Old British TV Watch List
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- StarsAlec GuinnessEileen AtkinsBill PatersonThe murder of a Soviet defector forces his old handler, British spymaster George Smiley, out of retirement. His investigation leads to an old nemesis, the Soviet spymaster known only as "Karla". This will be their final dance.
- StarsMaurice DenhamAngela EasterlingChristopher WrenA collection of ten hour-long dramas based on short stories by Agatha Christie.
- StarsDonald PleasenceJanet MawNigel HawthorneWhen a crusade against the Church of England's practice of self-enrichment misfires, scandal taints the cozy community of Barchester when their local church becomes the object of a scathing, investigative report.
- StarsTim Pigott-SmithGeraldine JamesWendy MorganThe sweeping drama about the ruling and ruled classes of WWII India, trying amidst the turmoil to come to terms with the drastic changes taking place around them, knowing that their lives will never be the same again.
- StarsRonald PickupCarla FracciGiampiero AlbertiniGiuseppe Verdi was born in 1813 and lived until 1901, his life spanning nearly a century of political turmoil and considerable personal turmoil. This 1982 biographical television miniseries, as seen on PBS's Great Performances, dramatizes the life of this classic Italian composer known for operas including La Traviata, Rigoletto, and Aida and his Requiem.
- CreatorDavid ButlerStarsSusannah YorkMichael ShannonPatrick O'ConnellIt's 1943 and the American Air Force has come to Market Weatherby, a small East Anglian town. The war weary British and the brash American GIs sometimes clash, but friendships are also forged.
- StarsMichael GambonPatrick MalahideJoanne WhalleyTormented and bedridden by a debilitating disease, a mystery writer relives his detective stories through his imagination and hallucinations.
- StarsMaureen LipmanAmelia ShankleyMiriam MargolyesSara Crewe enters a London boarding school a wealthy lady when she bids her father farewell as he enters the British Army, but her lifestyle quickly vanishes when her father suddenly dies, and Sara must endure a life of servitude.
- CreatorJules VerneStarsMichael PalinBasil PaoChris CollinsMichael Palin attempts to copy the exploits of fictional character Phileas Fogg, by trying to travel around the world (without flying) in 80 days.
- StarsGeraldine McEwanElizabeth SpriggsFreda DowieJessica, raised in a fanatical cult, endures brainwashing until her forbidden relationship with Melanie opens her eyes. They face cruel treatment for their 'unnatural' bond, but Jessica's spirit overcomes the oppressive teachings.
- StarsEmma ThompsonKenneth BranaghCharles KayA British couple living in Romania try to survive as Europe is engulfed in World War II.
- CreatorJosh SeligStarsJohn LurieWillem DafoeRobb WebbMusician John Lurie knows nothing about fishing, but that doesn't stop him from embarking on fishing in exotic locations with friends.
- StarsRobert LindsayMichael PalinDearbhla MolloyPolitician Michael Murray's life entwines with headmaster Jim Nelson's, changing their trajectories when their paths cross unexpectedly.
- StarsMichael PalinNeil HardwickLasse LehtinenMichael Palin undertakes a journey by the most direct route possible with the most land to cross from the North Pole to the South Pole.
- StarsIan HolmPenelope WiltonRebecca CallardThe Borrowers, a family of tiny people, are forced to find a new home after being displaced. They get help from a human boy as they try to survive by borrowing what they need.
- StarsHelen MirrenColin SalmonJohn BenfieldDetective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison's (Dame Helen Mirren's) investigation of a murder is complicated with the unexpected participation of her secret lover in her detective unit.
- StarsToby StephensTara FitzgeraldRupert GravesAn adaptation of Anne Bronte's novel; a young widow takes her son and moves to Yorkshire.
- StarsChristopher EcclestonMark StrongGina McKeeDrama examining the politics and change across Britain from the Sixties to the Nineties seen through the varying fortunes of four friends.
- StarsGérard DepardieuOrnella MutiJean RochefortEdmond Dantes is unjustly sent to prison for 18 years. He escapes to reclaim his fiancée Mercedes and revenge against his nemesis, Mondego.
