# Favourite drama / comedy-drama show ever (excluding sitcoms)



## JohnnyDee (Mar 28, 2016)

We seem to be in retrospective mood on the Forum this Easter with some best or favourite TV show genre threads. 

So I'd like to add this one into the mix. I have a list of loads that I've loved over the years up to and including contemporary ones too. But I'd ask that you limit your choice to your absolute favourite and that gives everyone a chance.

So after a really hard decision I'm going with.

Auf Wiedersehen Pet (Original Germany series)

Closely followed by...Noooooooooooo :mmm:


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## MegaSteve (Mar 28, 2016)

Will look very dated compared against modern production techniques...

But, for me, 'When the Boat Comes In'...


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## HomerJSimpson (Mar 28, 2016)

Colditz
Secret Army
Auf Widersehen


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## Liverpoolphil (Mar 28, 2016)

Homeland
House
Spooks
Strike Back
Following


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## Hobbit (Mar 28, 2016)

Boys from the black stuff.... The original one-off was fantastic. The series that followed was good.


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## HomerJSimpson (Mar 28, 2016)

Hobbit said:



			Boys from the black stuff.... The original one-off was fantastic. The series that followed was good.
		
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Never really got the series having seen the one off. Was still young at the time and at school so maybe didn't realise how good or how accurate a portrayal of life at that time it really was


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## Pin-seeker (Mar 28, 2016)

If we can only name 1 it's got to be The Sopranos.


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## Lord Tyrion (Mar 28, 2016)

You said only one so as you have already named Auf Wiedersehn Pet I will go with Cracker.


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## williamalex1 (Mar 28, 2016)

Breaking Bad
The Big C
Better call Saul.


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## Jimaroid (Mar 28, 2016)

*Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy*
Smiley's People
Edge of Darkness
The Wire
The Shield
Breaking Bad

Doesn't get much better than those. Has to be Tinker for me as the best.


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## Pin-seeker (Mar 28, 2016)

Lord Tyrion said:



			You said only one so as you have already named Auf Wiedersehn Pet I will go with Cracker.
		
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Good call sir &#128077;


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## Ross61 (Mar 28, 2016)

Roots
house of cards
I Claudius


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## Norrin Radd (Mar 28, 2016)

the op has said it ,the mixture of those guys working together was brilliant ,i loved every series they made of it . so it gets my vote.
 second would probably be cracker.


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## tugglesf239 (Mar 29, 2016)

Pin-seeker said:



			If we can only name 1 it's got to be The Sopranos.
		
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Is absolutely the correct answer. Tony Soprano is a genuine Tyrannosaur of a character and he is supported by the best story telling i have ever seen on television.


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## Duckster (Mar 29, 2016)

The West Wing is my number one.

Strong shout outs for:
Prime Suspect, The Wire, House of Cards (UK Version) & The Prisoner (UK Version)

Oh aye.  and The Fall Guy.  Mint!


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## Hacker Khan (Mar 29, 2016)

The Wire.

Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee


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## Imurg (Mar 29, 2016)

West Wing......


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## user2010 (Mar 29, 2016)

E.R.


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## user2010 (Mar 29, 2016)

G.B.H.


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## Pathetic Shark (Mar 29, 2016)

24

The re-make of Battlestar Galactica
Quantum Leap


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## tugglesf239 (Mar 29, 2016)

Hacker Khan said:



			The Wire.

Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
		
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Number 2 on my list.

HUGE in scale and (without wanting to sound a bit "arty farty") genuinely has layers of depth i have never before seen on screen.


Might have to whistle the below as i walk round the office in a bad mood today....

[video=youtube;_VJZldtzGkw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VJZldtzGkw[/video]


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## Beezerk (Mar 29, 2016)

The Wire, easy number 1.
Breaking Bad (still haven't watched the last series)

Can't think of many more, watched loads but got bored after 1 or 2 series ie Homeland, Game Of Thrones, House etc.


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## Val (Mar 29, 2016)

The Sopranos - Hands down the best ever IMO.

Honourable mentions to

Breaking Bad
Prison Break
Sons of Anarchy
Homeland
The Blacklist
The Wire


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## Norrin Radd (Mar 29, 2016)

i forgot 24 great series .


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## Crawfy (Mar 29, 2016)

The Wire
The West Wing
House of Cards
NYPD Blue
CSI (before Grisham left)

I only dipped in and out if The Sopranos, and have never seen Breaking Bad or 24....Forgive me !!


