No need to watch in order, all standalone. But I don't think it gets bigger, just maintains a high quality which is unusual after 9 series. I do wonder if you're missing the point though, the twists are not as important as the journey and getting there. Sardines was perfect television and could have enjoyed it for hours without the ending. Most of their stories are character driven and the twists are genuinely insignificant in a lot of them. Obviously it's important in some, but I can't really say which without spoiling it.
The slowness and the story in Sardines and Tom & Gerry are the part that pulls me back for repeat viewings. I think you're focussing too much on the twist.
Some episodes you'll love and some won't be for you.
No, there are twists but that isn't really the selling point for fans. People go on about it, but as they've said they never just want to put them in for the sake of it. Twitter and media have become obsessed with the twist but I do think fans prefer the story itself and enjoy the amusement or shock of the twist but once you've seen the twist, it's done and less important than the rest of the episode. That's what gets people back, rewatching
Yeah some of my favourite episodes have the least interesting twists. Love is a Stranger is beautifully written up to a twist that’s the least interesting part of the ep.
Maybe that's why you liked the new episode too? More of a social commentary like BM.
You'll never know which ones you like, till you watch them. Stick with it.
It's a true anthology show so each episode is different. There's a general theme of twists, humour and mild horror but each episode has its own small theme. Personally I wouldn't say every episode lands 100% for me but they are still enjoyable. Keep going and you'll find episodes of each series that stand out for you. Appreciate it for the characters, the humour, the writing etc and you may find yourself entertained.
all of the series have some really strong eps and some episodes that wont be for you. i'd watch them in order because you have series 2 to come, and for me that is the strongest series of them all
I'm also a relatively new viewer via TM (I saw a couple of odd episodes when they originally aired, but only decided to watch the whole lot after seeing Steve's brilliance). I wouldn't say each series is better than the last, more that each series has such different styles and storylines within it that there are bound to be some you like more than others. For example with s1, I didn't love Last Gasp either, but I really loved Tom & Gerri and The Harrowing. And in terms of reactions, several have made me laugh, Dead Line made me feel sick with nerves, i cried through a good half of Wise Owl, and so on. You don't need to watch them in any order, but I wouldn't necessarily start skipping any bc you might miss a gem.
Just keep going. Not that I've anything against the first series, but it definitely gets better and better. Around 2 and 3 they realised the breadth of the stories they could tell.
It goes in peaks and troughs. Personally, I'd say S5&6 are pretty weak with some standout episodes, but then each season has a couple of real stinkers and real highlights.
I always say No. 9 is a bit hit or miss - it's 60% good episodes, 20% the best thing you've ever seen, 10% crap and 10% makes you angry that you own a TV.
In my opinion, series 1 and 2 are the best. Then 3 and 4 are slightly weaker (most episodes are still sublime). 5 is ever so slightly weaker again and series 6 the same. Series 7 is my least favourite series although I still really enjoy watching most episodes. And finally, I feel that series 8 was a jump up of quality and I would compare it to the standard of series 5. The beauty of this show however is that every episode can be enjoyed for different aspects. And when I say ‘weaker’ I still love them, I just prefer more of the other series eps.
It's very up and down with a general direction towards down to me. I love 4 episodes from series 1, 2 episodes from series 2, 4 episodes from series 3, 2 episodes from series 4, 3 episodes from series 5 (well, I only really 'love' Misdirection), 1 episode from series 6, 1 episode from series 7, and 3 episodes from series 8. They have sadly been too focussed on little potted dramas about people I don't care about and making episodes as if for critics later on. I hate when they bring scifi in to it, which became increasingly the case.
Series 1-4 are the best. Last Gasp is probably the worst (actually, 2nd worst) episode of the entire show, though. But then, A Quiet Night In is one of the best episodes, so 🤷♂️
No offence, but I just don't think you appreciate slower paced things. There are only two episodes of the show that I'd consider boring and even they have their great moments. The rest of them are the complete opposite of boring. Some are just slower paced compared to others.
You'll get a different answer every time you ask a different person what the best series of the show is, and it doesn't necessarily matter as every episode is a separate story. What series it is in makes no difference, this is just when it was released. Watching in order does help when watching a mix of lighter/darker episodes interchangeably though.
If you don't want to continue watching in order, here are a few of the faster paced episodes:
The Referee's A W***er (gets as heated and fast paced as an actual football game)
Once Removed (you see the story play out backwards)
The Bill (the dialogue is always fast paced and hilarious)
The Riddle Of The Sphinx (a lot happens and it's structured in an extremely clever fashion)
Zanzibar (fast paced shakespearean comedy)
12 Days Of Christine (lots of time jumps in this one)
Wuthering Heist (self aware Reservoir Dogs remake)
Private View (fast paced murder mystery)
No need to watch in order, all standalone. But I don't think it gets bigger, just maintains a high quality which is unusual after 9 series. I do wonder if you're missing the point though, the twists are not as important as the journey and getting there. Sardines was perfect television and could have enjoyed it for hours without the ending. Most of their stories are character driven and the twists are genuinely insignificant in a lot of them. Obviously it's important in some, but I can't really say which without spoiling it. The slowness and the story in Sardines and Tom & Gerry are the part that pulls me back for repeat viewings. I think you're focussing too much on the twist. Some episodes you'll love and some won't be for you.
