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Lois Cameron explains why this series is much more than your average cosy period drama.
The last episode of this series sees Sherlock and Moriarty attempt to solve the final problem with devastating consequences.
With major cast changes afoot, Jacob Martin ponders whether Being Human can live up to its own scarily high standard.
10. M*A*S*H
M*A*S*H was based on the 1968 film of the same title and is a medical drama / black comedy set in South Korea during the American war on Korea, in its fight against what is perceived as the evil of communism. The programme was as much an allegory for the war that was happening in Vietnam as it was about the Korean War.
9. Top of the Pops
The show that told us what was “in” in the music world every week. It ran for 42 years before being axed in 2006. Funnily, for a programme showcasing musical talent, bands mimed on stage, leading to some hilarious mistakes, such as when All About Eve sang ‘Martha's Harbour’; although the audience could hear the song, the band could not. As the song started and millions of people watched their sets, Julianne Regan, the lead singer remained silent, and the guitarist remained still holding his guitar. A short period of live singing revealed some poor performers, which raised a few questions about the worth of fame, and if talent is an actual requirement to become a star; possibly why so many rubbish singers think they have a chance when auditioning for such shows as The X Factor!
8. The Magic Roundabout
Created in France in 1963 by Serge Danot, its main character Dougal (or Pollox in French) had a sweet tooth and loved eating sugar cubes, apparently because, according to the French, the English have a sweet tooth! The show has caused much speculation about whether or not each character was in fact addicted to some sort of drug. Although the allegations have been called absolute nonsense, one can’t help being swayed by this point of view when thinking of Dylan the laidback rabbit, with his bleary eyes and head surrounded by smoke as he slouches by a tree. They just don’t do children’s TV like they used to!
7. Doctor Who
What has kept Doctor Who alive all these years is the way that he constantly dies and is reborn, as each new Doctor brings something different and interesting to the programme, allowing the plot lines to mould and adapt to the fluctuations of society and the way the world has changed over the years. Comparing the new series with the old is amazing as the special effects now are so much better, although the Daleks are ageless and in my opinion the best enemy of them all; I can still remember running around the house when little, holding my arm up near my face like a gun and shouting “EX-TER-MI-NATE!” (I was possibly a bit of a tomboy…)
6. Sex and the City
The programme was first aired in 1998 and the four main leads were all mature women living in New York. Exploring socially relevant issues such as STDs and promiscuity, it showed how times had changed for women, showing how it’s ok to be open about feelings and sexuality; equally importantly, Carrie’s outfits were a point of debate every episode: some gorgeous, some absolutely terrifying, such as the crop-top worn with a random belt around her midriff.
5. Brass Eye Chris Morris has been described as a genius by many, and watching Brass Eye it’s not hard to see why. The programme is a spoof of celebrity and current affairs TV. His programmes are painfully funny, poking fun at just about anyone. Most controversial, and most talked about, is the paedophilia special; some of the celebrities even tried to sue him when they realised how stupid they had been to make to look. Who can forget Neil Fox announcing how “genetically, paedophiles have more genes in common with crabs than they do with you and me. Now that is scientific fact. There's no real evidence for it, but it's scientific fact”?
4. The Simpsons
A firm family favourite, The Simpsons is a programme that most people I know have grown up with. What I thought was just a funny cartoon about bright yellow people when I was little, surprises me with its intelligence when I watch it nowadays. After running for near 20 years, there is no denying that Matt Groening’s more recent series have gone downhill, although the episode where Lisa thought she was fat and went on a diet made me laugh out loud; the shot where the model disappeared when she turns sideways on the catwalk was inspired.
3. Friends
I love Friends. It makes you feel warm inside, and the differences between the characters make it all the better as not only do people have their own personal favourites, but it shows how people with different lives and interests can still come together to become friends. After 10 years the characters became something of a habit on our screens, and I remember the despair some people felt on hearing they were to leave our screens forever; the reunion in Times Square to watch the last episode was epic. People needn’t have worried, since Friends is ALWAYS on E4 and Channel 4.
2. Monty Python’s Flying Circus
The show first aired in 1969 on the BBC and has been described as having the same impact on comedy that the Beatles had on music. Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin wrote and performed all the sketches (including the famous ‘Dead Parrot Sketch’ and ‘The Spanish Inquisition’) and decided to take a stream-of-consciousness approach so that the sketches blended into one another. Their irreverent approach to everything is hilarious, and the funniest sketches are definitely the strangest ones, such as ‘The Ministry of Silly Walks’. One of the most evident signs of the show’s influence on culture is the word ‘Pythonesque’, which has even made it into the dictionary!
1. Big Brother
Although it pains me to put a programme such as this at the top of my list, I think it is unavoidable!
No-one can deny the effects Big Brother has had on our society, although perhaps it is the demands of our society that have lifted it to the level of success which it has had. Big Brother, the name taken from George Orwell’s classic novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, where the said Big Brother is the mysterious leader of a state which has absolute power and people are under surveillance 24/7, is a horrifying book, so if you haven’t read it, don’t be put off by the TV programme, which is just terrible: a social experiment gone wrong, people scrabble to appear on it to get their 15 minutes of fame. Just one hour’s view can lead one to fall into a deep depression that if this is what people are really like then no wonder so many people are unhappy. Rather than being a show which could have made valid points about a modern world where just about every street contains at least one CCTV camera, BB rapidly dissolved into a group of people stuck in a house, getting more and more bored and making absolute fools of themselves.
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