- StarsPaul McGannKeeley HawesDominic MafhamIntertwining tales of love, greed, and secret identities in Charles Dickens's 1860s London.
- StarsFrancesca AnnisJustine WaddellBill PatersonThe daughter of a country doctor copes with an unwanted stepmother, an impetuous stepsister, burdensome secrets, the town gossips, and the tug on her own heartstrings for a man who thinks of her only as a friend.
- StarsPaul 'Bubble' FergusonJaime WinstoneAndy NymanDuring a fictional series of Big Brother, a zombie outbreak occurs, but the house-mates are unaware of the impending doom outside of the Big Brother House.
- StarsJames Badge DaleJoseph MazzelloJon SedaThe Pacific Theatre of World War II, as seen through the eyes of several young Marines.
- CreatorSteven S. DeKnightStarsJohn HannahManu BennettPeter MensahIn the time before the arrival of Spartacus, the House of Batiatus faces many challenges from competitors, and within its own household.
- CreatorRichard PriceSteven ZaillianStarsRiz AhmedJohn TurturroBill CampAfter a night of partying with a woman he picked up, a man wakes up to find her stabbed to death and is charged with her murder.
- StarsSarah GadonEdward HolcroftRebecca LiddiardGrace, an Irish immigrant in 19th-century Canada, is convicted of the murder of her employer. However, things take a different turn when a psychiatrist arrives to analyze her mental state.
- StarsMatthew MacfadyenHayley AtwellPhilippa CoulthardThe social and class divisions in early 20th century England through the intersection of three families - the wealthy Wilcoxes, the gentle and idealistic Schlegels and the lower-middle class Basts.
- CreatorCary Joji FukunagaPatrick SomervilleStarsEmma StoneJonah HillSonoya MizunoTwo strangers are drawn to a mysterious pharmaceutical trial for a drug that they're assured will, with no complications or side-effects whatsoever, permanently solve all of their problems. Things do not go as planned.
- StarsHaluk BilginerSebnem BozokluRecep UstaA man diagnosed with Alzheimer's decides to punish criminals.
- StarsMa Anand SheelaPhilip ToelkesJane StorkWhen Osho, the world's most controversial guru, builds an Utopian city deep in the Oregon country, conflict with the locals escalates into a national scandal.
- StarsBenedict CumberbatchJennifer Jason LeighHugo WeavingThis series depicts how the son of an aristocratic family seeks redemption and recovery.
- CreatorBrett JohnsonMichael TolkinStarsBenicio Del ToroPatricia ArquettePaul DanoA female prison employee in upstate New York becomes romantically involved with a pair of inmates and helps them escape.
- StarsRadhika ApteManav KaulRohit PathakIn a totalitarian near-future India, a mysterious prisoner is sent to a remote military interrogation center where he turns the tables on his captors by exposing their most shameful secrets and unleashing a demon from Arabic folklore.
- CreatorCraig MazinStarsJessie BuckleyJared HarrisStellan SkarsgårdIn April 1986, the city of Chernobyl in the Soviet Union suffers one of the worst nuclear disasters in the history of mankind. Consequently, many heroes put their lives on the line in the following days, weeks and months.
- StarsElizabeth GarvieDavid RintoulMoray WatsonWhile the arrival of wealthy gentlemen sends her marriage-minded mother into a frenzy, willful and opinionated Elizabeth Bennet matches wits with haughty Mr. Darcy.
- StarsJohn DuttineFrank MiddlemassAlan MacNaughtanDavid Powlett-Jones has just returned to England from the trenches of WWI. He was injured and shell-shocked and, after a spell in hospital he gets a job teaching in a boys boarding school in S.W. England. He is not at all sure he can do the job, but the avuncular headmaster has faith in him. David, although well educated, is just a humble lad from the Welsh valleys at heart and has to fit himself and his ideas into the heart of the English establishment.
