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Blimey! 135 phenomenal hours of streaming British television to keep you rightentertained

The conventional wisdom used to be that Americans wouldn’t watch British television. The jokes weren’t relatable, the drama was too stiff and formal and none of the actors looked like runway models. Then, The Office premiered in 2001 and America awarded the UK with one of our highest cultural honors — the remake.

In the years since, our friends across the pond have been enjoying a golden era of television, with shows like Misfits and Downton Abbey drawing international acclaim and fan bases. So in this midseason television drought, I bring to you an oasis of phenomenal storytelling: seven British television shows currently streaming on Netflix that will keep you glued to the couch for days.

1. Doctor Who:53 hours

This series follows the exploits of The Doctor, a 900-year-old Time Lord who flies through time and space in a blue police box, saving creatures across the Universe from monsters and tyrants.

If you look past the occasionally cheesy special effects and the constant use of Deus ex Machina, you’ll find a show that draws you in with its fascinating storylines and courageous characters.

And don’t worry about going back to the original series’ 1963 debut to catch up — the 2005 reboot is a perfect place to start your life as a “Whovian.”

2. Downton Abbey: 5.5 hours

Who could have guessed that the breakout BBC hit of 2011 would be a period drama about an English household before the First World War? Downton Abbey manages to establish and develop a large cast of distinct and interesting characters without sacrificing the flow or quality of the story, keeping you invested in so many different relationships.

The first time someone tried to screen it for me I pretended to be asleep, so they’d get the hint that Masterpiece Theatre was too stale and boring for my time — within 20 minutes, I was yelling at the screen and mooning over the costumes and set design. Season Two is airing on PBS; I’ve seen it and it is breathtaking.

3. Black Books: 7 hours

A few weeks ago, I trapped three friends in my apartment for hours simply by starting the pilot to Black Books. They had plans for the day, errands to run, places to be, but all that evaporated once they got an eyeful of Dylan Moran’s hilarious misanthrope, Bernard Black.

Moran is a brilliant stand-up comic aided by two great supporting characters; you find yourself watching some episodes over and over again, laughing at the same jokes and catching new ones. If you like this clip of Dylan Moran’s stand-up, you’ll adore Black Books.

4. Shameless: 39 hours

Frank Gallagher is an unemployed lush raising six children on government assistance, and it would be charitable to say he does his best.

The Gallaghers don’t have a lot of money or resources and, left to their own devices, they get up to some hijinx that might shock and scandalize certain viewers. But when they are working together to get one of their own out of a jam (or throwing a fake wedding for their neighbors) it truly is heartwarming, and makes you see how little they have to be ashamed of.

5. The IT Crowd: 9 hours

Moss and Roy are two computer geeks who find themselves with a new boss, Jen, who doesn’t know anything about computers. As they teach her about technology, she teaches them how to interact with the world. The high point of the series is definitely Richard Ayoade’s deadpan delivery and stoic demeanor:

In the second episode, a small fire starts in the office; after the fire extinguisher catches on fire, he sets it down, saying: “I’ll just put this over here with the rest of the fire,” and sits down to write an email to the fire department. You can watch the scene online and find out how quickly nine hours can fly by.

6. Sherlock: 4.5 hours

Just returned from service in Afghanistan, Doctor John Watson agrees to room with Sherlock Holmes of 221-B Baker Street. It isn’t an easy partnership: Sherlock keeps body parts in the fridge to test decomposition rates, shoots at the wall when he’s bored, and alienates everyone around him with his arrogance and cruelty.

There is no shortage of shows on these days about eccentric, anti-social geniuses who solve mysteries and don’t bother being polite about it, but this is best of them all. The only drawback? Each episode is an hour and a half, there are only three episodes per season, and the new season isn’t airing in America yet.

7. Peep Show: 17 hours

Each episode of Peep Show is a long, slow train wreck brought about because the main characters, Mark and Jeremy, make terrible decisions and have very little self awareness.

Fans of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia will love their reprehensible behavior and their non-existent crisis management skills, with the added bonus of being able to hear the characters' internal monologues. Watch Peep Show with a friend or a group of friends; mortified embarrassment and uncontrollable laughter is best shared with those you love.

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Movie Review

Daniel Craig shines in Queer, an unapologetic tale of love and loss

Photo courtesy of A24

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer.

As recently as the late 2010s, if a movie was made about an LGBTQ+ character, it was more than likely about their coming out experience. Romance, if it existed, was typically chaste, and actual sex was almost completely out of the question. Things have changed dramatically in the 2020s, to the point that a major movie star has no issue starring in a film called Queer.

Based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs, the film features William Lee (Daniel Craig), whom everyone calls just Lee, a writer living in 1950s-era Mexico City who spends most of his time haunting local bars with friends like fellow writer Joe Guidry (Jason Schwartzman) and hitting on younger men. His early interactions in the film seem to indicate that Lee has a bad reputation within the local gay community, as multiple people avoid him or give him odd looks.

Lee senses an opportunity when he encounters a newcomer, Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). Despite some awkward interactions, the two of them start spending time together, although Lee has much more invested in the relationship than Eugene does. Their hit-and-miss bond continues until Lee, who’s starting to get into drugs in addition to the booze, convinces Eugene to accompany him on a trip to South America.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes (making their second straight film together after Challengers), early on the film seems to be mostly about the divide between an older person who’s grown comfortable in his ways and a younger person who’s living a relatively carefree life. The introduction of drugs into the plot changes things, though, with Lee searching out more ways to open his eyes to what the world has to offer.

Guadagnino and his team use some interesting visual storytelling techniques to introduce ideas that may not be present in the actual script. The most successful, demonstrated in multiple scenes, is the superimposition of movements by Lee over what’s actually taking place in the scene. The subtle overlay gives the audience insight into Lee’s true feelings, showing what he can’t or won’t say out loud.

Music also plays a big part in how the plot is perceived, with the use of anachronistic songs from Nirvana and Prince serving to heighten certain moments. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is not as in-your-face as the one they did for Challengers, but it complements the film well, especially when the plot starts to get trippy in its final half hour.

Craig, who appears sweaty and disheveled for much of the film, is about as far from the suaveness of James Bond as you can get in this role. He takes multiple risks with his performance and almost all of them pay off. Starkey’s character is subdued by comparison, but still comes off well. Schwartzman and Lesley Manville are given showy roles, with both using altered appearances that make them nearly unrecognizable to deliver memorable performances.

Queer is not as accessible as Challengers was storytelling-wise, but the fact that it tells a story about gay men living their lives as they see fit with no interference or questions shows how far the film world has come in a short period of time. It also continues Guadagnino’s streak of making audacious films in a way that few other filmmakers are willing or able to approach.

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Queer is now playing in theaters.

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