1 / 6
1. One Step Beyond
Ah, now this was a program that truly got under your skin. All in black-and-white, mind you, which only added to the chill. John Newland, always serious, introducing tales of the uncanny, the things science couldn't quite pin down. It wasn't about monsters, not really, but the unsettling feeling that reality was just a bit... permeable. A fine example of those early anthology shows, proving you didn't need big budgets for big scares. Just a good story and a camera.
2 / 6
2. Man in a Suitcase
Richard Bradford as McGill, a former CIA man, now just a private eye drifting across Europe. Never quite fit in, always the outsider. You felt his weariness, the weight of his past. It wasn't flashy like some of the other spy shows; more about the quiet desperation, the moral compromises. And the music, oh, the music lingered. A proper drama, this, showing how television could build a character you genuinely cared about, week after week.
3 / 6
3. Department S
Now here was a slick one, a real step up in production. Three agents, each with their own specialty, solving impossible cases that baffled the regular coppers. Peter Wyngarde as Jason King, always stealing the show with those flamboyant outfits and that dry wit. It had a certain continental flair, didn't it? A bit of a romp, but always clever, always entertaining. Proved that British television could be just as stylish and globe-trotting as anything from across the pond.
4 / 6
4. Space: 1999
Well, this one certainly aimed for the stars, literally! The moon, blasted out of Earth's orbit, drifting through space. A grand premise, even if the science was a bit... flexible. But the miniatures, the explosions, quite something for its day! Martin Landau and Barbara Bain, very serious, grappling with cosmic isolation. It tried to be profound, and often was, even with all the monster-of-the-week stuff. A testament to what you could achieve with a vision and a decent budget.
5 / 6
5. Blake's 7
And here we have a proper space opera, but with a British twist, meaning it was a bit grittier, a bit more cynical. Blake, the reluctant hero, leading a band of misfits against the Federation. It never shied away from the dark side of rebellion, the moral compromises. Limited budget, sure, but they made it work with strong writing and memorable characters. One of those shows that truly understood how to build a continuous story, episode by episode.
6 / 6
6. The Singing Detective
Now this, this was something else entirely. Dennis Potter's masterpiece. A bed-ridden writer, battling psoriasis, his mind a fever-dream of memory, fantasy, and musical numbers. It wasn't easy viewing, certainly not your typical police procedural. But the way it wove together narrative threads, timeframes, and those startling musical interludes... it was groundbreaking. Showed just how far television drama could push the boundaries of storytelling, daring to be complex and deeply unsettling. A true landmark.