truths at the heart of society. Genres: Drama, Mini-Series. Runtime: 5h 17m. |
#50 Roots 1977 Directors: Marvin J. Chomsky, John Erman, David Greene, Gilbert Moses. Cast: LeVar Burton, Ben Vereen, Louis Gossett Jr., Chuck Connors, Leslie Uggams, John Amos, Lynda Day George, Robert Reed, Ralph Waite, Edward Asner. Overview: The epic tale of celebrated Pulitzer-prize winning author Alex Haley's ancestors as portrayed in the acclaimed twelve hour mini-series Roots, was first told in his 1976 bestseller Roots: The Saga of an American Family. The docu-drama covers a period of history that begins in mid-1700s Gambia, West Africa and concludes during post-Civil War United States, over 100 years later. This 1977 miniseries eventually won 9 Emmy awards, a Golden Globe award, and a Peabody award, and still stands as the most watched miniseries in U.S. history. Genre: Drama. Runtime: 9h 33m. |
#51 The Kingdom 1994 Director: Lars von Trier. Cast: Annevig Schelde Ebbe, Baard Owe, Birgitte Raaberg, Ernst-Hugo Järegård, Ghita Nørby, Holger Juul Hansen, Kirsten Rolffes, Morten Rotne Leffers, Otto Brandenburg, Peter Mygind, Solbjørg Højfeldt, Søren Pilmark, Udo Kier, Vita Jensen, Dick Kaysø. Overview: The Kingdom is the most technologically advanced hospital in Denmark, a gleaming bastion of medical science. A rash of uncanny occurrences, however, begins to weaken the staff's faith in science--a phantom ambulance pulls in every night, but disappears; voices echo in the elevator shaft; and a pregnant doctor's fetus seems to be developing much faster than is natural. Genres: Comedy, Drama. Country: Denmark. Runtime: 4h 40m. |
#52 The Corner 2000 Cast: Khandi Alexander, Lance Reddick, Sean Nelson, T.K. Carter. Overview: Based on the nonfiction book "The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood", by journalists David Simon and Edward Burns, The Corner presents the world of Fayette Street using real names and real events. The Corner tells the true story of men, women and children living amid the open-air drug markets of West Baltimore. It chronicles a year in the lives of 15-year old DeAndre McCullough (Sean Nelson, "THE WOOD"), his mother Fran Boyd (Khandi Alexander), and his father Gary McCullough (T.K. Carter), as well as other addicts and low-level drug dealers caught up in the twin-engine economy of heroin and cocaine. Genres: Drama, Mini-Series. Runtime: 6h 16m. |
#53 Tales of the City 1994 Director: Alastair Reid. Cast: Laura Linney, Donald Moffat, Olympia Dukakis, Marcus D'Amico, Chloe Webb, Barbara Garrick, Bruce McCulloch, Colin Ferguson, Henry Czerny, Jackie Burroughs, Jackie Richardson, Mary Kay Place, Natsumi-Sophia Bellali, Nina Siemaszko, Paul Gross. Overview: Tales of the City (and it's sequels) follow the soap-operaish lives of the people living in 1970's and 1980's San Francisco, and are based on Armistead Maupin's novels. The show centers around Anna Madrigal, the eccentric landlady at 28 Barbary Lane (who welcomes her tenants by taping homegrown joints above their doors), her tenants and the others implicated in their lives. Tenants include Mary Ann Singleton, a naive midwesterner who moves to California to start a new life; Mona Ramsey, a "fag-hag" who is unknowingly Mrs. Madrigal's daughter; Michael "Mouse" Tolliver, a gay Floridan who moved to California to avoid letting his parents find out he was gay; and Brian Hawkins, a horny straight guy trapped in a gay city... People involved in their lives are Beachamp Day, Mary Ann's boss, and his wife DeDe; Edgar Halcyon, Anna's boyfriend, and his wife, Frannie who are DeDe's parents. Genres: Comedy, Drama, Soap. Runtime: 6h. |
#54 Mr. Bean 1990 Cast: Rowan Atkinson. Overview: Mr. Bean is a comedy show about a man whose whole life is one funny situation after another. He hardly talks, but words are not needed. Everything he does is funny. From playing golf, going to the dentist, and going to church. Mr. Bean is a grown man, but he acts like a child. He has a stuffed bear named Teddy that he carries around with him all the time. This show is full of laugh after laugh! Genre: Comedy. Runtime: 5h 48m. |
