Top 10 TV box sets for self-isolating over-70s
Stuck in a square-eyed bubble? Revisit a golden oldie or try a modern classic from Michael Hogan’s tips – plus, how to stream
With the over-70s facing the prospect of being stuck indoors for months but left cold by much of the noisy, trashy, youth-obsessed programming that litters the terrestrial schedules, we’ve curated a list of 10 top box set suggestions for mature viewers.
They span from drama to documentary, from old-but-gold classics to recent highlights, from home-grown hits to foreign favourites. We’ve also indicated where to find them all. In the meantime, hunker down for some happy viewing.
House of Cards
“You might very well think that. I couldn’t possibly comment.” Forget the glossy Netflix remake starring disgraced Kevin Spacey as a Washington DC power-player and instead savour the UK original, adapted by Andrew Davies from Michael Dobbs’s novel. The BBC’S 1990 political thriller stars Ian Richardson as deliciously dastardly Conservative chief whip Francis Urquhart (suggestive initials: FU), who schemes his way into 10 Downing Street. It’s a mere four majestic episodes long but afterwards, dive into sequels To Play The King and The Final Cut.
Available on: Britbox, Amazon Prime Video or DVD (Complete Trilogy £17.49)
Around the World in 80 Days with Michael Palin
Vicarious adventures ahoy. You might not be able to travel right now but Michael Palin can. Or at least, he could in this glorious 1989 series inspired by Jules Verne’s classic novel. Challenged to circumnavigate the globe without using aircraft, to the same deadline as Phileas Fogg, the former Monty Python comic traversed 17 countries in 79 days. He’s charming company but it’s as much about the people he meets along the way. Not bad considering Palin was the BBC’S fourth choice as presenter behind Alan
Whicker, Miles Kington and (shudder) Noel Edmonds.
Available on: BBC iplayer, Amazon Prime Video or DVD (£10.69)
The Americans
Anyone who lived through the Cold War will relish this period spy thriller, set between 1981 and 1987. It follows two undercover KGB agents – played by Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys (a Welshman playing Russian playing American, impressively) – posing as a suburban married couple in Virginia to covertly gather intelligence on the US. Their mission becomes even trickier when an FBI counterintelligence expert moves in next door. Tense, twisting, pleasingly cerebral and highly evocative. Available on: Amazon Prime Video or DVD (Complete Series £34.99)
The Repair Shop
This warm, gentle reality series became a surprise daytime hit, so last week earned a promotion to primetime BBC One, where it duly pulled in impressive ratings of 6million. Each episode follows skilled artisans who take family heirlooms with sentimental value for their owners and lovingly restore them to their former glory. Like Antiques Roadshow-meets-crafting-show, it’s full of lovely human interest stories and soothing for the soul.
Available on: BBC iplayer
Mapp & Lucia
This giddy Channel 4 romp, adapted from EF Benson’s comic novels and airing in the mid-eighties, is 10 episodes of sheer joy. Prunella Scales and Geraldine Mcewan star as the titular “frenemies” in the quaint Queen Anne town of Tilling-on-sea, forever snobbishly competing for the social upper hand. Sterling support comes from Denis Lill as Major Benjy and Nigel Hawthorne as Georgie. The BBC made a decent stab at a remake in 2014 but it couldn’t touch this one. Available on: DVD (Complete Series £21.54)
The Jewel in the Crown
Awards and acclaim were rightly lavished on Granada’s sumptuous 1984 study of the British Raj’s last days in India, based on Paul Scott’s quartet of novels. Shot on 16mm film, mostly on location in India, it told a resonant story over 14 ravishing hours. It made stars of Charles Dance and Art Malik, while it’s an indication of the ensemble cast’s quality that all four “Best TV Actress” nominations at that year’s Baftas went to stars of the series: Judy Parfitt, Geraldine James, Susan Wooldridge and Peggy Ashcroft (who won).
Available on: Britbox, Amazon Prime Video or DVD (£14.21)
Band of Brothers
After teaming up for Oscar-winning film Saving Private Ryan, director Steven Spielberg and actor Tom Hanks masterminded this stunning small screen portrayal of comradeship, courage and trauma among US infantry in the Second World War. Based on veterans’ true testimony, it dramatises the history of “Easy” Company from paratrooper training back home, through the Normandy landings, right to Japan’s capitulation. Powerfully performed and visually astonishing.
Available on: Sky Atlantic, Amazon Prime Video or DVD (£14.99)
Civilisation
Self-isolation could mean selfimprovement if you use the time to delve into the magnum opus by art historian Kenneth Clark – ambitiously commissioned by then-bbc Two controller David Attenborough. Over 13 episodes, Clark outlines the history of Western art, architecture and philosophy from the Dark Ages to the 20th century. Visually stunning, seductively enthusiastic and unashamedly erudite, it redefined what factual television could achieve. As poet John Betjeman described Clark: “The man who made the best telly you’ve ever seen.”
Available on: BBC iplayer or DVD (£15.33)
Spiral
If you’ve ticked off the big Nordic noir series – The Killing, The Bridge and Wallander – next on your list of subtitled crime classics should be this fine French drama (original title: Engrenages). Across seven superbly immersive series, the multilayered story casts a forensic, unforgiving eye over the entire Parisian police and justice system, mixing tense whodunits with political intrigue, gallows humour and cracking cliffhangers. Très bon.
Available on: Amazon Prime Video or DVD (Series 1-6 £34.99)
Unforgotten
There are flashier, more fashionable police procedurals on the box but writer Chris Lang’s is one of the most underrated – and far superior to most “9pm on ITV” fare. Met duo DCI Cassie Stuart (Nicola Walker) and DI Sunil “Sunny” Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar) investigate cold murder cases, invariably narrowing down the suspects to a roll-call of heavyweight actors. Tom Courtenay and Mark Bonnar both won Baftas for their turns. Moving as well as gripping, it also takes time to explore the emotional aftermath of crime for both victims and perpetrators.
Available on: Britbox, Amazon Prime Video or DVD (Complete Series £22.99)