I must have wanted to make this thread for around two months now. Once I was invited to thebox.bz I quickly acquainted myself with the amazingness of Newswipe – basically the UK’s answer to The Daily Show. Only instead of episodes every weeknight throughout the year, Newswipe follows the usual British TV schedule of six episodes each year. This allows Newswipe to maintain its high quality throughout an entire run, except for the poetry segments (you’ll see what I mean).

I’ll go ahead and post a segment from the show — despite it already made the rounds on the internet multiple times — because it is that perfect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHun58mz3vI

Charlie Brooker is really, really awesome. I did a little wiki’ing and I found out that Newswipe is actually a spinoff of the more popular Screenwipe, in which Brooker rips on (I assume) British television. I’m sure it’s awesome, but I’ve never had the urge to watch, due to my non-existent knowledge of the vast majority of television across the pond. Except for one show, of course. And that would be Peep Show. But I highly doubt he makes fun of that show, since it’s fucking awesome.

Since I was on a Charlie Brooker -wipe binge, I noticed something called Gameswipe on thebox.bz as well. That was an extremely entertaining 50-minute rundown of gaming history. So basically, anything Charlie Brooker is involved in proves to be awesome. Which means I need to get around to checking out You Have Been Watching. The following is the only clip I’ve seen from it, and I’m still recovering from the knowledge that BIBLEMAN is real.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EIS5_kpS4c

I also need to check out That Mitchell and Webb Look, since it’s the same guys (David Mitchell and Robert Webb) who star in Peep Show.

And then there’s The Thick of It, the television series which In The Loop — probably the funniest movie of last year — was based on. Oh oh, and Misfits, which I actually have watched. It’s been described as a cross between the British teen drama Skins (which I’ve never seen) and Heroes. That probably doesn’t sound all that good to a discerning American TV viewer, but it’s pretty fun. It’s like if Heroes starred all teenagers with superpowers, but actually featured competent writing. And there’s swearing. And tits. I hope it sounds more enticing now.

So now you have a list of shit you should download if you ask for an invite (which you obviously should do):

Peep Show
Newswipe
Gameswipe
You Have Been Watching
That Mitchell and Webb Look
Misfits
The Thick of It

Just make sure to keep your ratio above 1.00, alright?

Edit: You should probably check out Spaced, too. If only because it’s by the same guys behind Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. I really need to start taking my own advice, though.

The show is basically a modern British version of The Odd Couple, shot in the first-person — hence the title of the show. In addition to the viewing perspective, it also utilizes inner monologue to perfect hilarious effect. The vast majority of the show deals with sexual situations and frustrations (another reason for the title) and usually involves Mark — the stuck-up, awkward one of the two friends — totally embarrassing himself. Jeremy, the other half of the male couple, suffers his own humiliating moments, but it’s almost always hilarious to watch, as opposed to absolutely painful when witnessing Mark make a fool of himself. The British sure like their awkward comedy. If you prefer romantic series, you may explore the titles at https://my-drama.com/.

Regardless of its painfulness, it’s a pretty damn brilliant and immensely quotable show, and it only gets better as it goes along. There is continuity throughout the entire run, with most individual series (they call seasons “series” over there) having a overarching plot thread. Having series of six episodes each really does wonders for the quality of a TV show. I still think a dozen episodes is the sweet spot, but six episodes is better than twenty-four and running a show into the ground in a few seasons.

I’m posting the pilot episode because I’m a bit obsessed with starting things at the very beginning, and I think you should too. But if you don’t think the first episode is all that great, give it at least the second episode as well. Give yourself some time to warm up to the the British idiosyncrasies. Do it for me. And then post a comment for me, too. Or not. But I’ll be upset!