#55 The Inbetweeners 2008 Cast: James Buckley, Simon Bird, Joe Thomas, Blake Harrison. Overview: A series about four teenagers growing up in suburbia; a world of futile crushes, sibling brawls, getting drunk too quickly, fancying the girl next door, casting aspersions on your friend's sexuality and riding rollercoasters. Basically, they just want to get laid. Will's (Simon Bird) parents have just divorced and he has unwillingly had to move area and change schools. Previously enrolled at a private school, where he picked up some snobbish tendencies, Will now attends a comprehensive school and has had to make a new set of friends, Simon (Joe Thomas), Jay (James Buckley) and Neil (Blake Harrison), none of whom are that cool or credible. The Inbetweeners offers a comedic take on growing up in middle-class suburbia. A place where there are no teen pregnancies, no drugs, no knife fights and no guns. It's about a bunch of lads who get into real scrapes rather than real trouble. Genre: Comedy. Runtime: 7h 12m. |
#56 Police Squad! 1982 Cast: Leslie Nielsen, Alan North, Peter Lupus, Ed Williams, William Duell, Rex Hamilton. Overview: From the creators of Airplane!, the Hot Shots! movies, and Top Secret!, Police Squad! began as the brain-child of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker. The series would later spawn three follow-up movies under the new Naked Gun titles. The series was set up to spoof the Quinn Martin Productions' police dramas of the 1960s and 1970s, hence the use of "In Color" by the narrator. The show's main staple of entertainment came from sight gags (such as a tow truck being a truck in the shape of a big toe) and misunderstandings in dialogue, mostly from people taking things extremely literally. Several great routines came from these misunderstandings that left characters in the scene very confused, but left the audience with loads of humor. Though critically acclaimed, it never did well in the ratings. Genre: Comedy. Runtime: 2h 30m. |
#57 The Mighty Boosh 2003 Cast: Noel Fielding, Matt Berry, Julian Barratt, Dave Brown, Michael Fielding, Rich Fulcher, Victoria Wicks. Overview: Come with us now on a journey through time and space... to the world of The Mighty Boosh... Written by and starring Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt, The Mighty Boosh is an off-the-wall adventure based on their Perrier Award-winning comedy show. The Mighty Boosh is a show about two zoo keepers, Howard Moon and Vince Noir, who work at "The Zoo-niverse", a dilapidated but magical zoo. It is run by Bob Fossil, a demented American with a military disposition. Vince is a regular 'Mowgli in flares', due to his affinity with animals and adoration for all things Seventies. Howard likes to think he is more the brains of their zoo-keeping outfit, destined for better things. Each week they get involved in a different adventure. Whether they end up in the Arctic tundra or monkey hell they somehow always manage to get back to the zoo intact... Genre: Comedy. Runtime: 9h 48m. |
#58 Party Down 2009 Cast: Adam Scott, Lizzy Caplan, Ken Marino, Ryan Hansen, Martin Starr, Megan Mullally, Jane Lynch. Overview: "Party Down" follows a Los Angeles catering team - a sextet of Hollywood wannabes stuck working for tips while hoping for their "big break." Each episode of this half-hour comedy finds the hapless catering team working a new event - and inevitably getting tangled up with the colorful guests and their absurd lives. Genre: Comedy. Runtime: 10h. |
#59 Jesus of Nazareth 1977 Director: Franco Zeffirelli. Cast: Robert Powell. Overview: Jesus of Nazareth is a 1977 Anglo-Italian television miniseries dramatizing the birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus based on the accounts in the four New Testament Gospels. A reverent and beautiful retelling of the biblical tale with an all-star cast, winning Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Drama (1977-78) and for James Farentino as Best Supporting Actor in a Drama. Genres: Mini-Series, Special Interest. Countries: United Kingdom, Italy. Runtime: 6h 11m. |
#60 Cranford 2007 Cast: Judi Dench, Eileen Atkins, Philip Glenister, Imelda Staunton, Francesca Annis, Barbara Flynn, Joe McFadden, Simon Woods, Emma Fielding, Lisa Dillon, Julia Sawalha, Kimberley Nixon. Overview: This historical five-part show based on three of Elizabeth Gaskell's novellas is brought to the BBC with an all-star cast including Judi Dench. The story follows the lives and loves of the inhabitants of the northern market town over a year in the mid 1800s. Amongst other things the arrival of a new doctor and the ever-encroaching railway provide the townsfolk with plenty to get excited about. Genre: Drama. Runtime: 4h 51m. |
