Coupling
I suppose you could say we are in the habit of featuring British TV shows, but it’s not my fault there are so many available for streaming and this is only the third one, so get off my back. Wait, where was I? Ah, yes… Coupling. I guess you could call this the British Friends, only it’s funnier and much raunchier. If you watch much basic cable, you may recognize Gina Bellman from TNT’s Leverage.
There aren’t may shows that can make you laugh out loud (yeah, literally “LOL”) even when sitting by yourself in your living room. My advice is to avoid streaming it at work, because you’ll definitely get caught when everyone in the office gathers around your cubicle to see what’s wrong with you.
As with most successful shows from the old country, there was an attempt to make a US version (featuring Colin Ferguson, now of SyFy’s Eureka). Unlike The Office which re-imagined the series for a US audience, Coupling took the same route The I.T. Crowd later tried and just had American actors recite the same scripts. (I was also a little disappointed the US version didn’t use Cake’s version of Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps—the theme song from Coupling.)
There were four seasons of Coupling, and their all available on both Netflix and Hulu (free, not Plus), so do yourself a favor and carve out a few weekend hours for the next few weeks and check it out.
Top Gear
BBC’s Top Gear is a car show, of course, but it’s more than that. It is one of the best-shot shows on television, and it’s truly funny (even if you don’t get the British pop culture references). Even if you don’t care about cars, you’ll likely enjoy the hosts’ friendly rivalry, the often-ridiculous challenges and the best segment: Star in a Reasonably Priced Car, where celebrities compete for the best time around a road track in a compact car.
The worst thing about Top Gear is that it isn’t really available in the U.S. Alright, yes, BBC America shows Top Gear episodes on a six-or-so-month delay, but they cut them up to make room for commercials, and they don’t bother to show all of the episodes anyway.
Netflix has seasons (or series as Brits say) 10 through 12 available for streaming, which will get you the episodes from 2007 and 2008, which isn’t so long ago that the cars are no longer relevant (if that’s your thing). Short of piracy, it’s the only way to really enjoy Top Gear in the States. At the very least, you should check out a few episodes before watching the History Channel’s upcoming American version of Top Gear so you understand what an uphill battle the U.S. show really faces.
Top Gear: Series 10 on Netflix
Top Gear: Series 11 on Netflix
Top Gear: Series 12 on Netflix
