Good British serial/sitcoms/movies
For some reason, I understand spoken American English much better than spoken British English. While I have next to no problems watching American movies or serials (well, except when someone speaks with a broad South Carolina accent :) ), I find watching British movies rather stressful: it is harder for me to understand what is being said. So I decided to obtain some British serials or movies and watch them for practice. I would be happy to get some suggestions.
My requirements are rather simple: it must be entertaining in some way, either funny or intriguing or full of suspense (like a crime story). Sci-fi is fine, too. As long as it is not dull, it is ok. Among the things that I do NOT like are chick-flicks and most soaps. A.L.F. is an example of an US sitcom that I rather enjoyed, especially the first season.
Oh, and, of course, the cast must be mostly British. A British production about adventures of an American in Germany would be no good for my purpose :)
So, guys and girls, what can you suggest?
Re: Good British serial/sitcoms/movies
Just to clarify, since there are no accents in Russia.... In British English, class background and geographical location make HUGE difference in the way people speak! You could say that Geography is the X-axis and Class in the Y-axis. Because of this, two people who are both brought up in London can speak in very different ways and even struggle to understand each other. Likewise, two people from an upper class background can speak identically, even though they come from completely different parts of the country. Being able to decipher accents is important in the UK and all native born Brits do it automatically. Regional and 'class' accents are slowly reducing and lines are being blurred. But this is still very much part of life in the UK - for the most part quite a negative part (in my opinion).
Working class and regional accent:
Only Fools and Horses
Shameless
Porridge
Big Brother UK
EastEnders (soap - London)
Coronation Street (soap - Manchester)
Emmerdale (soap - Yorkshire)
Trenchwood (Welsh)
Father Ted (Irish)
Upper class accent
Yes Minister
House of Cards
To the Manor Born
Inspector Morse
Love in a Cold Climate
Brideshead Revisited
The Way We Live Now
In-between
The Vicar of Dibley
Dr Who
Midsomer Murders
The Bill
Keeping up Appearances
Fawlty Towers
Australian and New Zealand English are variations of British/Irish English, which have developed away a bit on their own.
Classic Oz and Kiwi soaps that are popular in the UK:
Prisoner Cell Block H (Cult!)
Neighbours
Home and Away
Outrageous Fortune (New Zealand)
The Tribe (cult teen series from New Zealand)
These are mostly "classics" - I haven't been watching a lot of TV lately!