#61 Jane Eyre 2006 Director: Susanna White. Cast: Ruth Wilson, Toby Stephens. Overview: BBC four part adapation of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. From BBC homepage: Newcomer Ruth Wilson (Jane Eyre) and Toby Stephens (Edward Rochester) head an all-star cast in a passionate new version of Charlotte Brontë's much-adored classic. The four-part serial also stars Francesca Annis (Lady Ingram), Christina Cole (Blanche Ingram), Lorraine Ashbourne (Mrs Fairfax), Pam Ferris (Grace Poole), Tara Fitzgerald (Mrs Reed), Aidan McArdle (John), and Georgie Henley, who starred in the blockbuster The Chronicles of Narnia, plays young Jane. Jane Eyre is adapted by Sandy Welch, who previously wrote the screenplay for the hugely popular North and South. Her other credits include Magnificent 7, Our Mutual Friend and Grange Hill. Director Susanna White also directed 2005's BAFTA-winning period drama, Bleak House, as well as Mr Harvey Lights a Candle and episodes of Holby City among others. Executive Producer Phillippa Giles had a similar role on North & South and The Bucanners, and produced the controversial 1990s drama Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit... Genres: Drama, Mini-Series. Country: United Kingdom. Runtime: 3h 22m. |
#62 The Octopus 1984 Director: Damiano Damiani. Cast: Michele Placido, Patricia Millardet, Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Remo Girone, Raoul Bova, Bruno Cremer, Florinda Bolkan, François Périer, Marcello Tusco, Paul Guers. Overview: Corrado Cattani is a police inspector whose life is devoted to fighting the Italian mafia (known here as "La Piovra" or "The Octopus"). Genres: Action and Adventure, Drama. Runtime: 6h 42m. |
#63 Black Mirror 2011 Overview: Over the last ten years, technology has transformed almost every aspect of our lives before we've had time to stop and question it. In every home; on every desk; in every palm - a plasma screen; a monitor; a smartphone - a black mirror of our 21st Century existence. Black Mirror is a contemporary British re-working of The Twilight Zone with stories that tap into the collective unease about our modern world. Genres: Drama, Science-Fiction, Fantasy. Runtime: 3h. |
#64 Battlestar Galactica (2003) 2003 Cast: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, Tricia Helfer, James Callis, Kate Vernon, Michael Trucco, Michael Hogan, Kandyse McClure, Grace Park, Rekha Sharma, Nicki Clyne, Alessandro Juliani, Tahmoh Penikett. Overview: In a distant part of the universe, a civilization of humans live on planets known as the Twelve Colonies. In the past, the Colonies have been at war with a cybernetic race known as the Cylons. 40 years after the first war the Cylons launch a devastating attack on the Colonies. The only military ship that survived the attack takes up the task of leading a small fugitive fleet of survivors into space in search of a fabled refuge known as Earth. Genres: Action and Adventure, Drama, Science-Fiction. Runtime: 3h. |
#65 The First World War 2003 Directors: Marcus Kiggell, Simon Rockell, Corina Sturmer. Cast: Jonathan Lewis. Overview: A new history in 10 parts of the global conflict which shaped the 20th century, produced by Wark Clements for Channel 4 and Southern Star. Genre: Documentary. Runtime: 8h 20m. |
#66 Little Dorrit 2008 Cast: Matthew Macfadyen, Claire Foy, Emma Pierson, Rosie Cavaliero, Anton Lesser, Eddie Marsan, Georgia King, Janine Duvitski, Bill Paterson, Ron Cook, Russell Tovey, Eve Myles, Zubin Varla, Jason Thorpe, Arthur Darvill. Overview: This gripping new adaptation by Andrew Davies brings to life Dickens' powerful story of love, honour, debt and hope in 1820s London. The kind-hearted Amy, the Little Dorrit of the title, looks after her proud father, William, who is a long-term inmate of Marshalsea debtors' prison in London. But their fate is transformed by the unexpected arrival from overseas of the benevolent Arthur Clennam, who is determined to solve the mystery of his father's dying words, "Put it right, Arthur." Genre: Mini-Series. Runtime: 7h 32m. |
#67 War and Peace 2016 You Only Fight For What You Love Director: Tom Harper. Cast: Lily James, Paul Dano, James Norton, Brian Cox, Olivia Ross, Matthieu Kassovitz, Tom Burke, Greta Scacchi, Callum Turner, Jessie Buckley, Adrian Edmondson, Jack Lowden, Aisling Loftus, Rebecca Front, Stephen Rea. Overview: As the Russian conflict with Napoleon reaches its peak, five aristocratic families face the possibility of their lives being changed forever. Genres: Drama, Mini-Series. Runtime: 6h. |
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