Ever since A&E; decided to do away with British television imports and attempt the Herculean task of proving that reality shows about the spoiled daughter of a psychopathic Mafia Don or the adventures of has-beens who really were closer to never-wases the only place to turn for highbrow English entertainment has really been good ol’ PBS. Well, what with Bush and his fraidy cat Republican and Democrat lapdogs in Congress taking money away from PBS hand over fist, even that has gotten harder. PBS Mystery is gone; it has been merged into Masterpiece Theater. If John McCain gets elected you can bet that Masterpiece Theater will have ceased to exist by the time his lardass bobbles out of the Oval Office. For this reason alone, the Roku player that lets you stream Netflix instant viewing choices directly to your TV seems worth the price. There are those who will shout that there is really not much worth watching among the 10,000 titles Netflix has made available so far for instant viewing. These are, unfortunately, the same people who confuse the writing rules for text messaging with those for writing academic papers. Here are just a sample of British TV shows that you can watch using your Netflix Roku.
The Office: Series 1 and 2
The original British version, not the American remake. This was an incredibly popular British TV show that made a star out of Ricky Gervais in America. Well, almost. I’ve only seen Ricky Gervais in Night at the Museum where I thought he was really funny and doing a guest spot on The Simpsons where he was just annoying; one of the worst Simpsons episode ever. Which still made it the best show on TV that week, of course.
Coupling: Seasons 1, 2, 3 and 4
Apparently Coupling was intended to be the British Friends. Why anyone would actually choose Friends to copy I just don’t get. Why not copy Who’s the Boss or Kate & Allie? Same level of comedy. Still, if for some reason you actually would enjoy watching a British version of Friends then the Roku pretty much will pay for itself by the time you get through all four seasons, all available for instant viewing on Netflix.
The League of Gentlemen: Series 1, 2, and 3
This is a fascinating show and proves why British television has so consistently been ahead of American TV, especially in the last decade. At first glance it may appear to be a sketch show along the lines of Mad TV or, in a much closer approximation, SCTV. Gradually, however, you come to realize that these sketches are actually tied together to create a coherent story, making The League of Gentlemen an actual sitcom. What better way to use the Netflix Roku than to get to know what may be the future course of sitcom construction?
Inspector Lynley Mysteries
One of the foundations of PBS Mystery over the last decade before it was given an unceremonious layoff, Inspector Lynley is one of those intelligent and deliberate kind of mystery shows that tend to confound many American viewers used to tricky camera movements to draw attention away from the boring repetition of crime scene investigation, or the car chase and shootout variety. My wife really loves this one and she’s a big British mystery buff so you can bet you’ll enjoy taking advantage of the Netflix instant viewing option.
Campion Mysteries
Step back in time to 1930s elegance when a proper British detective was assisted by his manservant. Played by former Doctor Who Peter Davison.
MI-5: Volumes 1 and 2
MI-5 is essentially the British equivalent of the CIA. Think James Bond, but in this show think James Bond without the ridiculous plots, gadgets, girls and guns. This show is an intelligent attempt to uncover more of the reality of how secret agents work in the real world.
Miss Marple Collection: 1 and 2
The Netflix Roku is a perfect device for little old ladies who enjoy watching little old ladies solve mysteries, but don’t want to have to walk to the mailbox every day to see if their Netflix enveloped has arrived. If you aren’t already familiar with who Miss Marple is, perhaps you should just stick with YouTube clips of teenage boys exploding things and teenage girls disproving the conventional wisdom that they are more mature than their male counterparts.
Little Britain Season 1
Who would ever have thought that that the British guy in those enormously irritating Taster’s Choice commercials fifteen or twenty years ago was so funny? The first time I saw Anthony Stewart Head as Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s watcher I groaned. By the end of the episode (the one where Giles gets turned into a demon and can’t communicate except with Spike) I was a confirmed fan. Head also shows up in this sketch comedy series from time to time.
Yes, Minister: Complete Collection
Conservatives may wish to get over their xenophobia and set this one for viewing on the Roku. Yes Minister was Margaret Thatcher’s favorite sitcom thereby disproving the widely held contention that she was born without a sense of humor. Well, maybe.
Ripping Yarns
There appears to be a misconception that Ripping Yarns is an actual Monty Python creation. In fact, only Michael Palin and Terry Jones of Python were actually involved. Each episode tells a different story about the follies of youth. At eight episodes, this is believed to be the longest lasting British comedy series of all time. Get out your Roku and prove to the naysayers that there are things worth watching in the Netflix instant viewing lineup.
