I used to see a post go round on my dash that said “There is more to British TV than Wholock” and I meant to reblog it with some recommendations, because British telly has done some wonderful things throughout the years, but I then lost the post. So you get this instead! A rec post from someone who’s spent far, far more time than advised sitting in front of the television. (If I could tell where to download these, I would! But I can’t, alas, almost all torrent and download sites are blocked in the UK. Sorry! So the links lead to places where you can learn more about them.)
If you love Doctor Who, try…
The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Doctor Who spinoff! Made by many of the team behind Doctor Who itself, actually. It’s the continuing adventures of Sarah Jane Smith, a companion from Classic Who, and her awesome team of teenagers who do amazing things. And sometimes travel in time. Virtually all the audience-identification characters (companions!) are female or POC or both. And it’s witty and well-written and lots of familiar faces from all 50 years of its parent show show up, too.
Torchwood: The other Doctor Who spinoff! I do have a few issues with Torchwood – I dunno if I’m the only one – but it still has a lot going for it, especially once you’re into the later series. Also, if you’re interested in Jack Harkness as a character, you should definitely watch it, since it’s basically his show. Martha Jones shows up for a few episodes too!
Red Dwarf: Why Red Dwarf doesn’t have more of a fandom is beyond me. Sure, you can basically boil it down to ‘four blokes titting about in space’, but it’s hilarious, has relatable characters, talking toasters, all sorts of great stuff. (Also, whisper it, but I think it’s actually managed more cool sci-fi ideas in 26 years than Doctor Who did in 50. Sorry, Who.)
Life On Mars/Ashes to Ashes: Actually, this one could probably go in the ‘if you liked Sherlock’ section as well. But basically: copper travels back in time, OR DOES HE. Then, female copper travels back in time and meets the same people, OR DOES SHE. Briefly co-opted by the Tories. (I wish I was kidding.) If you can get past that, you’ll probably love it. Or you’ll be like me and love it with caveats.
Wizards vs Aliens: Made by the same people as The Sarah Jane Adventures, and aimed at the same market. (Kids!) I haven’t actually seen it yet but I’m told it’s very good and also Gwendoline Christie is in it.
Misfits: Is Misfits science fiction? WHAT IS IT WHO EVEN KNOWS ANYMORE. Anyway, a bunch of young offenders gain superpowers and proceed to cause havok with them. Series One was good, Series Two was good, most of Series Three was good, then it got really, really bad really fast. So don’t watch beyond Series Three. (Well, maybe watch the imaginary friend episode. That one wasn’t bad, from what I remember.) It’s another show I love(d) with caveats – what isn’t these days – but when it was good it was really good.
Black Mirror: Charlie Brooker’s horrific fifteen-minutes-into-the-future sci-fi show. Every episode you’re introduced to a new world/concept, and then things tend to get…weird. I think the best ones are “Fifteen Million Merits” and “White Bear”, but ymmv. Obviously, it comes with trigger warnings for….just about everything. If you want a detailed list, hit me up and I’ll try and help! It has a Christmas special airing two days from now, too.
If you love Sherlock, try…
The Granada Sherlock Holmes series: Okay, I confess. I’m not the biggest fan of Sherlock. But I LOVE Sherlock Holmes the character, and the original stories. So I used to drag myself out of bed at godonlyknows o’clock to watch this on one of the Freeview channels I’ve long forgotten the name of. I’m glad I did.
Scott and Bailey: Okay, I’ve only seen a few episodes of this but I REALLY LIKED IT. Two lady detectives and their lady boss SOLVE CRIME. And are sad or annoyed a lot. But mostly solve crime.
Law and Order: UK: Especially the ones with Freema Agyeman! It’s not the deepest show in the world but I like it.
Luther: I have not seen Luther. But it stars Idris Elba in the title role and Ruth Wilson as a murderer so it must be good.
Broadchurch: Series Two starts soon! So before you watch that, watch this. It stars Olivia Colman, and she puts in a performance so very, very good that she won a BAFTA and my eternal admiration for it.
If you don’t love either, but want to laugh at stuff
The IT Crowd: The show that made stars out of almost all its cast and spawned a thousand gifs. Yeah, all those gifs you’ve seen of Richard Ayoade doing something funny with a computer? From here.
Miranda: Miranda Hart’s TV show. Almost all-female cast, lots of falling over and fart jokes. Obviously, not gonna be for everyone. But I like it!
Black Books: A grumpy Irish bastard runs the world’s worst bookshop. That’s the entire show. I love it to pieces.
Citizen Khan: A very traditional sitcom (bumbling husband, long-suffering wife, lots of mother-in-law jokes) about a Muslim family in Birmingham, starring an almost all-Muslim cast and created/written by Muslim people. Like most embarassing-family type comedies, not everyone will like it. But I think most people (including me) do, it’s just been commissioned for a fourth series!
Stuff for small kids
Okay, I’m going to get hyperbolic here. British children’s programming is BRILLIANT. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. There are shows specifically for disabled children. Shows specifically about disabled children. Children and presenters of every ethnicity. Shows teaching kids maths and science and how to deal with grief or fear! It’s really really good. Where that all goes once you grow up, I don’t know. But I’m glad the kids have it.
Also, some underrated gems
Five Daughters: About the Ipswich murders of five women. It’s a trigger warning without even having to watch it, so yeah, I can totally understand if you don’t. But the fact that it exists also serves as a massive fuck you to Richard Littlejohn. Good.
In The Flesh: It has a big following on Tumblr, but…nowhere else. It’s a wonderful, smart show about homophobia, ableism, prejudice and grief. With zombies.
Glasgow Girls: A musical drama (no really!) about the schoolgirls who rallied around to stand up for the asylum seekers in their group and in their community.
Obviously, like all shows, all of these have their pros and cons and you might not like them, or prefer Who and Sherlock to them, or anything! Which is totally fine! Just consider this a sort of starting point I guess!