Great old British TV shows – Part VI

The Six Wives of Henry VIII – 1970.  A very good BBC produced mini-series that even managed to keep pretty true to the history.  Keith Mitchell great as the King.  Magnificent.

The Vicar of Dibley 1994- 2007– Perhaps suffers from the Christmas special being re-run so often.  Dawn French has great comedic timing.  But perhaps one of the most memorable scenes was the wedding of Hugo and Alice.  As is usual, the series went on for a few too many seasons.

Thunderbirds -1965-6  Lady Penelope and Parker were the best for me.  Lovely to think of puppets in this age of digital special effects.

To The Manor Born – 1979-81.  Penelope Keith a joy.  Another class based comedy.  Impeccable.

Waiting for God – 1990-4.  Diana Trent – great as a cantankerous old lady.  Tom Ballard superb as an eccentric old buffer.  And then there is “You’re touching me, Jane (the horrible Harvey).

Yes, Minister – 1980-84.  compulsory viewing still for bureaucrats.  The script just amazing.  Not just Sir Humphrey’s double speak but also Bernard’s one liners.

"Sometimes one is forced to consider the possibility that affairs are being conducted in a manner which, all things being considered and making all possible allowances is, not to put too fine a point on it, perhaps not entirely straightforward.” "Irregular verbs:
I have an independent mind You are an eccentric He is round the twist"

Here are the links for the other parts of the series:


Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V