- CreatorJed MercurioStarsMartin CompstonVicky McClureAdrian DunbarDrama series following the investigations of AC-12, a controversial police anti-corruption unit.
- CreatorTrix WorrellStarsNorman BeatonCarmen MunroeRam John HolderMeet Desmond, his non-conforming family, and the regulars of his hairdresser salon in Peckham, London.
- StarsFrancesca AnnisJames WarwickReece DinsdaleAgatha Christie's husband-and-wife sleuthing team take on a series of short whodunit mysteries.
- CreatorCyril AbrahamStarsPeter GilmoreJessica BentonHoward LangJames Onedin marries Anne Webster in order to get his hands on a ship. However the marriage turns out to be one of true love. James is ruthless in his attempt to get a shipping line started in Liverpool of the 1860s.
- StarsTom WilkinsonPeter EyreLesley NightingaleSuspicions are aroused when a British trawler goes missing... Tom Wilkinson leads the astonishing BBC Cold War drama inspired by real events. Enter a nightmarish world of political cover-ups of international consequence in the last decade of the Cold War in this six-part BBC drama. When an ordinary British fishing vessel and its 36-man crew mysteriously disappears off the coast of Norway, journalist Martin Taylor (Tom Wilkinson) is determined to find out why. His father was on board, and is now missing. His investigations soon lead him to run up against the twin barriers of Royal Navy stonewalling and an impenetrable Soviet Politburo. The notorious finale shocked audiences when it was first aired in 1983. The haunting theme 'A Cold Wind', sung by June Tabor, was so popular it was released as a single. Spyship is based on the fictional novel by Brian Haynes and Tom Keene, former reporters who researched the real life sinking of the FV Gaul in 1974 which was shrouded in mystery.
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsJohn AlbasinyAlison SteadmanAbigail CruttendenAlan Duckworth (known as 'Quack Quack' to his friends) is a socially awkward fourteen-year-old who is obsessed with cricket and Ann Lawton, a girl in his class. Alan daydreams throughout his day, showing up late for school and making little academic progress. He becomes friends with the groundsman Tommy, whom he sees as some sort of war hero. Alan often follows Tommy around, telling him how Tommy helped to win the war, while making predictions about what the post-war world will be like. Among other things, Alan predicts that there will be no more wars, everyone will speak Esperanto and everyone, regardless of race or creed, will have a Teasmade.
- StarsJohn DuttineEmma RelphMaurice ColbourneWhen a comet blinds nearly everyone in the world, a genetically-engineered species of plant takes over.
- DirectorBob MahoneyStarsDirk BogardeCharlotte AttenboroughSimon ShepherdAdaptation of a story by Graham Greene. A middle-aged writer becomes involved with a newly-married young woman staying in the same hotel.
- StarsKate DorningJonathan CecilDavid LeonardOne of the most well-known stories begins one golden summer afternoon. Alice is sitting on a riverbank with her sister when a fully-dressed, talking rabbit runs past her. She follows the rabbit down the hole and enters a nonsensical world where it seems the normal rules of logic do not apply. In Wonderland, Alice participates in a winner-less race, alternates between being tiny and giant, hears riddles at a "mad" tea party, plays croquet with live flamencos, and attends a trial where the Knave of Hearts is accused of stealing the Queen's tarts. Join Alice as she encounters the Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, and others as she makes her way through Wonderland. JOAN STRIBLING HAIR,MAKE-UP,,PROSTHETICS DESIGNER 'ALICE IN WONDERLAND' BBC
- DirectorGiles FosterStarsAnna MasseyDenholm ElliottGoogie WithersAn authoress, whose career is more successful than her private life, arrives at a Swiss hotel and finds her life changing in unexpected ways.
- StarsPeter McEneryAlexandra BastedoStefan GryffWhen British Engineer Barry Collier is injured in an accident in Cyprus his brother David flies out only to find he has died. It soon becomes apparent that Barry Collier was involved with some very strange people. And before he knows it, David has some strange experiences of his own. Could it have something to do with the photo of a stone carved with hieroglyphics? Who are the intriguing characters that seem to be pulling David Collier's strings and appear and disappear at will? Businessman Eugene Hellman, the barman Charalambos, the brigand Basileos and the very beautiful Helene. Can it really be that the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece are playing games with him?
