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TV, radio, film, Arts

Cracker.

(32 Posts)
Calendargirl Thu 09-Jul-26 09:46:22

Not a football or tennis fan, don’t have Netflix or Sky etc, any of the pay to view channels.

Oh dear, the choice of stuff to watch is poor, even with all the Freeview channels.

I have started re-watching the ‘Cracker’ series, starring Robbie Coltrane. Think it was first broadcast in the 90’s.

Oh, how dated some of it seems!

Characters smoking all the time, in restaurants, public transport, at work.

No mobile phones, Fitz has to keep nipping into public phone boxes to place his racing bets.

The police come across as misogynistic, brutal in their interviewing techniques, certainly non PC.

And some of the scenarios are very savage.

Having said all that, it’s not a bad watch.

Doodledog Sun 12-Jul-26 22:49:34

MT62

I wish they would re-run brookside.
I loved Heather & the Corkhills.
Once woke up in hospital with Billy Corkhill in the bed next to me.
He asked if I had had the full Monty 😂

Brookside is on STV - from the very first episode. Five new ones drop every Wednesday, but it will take you a while to catch up if you start at the beginning.

FranP Sun 12-Jul-26 22:42:17

I loved Robbie Coltrane's character, so endearingly non PC. I have got into Ian Rankin's Rebus which is very similar. ITVX, so , so far , free to view.

Lots of "coming soon" series but not soon enough, so TV is rubbish. Waiting for Ludwig.

Ellis is OK, and Death Valley is funny but without Timothy Spall possibly not... Annika is a bit weird when she talks to camera, Vera reruns are worth a watch if you have not seen before

FranP Sun 12-Jul-26 22:29:30

Jduffy50

Morse is good too though dated. I always laugh when watching these old tv series how women were made to wear ridiculous things like enormous shoulder pads etc to be fashionable 🫢

I am watching Lewis on BBC at the moment. Actually like it better than Morse - Kevin Whately more likeable than John Thaw.
Endeavor is on too, but not a fan

MT62 Sun 12-Jul-26 20:32:43

I wish they would re-run brookside.
I loved Heather & the Corkhills.
Once woke up in hospital with Billy Corkhill in the bed next to me.
He asked if I had had the full Monty 😂

MT62 Sun 12-Jul-26 20:26:56

Clocking off was Paul Abbot.
Think he’s from Lancashire
I always get mixed up with him & Jimmy McGovern

MT62 Sun 12-Jul-26 20:18:11

Mojack26

I had my first mobile in mid 90's. It was tiny and red.

Mine was like a house brick. Never took it anywhere as I couldn’t get to fit in my bag.

MT62 Sun 12-Jul-26 20:16:20

WithNobsOnIt

Have been binge watching Our Friends in the North on BBC iPlayer

Missed the original broadcast.

Halfway through Episode 6.

Lot to take in. Covers a goodfew decades from the Sixties onwards.Fairly accurate settings, and good actors. And shows how chauvinistic men were. Very sleazy

Women were treated like servants with massive disrespect. And the huge corruption in the Police and Politics.

Now just over 70. So l can relate to all of this. Because l lived through it.

Another brilliant series

MT62 Sun 12-Jul-26 20:15:23

Greenfinch

Most of the TV dramas now rely on the use of a mobile phone so it is quite refreshing to see one set pre that era. I used to enjoy the series set in a factory. It was called either Clocking Off or Clocking On.

Clocking off was brilliant.
Was it Jimmy McGovern?

WithNobsOnIt Sun 12-Jul-26 18:32:08

Have been binge watching Our Friends in the North on BBC iPlayer

Missed the original broadcast.

Halfway through Episode 6.

Lot to take in. Covers a goodfew decades from the Sixties onwards.Fairly accurate settings, and good actors. And shows how chauvinistic men were. Very sleazy

Women were treated like servants with massive disrespect. And the huge corruption in the Police and Politics.

