My wife and I enjoy BBCAmerica, which has introduced us to a number of shows we wouldn't have had the opportunity to see otherwise. However, I know that BBCAmerica doesn't pick up a lot of series, old and new, that we'd probably enjoy a great deal more than the three repeats of Changing Rooms or Mile High the channel seems determined to foist upon us.

We recently bought a region-free DVD player, and two of our first purchases were Big Train and The Best of Smack the Pony, both unavailable as Region One/NTSC discs. We also enjoy The Fast Show, Coupling, The League of Gentlemen, The Office, and As Time Goes By in terms of comedy, and my wife is addicted to the mystery/crime dramas, like Murphy's Law, Wire in the Blood, and Waking the Dead. And we loved Cracker.

I'm willing to make perhaps one blind purchase a month to build up our selection of British television programs on DVD, but wonder whether or not someone more knowledgeable that me might make some suggestions, based on the stuff I already know I like.

No hurry. Like I said, about one blind purchase a month is as much as we can afford at present. It would be much appreciated.

Hey, I like Mile High--at least what I've seen of it (four unedited episodes that I downloaded). I may actually buy the first series as a result.

Based on your likes, you're missing out on Spooks. Since you're region free, you can get the R2 versions for less than their R1 counterparts.

Also, try Spaced for comedy if you can still find it on DVD. For CGI animation there's The New Adventures of Captain Scarlet. Although you'll have to wait until January 2007 to buy the DVD, Life on Mars is excellent. Coming to R1 DVD in July is the new Doctor Who.

I highly recommend Spaced. I guess the R2 collector's edition is out of print for copyright reasons or something but I'm guessing it'll be re-released before too long. I also recommend Father Ted (available in R1) and you might also check out Black Books (the complete series is available in R2, and the first season is available in R1).

The Day Today and Brass Eye sound like must-buys based on your list.

Black Books, Spaced and Danger 50k Volts are on the top of the list for comedies. I would also recommend Spooks (about MI-5) for a drama w/ a little action and Ultimate Force (about the SAS) for action w/ a little drama.

You might want to check out Randall & Hopkirk {deceased}, atleast the remake.

http://www.randallandhopkirk.com/

See also:

Any other BRIT TV fans out there?
The Best/Cheapest/Most Reliable e-tailer for r2 DVDs...?
Amazon.co.uk: Is there a better place for buying British DVDs.

Check out Little Britain.

15 Storeys High - easily one of the most underrated UK shows, hilarious, a bit like Curb Your Enthusiasm in some weird way

Peep Show

Marion and Geoff

Human Remains - I LOVE this show

Happiness - This is Paul Whitehouse from the Fast Show's Dramedy that is fantastic

bbc comedy site covers shows from all channels : http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/ ...and it has clips for many, use amazon.co.uk to buy R2 UK DVDs and you get 17.5% off (the VAT we automatically pay in the UK) plus postage. they also did this a couple of years back : http://www.bbc.co.uk/sitcom/ ... as for looking for other shows in a similar genre and keeping track of upcoming releases, amazon.co.uk is pretty poor but play.com is superb at it : you can study genres and so on... comedy is probably the richest ground and the hardest to recommend stuff in as the variety is there : from very mainstream family things to very controversial adult stuff... as for crime dramas, thats another genre with lots to offer : i like 'frost' with david jason, and the writer of 'cracker' did 'the lakes' in the late 90s which was superb - its often good to pick a main star, writer and so on and study what else theyve done, and imdb.com is useful for that.

the lakes :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

frost (series 1 - 5 box, then 6 - 10 box) :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

recent comedy, i like...

the smoking room :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

catterick :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

look around you (series 2) :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

late 80s show 'a bit of fry and laurie' is coming soon :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

ideal :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

early doors :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

extras :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

early 90s show 'the day today' :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

alan partridge :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

...theres so many!

Great--this really gets us started. I've put them all in the "Save for Later" portion of my Amazon.co.uk cart, and we'll probably pick up a couple of them next month, when the credit card recovers from the initial bout of Region 2 buying.

But keep those suggestions coming. You never know when I might hit the Powerball.

comedy : green wing :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

comedy / drama : shameless :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

comedy : peep show :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

comedy drama : no angels :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

comedy drama : this life :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

comedy drama : doc martin :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

crime drama : midsomer murders :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

comedy drama : hamish macbeth :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

comedy drama : ballykissangel :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

crime drama : between the lines :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

crime drama : waking the dead :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

comedy : funland :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

comedy drama : teachers :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

drama : our friends in the north :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

comedy drama : jonathan creek :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...864158-8845418

...keep you busy for a year or two.

In addition to all the great stuff already mentioned, I very much recommend the mini-series The Crow Road, based on the novel by Iain Banks (@imdb), at present only £9.86, shipping included to the U.S.

Green Wing actually made it to BBCAmerica, and I plan to buy the first series when it comes out later this Spring. I'm also looking forward to getting Spaced, which I know a couple of people IRL have mentioned to me. I liked Simon Pegg in Big Train and Shaun of the Dead, so I think I'll probably enjoy Spaced. Looks like there are a number of used copies of this available through Amazon.co.uk. Someone mentioned plans for a re-release of this?

We saw several episodes of the new Randall and Hopkirk on BBCAmerica (I used to watch the original series when I was a kid), and I see that those are dirt cheap.

The Chicago PBS station picked up Ballykissangel, which I enjoyed through series three. After that, it was hit and miss.

I also liked Is It Legal?, but I think that part of my appreciation for that show was Kate Isitt in short dresses. That doesn't appear to have been released to DVD, though.

Another show I liked that no one has mentioned is People Like Us. I see the first series is available--are there plans to release the second?

How about Pride and Prejudice (mini-series) I believe this was a huge hit in the UK, and made Colin Firth a star.

crime drama : mccallum :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...735925-1416744

crime drama : rebus (new version, ken stott) :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...735925-1416744

crime drama : rebus (old version, john hannah) :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...735925-1416744

I don't think anyone has mentioned the very funny "Coupling". A rude UK version of Friends. The writer started his TV career with the excellent kids TV series "Press Gang" about a school newspaper. The boxed sets of this are also worth getting. Lots of adult appeal, not just for children.

"Coupling" was great and is mentioned ina few earlier threads.

"Press Gang" was also excellent; a little like "Moonlighting" at times especially the Sawalha/Shepherd, Fletcher/Willis dynamic. I watched it because my aunt was wardrobe mistress (or costume designer, I forget) for a few seasons!

I also higly recommend coupling Season 1-3 Season 4 was a bit of a let down.