- StarsJohn StrattonJeremy NicholasFrank MillsA musical adaptation of J. B. Priestley's novel about a British concert party.
- StarsBob HoskinsFrances de la TourFraser CainsArnie and Maud Cole are a very odd couple. She wanted a father for her unborn child, he needed the money middle-class Maud could provide. Together they negotiate the rough and tumble world of the silent movie business, with dreams of having their own production company. In the process, they become partners indeed.
- StarsDavid SuchetGeraldine JamesGeorge ColeBawdy adaption of Tom Sharpe's comic tale. A landowning MP attempts to have a motorway built through the grounds of his wife's ancestral home.
- StarsMartin ShawSverre Anker OusdalStephen MooreBased on the book 'Scott and Amundsen' by Roland Huntford, "The Last Place on Earth" is an exploration of the rivalry between Captain Robert F. Scott and Ronald Amundsen as they attempt to reach the South Pole.
- CreatorIan Kennedy MartinStarsDavid EllisonNoel CollinsStephanie TurnerInspector Jean Darblay is assigned to Hartley, Lancashire. Initially facing scepticism from sergeants Joe Beck and George Parrish, she gradually earns their respect and admiration as their new female boss at the police station.
- CreatorTony HollandJulia SmithStarsNerys HughesJohn OgwenMargaret JohnPeriod drama following the life of Megan Roberts, a forward thinking district nurse in the South Wales mining town of Pencwm.
- CreatorLavinia WarnerStarsAnn BellStephanie ColeClaire ObermanAfter the Japanese invasion of Singapore in February 1942, a group of British, Dutch and Australian women are held in a Japanese internment camp on a Japanese-occupied island between Singapore and Australia.
- CreatorGerard GlaisterAllan PriorStarsJan HarveyStephen YardleyGlyn OwenTom Howard is made redundant from his job as a senior aircraft designer and decides to invest his skill, time and redundancy money in a run-down local boat-building yard. The decision puts a great strain on his marriage.
- CreatorBill SellarsStarsMichael CraigLarry LambPaul JerrichoA soap opera series about the crew of a North Sea ferry.
- StarsCharles DancePhilip MadocJulie PeasgoodEdward Forester is a genetic researcher, intent on breeding primate hybrids. But his experiments take a strange turn when he succeeds in breeding a human/gorilla hybrid.
- CreatorJohn WyndhamStarsJames HazeldineCarol DrinkwaterAndrew EllamsA story centered on a young schoolboy and his strange relationship with an extraterrestrial entity.
- StarsRoald DahlAndrew RayForbes CollinsShort dramas each with a twist of some kind; across the first four seasons most of these are from short stories by Roald Dahl.
- StarsDavid JasonGwen TaylorNicola PagettThe television comedy followed two families in a Yorkshire town, the working-class Simcocks and middle-class Rodenhursts, through social events. It was based on books by David Nobbs, who also created Reginald Perrin.
- StarsKeith BarronGwen TaylorJoanna Van GyseghemDavid and Amy are on holiday in Spain, where they meet Robert and Linda, who are also holidaymakers. David and Linda spend their holiday trying to find some time alone together away from their spouses.
- CreatorRobert Banks StewartStarsJohn NettlesTerence AlexanderSean ArnoldRecovering alcoholic and divorced father of a young daughter, DS Jim Bergerac is a true maverick who prefers doing things his own way, and consequently doesn't always carry out his investigations the way his boss would like.
- CreatorNicolas FreelingStarsBarry FosterMichael LatimerJoanna DunhamCynical Dutch Detective Commissaris and his colleagues investigate murders, kidnappings, and political corruption.
- StarsSimon JonesDavid DixonPeter JonesArthur Dent and his friend, Ford Prefect, escape the destruction of Earth, only to face incredible trials, tribulations and adventures in space and time.