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## GB72 (Mar 29, 2016)

My vote would go to The Shield or The West Wing, 2 series with hardly a bad episode from start to finish.


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## SwingsitlikeHogan (Mar 29, 2016)

GoT - being the only drama that I've watched for 5 series.  Though from back then _The Man from Uncle_ and _The High Chaparral_ I loved, and as far a comedy-drama - I give you the original _Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)_ and _Alias Smith and Jones_


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## srixon 1 (Mar 29, 2016)

Life on Mars


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## Lord Tyrion (Mar 29, 2016)

Srixon1 - That first series in particular was superb. So different to anything else. I can't be doing with Keeley "whispering" Hawes so that ruined the second series for me.

Interesting to see how many modern US dramas are dominating this thread.


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## Norrin Radd (Mar 29, 2016)

comedy drama must include Starsky and Hutch


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## Pathetic Shark (Mar 29, 2016)

You could throw in a sub-section here of "Best ending ever to a series".

Life on Mars was good but the ending of Ashes to Ashes blew it out of the water with its brilliance.
Quantum Leap ended superbly too unlike all the various Trek shows.
And of course 24 never ends as Jack Bauer always finds a way to come back from whatever situation he ended the previous show.


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## Deleted Member 1156 (Mar 29, 2016)

I'm sure Johnny said in his OP to limit your choice to just one  

As far as comedy dramas go, his original choice of Auf Wiedersehen Pet really takes some beating  :thup:


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## Norrin Radd (Mar 29, 2016)

Pathetic Shark said:



			You could throw in a sub-section here of "Best ending ever to a series".

Life on Mars was good but the ending of Ashes to Ashes blew it out of the water with its brilliance.
Quantum Leap ended superbly too unlike all the various Trek shows.
And of course 24 never ends as Jack Bauer always finds a way to come back from whatever situation he ended the previous show.
		
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 blakes seven 
 was a good ending but the best ever episode for an end of series has to be MASH.


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## SocketRocket (Mar 29, 2016)

Hobbit said:



			Boys from the black stuff.... The original one-off was fantastic. The series that followed was good.
		
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Great series.  Yosser Hughes was a great character part.

Do like Spooks and Casualty as well.


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## SwingsitlikeHogan (Mar 29, 2016)

And back in the '80s me and my g/friend (now Mrs SILH) were avid watchers of _Thirtysomething _ (because we both were) and _Twin Peaks_ (well I wasn't)  Both great in very different ways.  Oh yes - and _Morky and Mindy _- nanoo nanoo  - God Bless you Robin Williams


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## Rooter (Mar 29, 2016)

Bottom. Mayall and Edmondson brilliance!
i know its not really a drama, but it was dramatic!


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## Hobbit (Mar 29, 2016)

3rd rock from the sun


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## Tarkus1212 (Mar 29, 2016)

Minder - George Cole at his very best


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## Blue in Munich (Mar 29, 2016)

Tarkus1212 said:



			Minder - George Cole at his very best
		
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Only with Dennis Waterman as Terry, never the same when he left.


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## ScienceBoy (Mar 30, 2016)

Only if they are heavy on the Sci-Fi or I can't stand these types of shows. Too little Sci-Fi made, the golden era seemed to be the 90s and early 00s


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## Slab (Mar 30, 2016)

House - The first 5/6 seasons until it lost it's way when he was committed/total team change


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## MarkE (Mar 30, 2016)

X-Files


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## Tashyboy (Mar 30, 2016)

Rab C Nesbit, favourite line when rabs pal is watching porn on the computer. He pops his head from round the curtain and says in a broad Glaswegian accent to his wife " Hey baby doll, is there one or two f's in sphincter"


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## JamesR (Mar 31, 2016)

Jimaroid said:



*Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy*
Smiley's People
Edge of Darkness
...Doesn't get much better than those. Has to be Tinker for me as the best.
		
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Agree with those, but may I also add The Night Manager, which I read a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the series.

Plus, Wolf Hall - excellent!


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## Jimaroid (Mar 31, 2016)

JamesR said:



			Agree with those, but may I also add The Night Manager, which I read a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the series.

Plus, Wolf Hall - excellent!
		
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Haven't had time to watch The Night Manager yet. Agree about Wolf Hall, not everyone's cup of tea but superbly acted and filmed.


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## Norrin Radd (Mar 31, 2016)

night manager was excellent tv . Hugh Lawrie was brilliant as was Hiddlestone.