Now just over 70. So l can relate to all of this. Because l lived through it.

madeleine45 Sun 12-Jul-26 18:23:22

As it has been far too hot to be out today, I was pleased to see Pride and Prejudice on BBC2 this afternoon. Have always loved it as a book and there is one version of it on screen that I particularly like. It wasnt that one ,but beggars cant choose at this time of year. So was prepared to enjoy it until great chunks of the story were missed out, so that the story line didnt even connect well. Fed up with the mess I turned it off and reached for my copy to calm down and return to the real McCoy!! Thank goodness for radio 3 and 4!!

Mojack26 Sun 12-Jul-26 17:19:55

I had my first mobile in mid 90's. It was tiny and red.

Barbadosbelle Sun 12-Jul-26 15:42:41

Calendargirl

I read your review. No redeeming features to the programme at all.

But then I laughed so much at your last sentence!!!!
.

Knittypamela Sun 12-Jul-26 15:27:12

We're watching Foyles War again. It's excellent. I'm thinking of George Gently next.

Cossy Sun 12-Jul-26 15:23:17

I loved Cracker!

Jess20 Sun 12-Jul-26 15:21:26

I watched Pretty Woman last night and it was very dated, hardly a mobile phone or computer in sight, but Julia Roberts was, of course, very good and the clothes were still very wearable.... How quickly things have changed, and even more recent dramas seem to avoid covid and sometimes it's like we skipped a whole 5 years or something...

missdeke Sun 12-Jul-26 15:15:20

Having not seen British TV for 13 years from early 1999 until 2012, I still find quite a lot to watch that I haven't seen before. U and Drama shows plenty of stuff I missed, but I do find on some of the detective shows that I often wonder to myself, how police ever solved anything. No DNA, only some basic Mobile Phones, no computers full of facts at their fingertips or Doorbell Cameras to rely on.

valdali Sun 12-Jul-26 14:59:42

I think shoulder pads (yes, not a good look unless designed by someone like Alexander McQueen) were part of the "power-glam" look for women, made them look more assertive in the meeting room so they didn't get assumed to be the minute-taker.
I had a few in tops, they were a nightmare in the wash, used to deform so if you didn't spend ages pummelling them (or cut them out) you got the "Quaimodo" silohuette.

TG3465 Sun 12-Jul-26 14:57:11

Loved Cracker back in the day. Yes I’m sure it does seem dated now, like Morse, ‘of its time’. The most amazing smoking scene I remember seeing, some time recently, is in the original of the Exorcist film where the surgeon comes out from the operating room where he has been tending to the poor girl, and immediately pulls a packet of cigarettes from the pocket of his gown and lights up 😮

Mamo Sun 12-Jul-26 14:33:26

Jduffy50

Morse is good too though dated. I always laugh when watching these old tv series how women were made to wear ridiculous things like enormous shoulder pads etc to be fashionable 🫢

I think they were to make women’s waists look slimmer Jduffy50 !! I was slimmer then but I could do with them now!!

cc Sun 12-Jul-26 14:27:59

We spend some time in Dorset where we don't have a smart TV and have to rely on Freeview - there certainly isn't much on there that we want to watch. We have a lot of early nights, not all of which are due to the fresh air down there!
I gather from our neighbours in London that the choice does vary from region to region, but can quite understand why people choose to bite the bullet and pay for a subscription service or a new smart TV.
Our current BT broadband there is going digital shortly so we'll probably buy a smart TV to give ourselves a little more choice.

Warmglovesandsocks Sun 12-Jul-26 14:26:48

Calendargirl, I’m just horrified with television at the moment. The last time I put it on there was only Wimbledon, football and Tour de France. My TV has been off for over two months at the moment.

Thirdinline Sun 12-Jul-26 14:22:12

I watch quite a lot of older series and always notice the smoking indoors, as well as how many people smoke and how much they smoke! I will look out for Cracker as I didn’t manage to watch it when it came out (with 4 young children) but heard it was good. I have watched Clocking Off, mentioned upthread, and enjoyed that.

Jduffy50 Sun 12-Jul-26 14:21:03

Open Learn has some engrossing and very interesting free courses - highly recommended

Jduffy50 Sun 12-Jul-26 14:18:49

Morse is good too though dated. I always laugh when watching these old tv series how women were made to wear ridiculous things like enormous shoulder pads etc to be fashionable 🫢

Charleygirl5 Thu 09-Jul-26 13:15:40

Thanks