Readers Have
Their Say: The
10 Greatest
British TV
Dramas of
All-Time

By Kevin Wicks | Posted on Tuesday,
August 16th, 2011

3. Pride & Prejudice (1995)

Definitive in nearly every way, which is saying something, considering the numerous adaptations of this Jane Austen classic. Fitzwilliam Darcy has been played by everyone from Laurence Olivier to Matthew Macfadyen, but it was Colin Firth, and his iconic self-baptism in that lake, that made legions of fans swoon. Jennifer Ehle never gets the love she deserves for her Elizabeth Bennet, but she did win the 1995 Best Actress BAFTA over Prime Suspect‘s Helen Mirren, no small feat. (Firth lost to Cracker‘s Robbie Coltrane.) (Own it on DVD.)

Next: No. 2

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89 Comments

winfield
Posted August 21, 2011 at 5:09 pm | Permalink
i didn’t read every entry to the bottom, but
wanted to add
Survivors
to the extended list.
i was very disappointed that it was not renewed.
Dave Lewis
Posted August 23, 2011 at 9:19 pm | Permalink
These are some of my favorites : As Times Goes By; Keeping Up Appearances: The Avengers, with Patrick McNee and Diana Rigg; The Prisoner (Patrick McGoohan); All Creatures Great ad Small; I Claudius; Sherlock Holmes; Faulty Towers; Upstairs, Dpwnstairs; and Dr. Who (John Pertwee and Tom Baker).
mimi
Posted August 25, 2011 at 6:37 pm | Permalink
Pretty good list, but really… how serious can this list be when it’s missing
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Singing Detective. Sheesh.
Lorraine
Posted August 26, 2011 at 8:13 pm | Permalink
Go to Netflix they have several of the series of “Wire in the Blood”. Its an awesome show.
hedge
Posted September 3, 2011 at 1:35 pm | Permalink
No Luther? Luther must be the best of the rest then…complex character driving simple plots….that is good TV.
Evette Yach
Posted November 28, 2011 at 8:57 pm | Permalink
Hi, find your current article interesting and also enlightening. I will visit once more at some time. Appreciate it!
Mary Jacobs
Posted December 28, 2011 at 11:22 am | Permalink
Trying to condense all the great shows we get from the BBC to just 10 is not an easy thing. I would have liked to see Midsommer Murders,
Wire in the Blood, Foyle’s War, House of Card, Cadfael, they are definitely on my “top 10″ list.
John
Posted March 11, 2012 at 3:03 am | Permalink
I’m a bit surprised “Elizabeth R” (1971) is not here on the list, Glenda Jackson is remarkable and there is fine acting throughou. If you’ve never seen it, buy the DVD (4 discs), you’ll enjoy it time after time.
Also: “The Avengers”, “The Shadow of the Tower”, “The Six Wives of Henry the VIII” and to go way back “The Age of Kings” (Richard II – Henry VII) by William Shakespeare.
jolie
Posted May 16, 2012 at 6:32 pm | Permalink
MI5, Wire in the Blood, WhiteChapel – excellent, really the best. Wish there were more episodes – bring back MI5 and Wire in the Blood and for sure keep Whitechapel – all are the most intelligent, entertaining, beautifully acted, directed and shot shows. Worth watching the TV for.