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## richart (Apr 1, 2016)

JohnnyDee said:



			We seem to be in retrospective mood on the Forum this Easter with some best or favourite TV show genre threads. 

So I'd like to add this one into the mix. I have a list of loads that I've loved over the years up to and including contemporary ones too. But I'd ask that you limit your choice to your absolute favourite and that gives everyone a chance.

So after a really hard decision I'm going with.

Auf Wiedersehen Pet (Original Germany series)

Closely followed by...Noooooooooooo :mmm:
		
Click to expand...

 Agree with Auf Wiedersehen Pet.

Notable mentions for Edge of Darkness, Life on Mars, Shackleton, GBH and All Creatures Great and Small.


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## Deleted Member 1156 (Apr 2, 2016)

richart said:



			Agree with Auf Wiedersehen Pet.

Notable mentions for Edge of Darkness, Life on Mars, Shackleton, GBH and All Creatures Great and Small. Also a special mention for any episode of TOTP that Leo Sayer was on.
		
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Fixed :thup:


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## Ethan (Apr 2, 2016)

The Shield
The Wire
Dexter
Breaking Bad
Walking Dead


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## Karl102 (Apr 2, 2016)

Sons of Anarchy for me....

Mentions to:
GoT
The Wire
Dexter
24
Boardwalk Empire
House of Cards
Prison Break


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## davemc1 (May 24, 2016)

Surprised no ones mentioned penny dreadful. Im absolutely loving it.

Also GOT, sopranos, brookie and the wire. 


Best character, Stringabell or Tony S


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## Pin-seeker (May 25, 2016)

I'm currently watching Gomorrah which is very good. 
Also watching 11.22.63,only 8 episodes,but well worth a watch.


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## Norrin Radd (May 25, 2016)

gotta give a shout for  and the Da Vinci code. brilliant series .


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## Aztecs27 (May 25, 2016)

Band of Brothers.


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## Jack_bfc (May 25, 2016)

in my fav order,

The wire
Band of brothers
the sopranos
SOA


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## need_my_wedge (May 25, 2016)

There's a lot of good series mentioned on here already, it's really difficult to choose any one in particular. I have always been very partial to Aufweidersehen Pet, was so good at the time, and still have enough love for the characters to like the later ones. Cracker was also an excellent series and brilliant at the time,as was the West Wing. All three would be in my top 10, along with Life on Mars, Sons of Anarchy, Deadwood and Justified, the latter being my fav of the four. Have watched three recent ones, all of which were intense can't stop watching territory - Line of Duty, which I thought was excellent, The Tunnel and The Killing. Had to sit and binge watch all seasons of these three (not at the same time), as they were all seriously gripping. The Netflix American version of The Killing was superb. Guess that makes up my Top 10 in no particular order.


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## GG26 (May 25, 2016)

Mad Men, surprised no one has mentioned this yet


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## Stuey01 (May 27, 2016)

So many of my favourites already mentioned.  All time favourite I think is The Shield.

I'm going to chuck in 2 more that haven't been mentioned yet:

This Life
Homicide: Life on the street


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## rickg (May 27, 2016)

Banshee


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## GreiginFife (May 27, 2016)

Justified. Two examples of perfect casting in Timothy Oliphant and Walton Goggins.

Natalie Zea was also worth watching in it.


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## Liverbirdie (May 27, 2016)

HomerJSimpson said:



			Never really got the series having seen the one off. Was still young at the time and at school so maybe didn't realise how good or how accurate a portrayal of life at that time it really was
		
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Without opening the old debate, it was a very accurate portrayal of life in the north in the early to mid-eighties.

Cracker was great, Spooks even better.

I was young at the time and didnt watch them fully but I'd love to watch Bodyline and Shogun on DVD - not sure if they would stand the test of time, though.


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## Pin-seeker (May 28, 2016)

rickg said:



			Banshee
		
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Rebecca,enough said &#128521;


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## arnieboy (May 28, 2016)

The Sweeney.


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## Doon frae Troon (May 28, 2016)

Still Game   

22 consecutive sellouts [22 x 8,000] at The Hydro about 10 years after the last episode on TV....says it all.


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## njrose51 (May 28, 2016)

24
Strikeback
Following
Goodwife
Walking Dead
Homeland


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## williamalex1 (May 28, 2016)

Doon frae Troon said:



			Still Game   

22 consecutive sellouts [22 x 8,000] at The Hydro about 10 years after the last episode on TV....says it all.
		
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:thup::thup::thup:


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