My lockdown guilty pleasure on TV has been .....

axisus

Midsomer Murders. 

I really enjoyed them back in 1997 when the series started, and probably watched the first 12 or so before life took a different direction and I forgot about them. In the mean time they have got through a colossal 126 episodes!

I love the English settings, and the typically English eccentric characters, and the storylines are suitably complex as to keep interest. I found some on ITV catch-up and have been going through them as a nice Sunday evening distraction, in fact it is the perfect Sunday evening show for me. Yes, it is rather insane when you consider that they have chalked up 581 deaths in total around a relatively small area of the country (!) but then again it never pretends to be realistic, gritty or worthy.


And on the subject of detective shows, Season 4 of my absolute favourite is now on ITV catch-up - Unforgotten

For me it is fantastic TV. Basically two detectives working through a really old murder case (just one case for each 6 episode series). Nicola Walker and Sanjeev Bhaskar are both superb in the lead roles.

The programme follows two London detectives as they solve cold cases of disappearance and murder. It always starts with the discovery of a body. Seemingly unconnected characters that we are introduced to are gradually revealed to have some relationship with the victim. As the murder mystery unfolds, the emotional ramifications of the crime are also explored in the lives of those affected. There are always superb emotional performances from some of the cast.

Highly recommended!

JerkMoans

Xhamster  

p90fool

Occasionally I sit down in front of the TV and scroll but there are only two programmes and they recur again and again across seemingly dozens of channels. 

One is Come Dine With Me and the other is Midsomer Murders. I'm starting to think I should give at least one of them a chance or just bin the TV. 

Sassafras

I've been watching a lot of 8 out of 10 Cats and their Countdown version on YouTube.
Especially Sean Lock episodes.

Jalapeno

Dollface (Disney+ (18+))

The latest Kat Dennings show, kind of a Sex In The City reboot, but with a couple of more laffs.  It isn't ROFL funny, but I love Kat's deadpan one liners.

Fretwired

Escape to the country ... something I've been thinking of doing.

Neill

My wife watches all the cop shows but I can't stand them.  Unfortunately I am familiar with many of the characters and the plots, by osmosis.  Just yesterday I was passing by when an episode of Miss Marple was on and I said instinctively oh this is the one where Tom Baker dies by walking upstairs when the lift is out of order.  Yet I have never watched a single episode of Miss Marple - as I say, it's osmosis.

Being originally from the West Riding, if I have a "guilty" pleasure it's old episodes of Last of the Summer Wine, only the ones with Brian Wilde in though, and preferably Joe Gladwin as Wally Batty.  Wally Batty is one of my all time favourite TV characters.  

Caffeine_Vampire

The Good Wife. Mainly for Michael J Fox.

westford

We really enjoyed Unforgotten too. I’ve been watching some of the stuff on Walter Presents on All 4 (halfway through The Twelve just now). 

Tone71

Virgin River utter tosh I love it.

EricTheWeary

Almost everything Stewart Lee has ever recorded ( which isn’t loads really), definitely my guilty pleasure as no one else in the family can stand him. I understand that you could watch five minutes or twenty minutes of Stewart and think it’s shit but eventually you get brainwashed. 

I have watched loads of slightly crap TV lately - Pooch Perfect for starters. Slightly weird  X Factor approach - ‘when my mother died I started cutting my arms to get relief from the mental anguish but then I discovered dog grooming and now I specialise in Lhasa Apsos.’

boogieman

Fretwired said:

Escape to the country ... something I've been thinking of doing.

I used to watch that avidly, but I eventually got sick of the number of couples who’d obviously only applied to go on it to get their mugs on the telly *. “After more thought, Brian and Daphne decided not to go ahead with the purchase of the converted Tudor barn in Nether Dangleberry and have moved into a new build flat in Doncaster”. 

* See also Place in the Sun, only to get a free holiday. 

Homes Under the Hammer is my guilty pleasure now. 

fretmeister

The worst scripted, most implausible, terribly acted show in history.

Scorpion.

 Team of geniuses solve everything. 

It’s is objectively and subjectively shit.

But I’m still watching it and I’m gutted there’s only 4 series. 

Bridgehouse

Lewis, Prime Suspect and Murdoch Mysteries.

Quality crime tat.

PhilW1

Rake - Netflix, drug addled ,sex and alcohol addicted barrister 
real good fun

Philly_Q

Guilty pleasure?

Not sure it was even a pleasure, but I do feel a bit guilty about watching Gordon Ramsay's Bank Balance.  The whole series. 

There was a strange fascination in the fact that they managed to find contestants so stupid, ignorant and unlikeable that, in comparison, Ramsay himself seemed slightly less of a cunt.

DefaultM

I feel like I've watched every thing on TV ever during lockdown.

axisus

Philly_Q said:

Guilty pleasure?

Not sure it was even a pleasure, but I do feel a bit guilty about watching Gordon Ramsay's Bank Balance.  The whole series. 

There was a strange fascination in the fact that they managed to find contestants so stupid, ignorant and unlikeable that, in comparison, Ramsay himself seemed slightly less of a cunt.

Ramsay is the celeb I most detest. I absolutely hate him, a disgraceful bully who should never have been given any kind of celeb status. 

HAL9000

Unforgotten - Decent, but every series is essentially the same
Nashville - Utter tosh, but has lots of guitars
The Bay - Not bad but somewhat predictable 

DiscoStu

Homes Under The Hammer, and the ever exciting 'what background songs will they play today?'

hywelg

Hill Street Blues and Below Deck.