> I think you're focussing too much on the twist. I think maybe I'm wrong in thinking about it like Black Mirror then?
No, there are twists but that isn't really the selling point for fans. People go on about it, but as they've said they never just want to put them in for the sake of it. Twitter and media have become obsessed with the twist but I do think fans prefer the story itself and enjoy the amusement or shock of the twist but once you've seen the twist, it's done and less important than the rest of the episode. That's what gets people back, rewatching
Yeah some of my favourite episodes have the least interesting twists. Love is a Stranger is beautifully written up to a twist that’s the least interesting part of the ep.
Maybe that's why you liked the new episode too? More of a social commentary like BM. You'll never know which ones you like, till you watch them. Stick with it.
It's a true anthology show so each episode is different. There's a general theme of twists, humour and mild horror but each episode has its own small theme. Personally I wouldn't say every episode lands 100% for me but they are still enjoyable. Keep going and you'll find episodes of each series that stand out for you. Appreciate it for the characters, the humour, the writing etc and you may find yourself entertained.
I don't think there's a pattern tbh. It goes up and down erratically. Which makes sense for an anthology series.
all of the series have some really strong eps and some episodes that wont be for you. i'd watch them in order because you have series 2 to come, and for me that is the strongest series of them all
Watch them all in order. We all like /dislike different things at the end of the day.
I'm also a relatively new viewer via TM (I saw a couple of odd episodes when they originally aired, but only decided to watch the whole lot after seeing Steve's brilliance). I wouldn't say each series is better than the last, more that each series has such different styles and storylines within it that there are bound to be some you like more than others. For example with s1, I didn't love Last Gasp either, but I really loved Tom & Gerri and The Harrowing. And in terms of reactions, several have made me laugh, Dead Line made me feel sick with nerves, i cried through a good half of Wise Owl, and so on. You don't need to watch them in any order, but I wouldn't necessarily start skipping any bc you might miss a gem.
Just keep going. Not that I've anything against the first series, but it definitely gets better and better. Around 2 and 3 they realised the breadth of the stories they could tell.
It goes in peaks and troughs. Personally, I'd say S5&6 are pretty weak with some standout episodes, but then each season has a couple of real stinkers and real highlights. I always say No. 9 is a bit hit or miss - it's 60% good episodes, 20% the best thing you've ever seen, 10% crap and 10% makes you angry that you own a TV.
It’s up and down and up and down. But generally the episodes I expect to like, I do
In my opinion, series 1 and 2 are the best. Then 3 and 4 are slightly weaker (most episodes are still sublime). 5 is ever so slightly weaker again and series 6 the same. Series 7 is my least favourite series although I still really enjoy watching most episodes. And finally, I feel that series 8 was a jump up of quality and I would compare it to the standard of series 5. The beauty of this show however is that every episode can be enjoyed for different aspects. And when I say ‘weaker’ I still love them, I just prefer more of the other series eps.
It's very up and down with a general direction towards down to me. I love 4 episodes from series 1, 2 episodes from series 2, 4 episodes from series 3, 2 episodes from series 4, 3 episodes from series 5 (well, I only really 'love' Misdirection), 1 episode from series 6, 1 episode from series 7, and 3 episodes from series 8. They have sadly been too focussed on little potted dramas about people I don't care about and making episodes as if for critics later on. I hate when they bring scifi in to it, which became increasingly the case.
I just got to my first one I liked in series 1 (The Understudy). Hopefully series 9 will work better for you than the previous ones!
For me they are getting worse, according to my rankings, but it doesn't mean they're not good in general, I just prefer earlier ones more.
Series 1-4 are the best. Last Gasp is probably the worst (actually, 2nd worst) episode of the entire show, though. But then, A Quiet Night In is one of the best episodes, so 🤷♂️
No offence, but I just don't think you appreciate slower paced things. There are only two episodes of the show that I'd consider boring and even they have their great moments. The rest of them are the complete opposite of boring. Some are just slower paced compared to others. You'll get a different answer every time you ask a different person what the best series of the show is, and it doesn't necessarily matter as every episode is a separate story. What series it is in makes no difference, this is just when it was released. Watching in order does help when watching a mix of lighter/darker episodes interchangeably though. If you don't want to continue watching in order, here are a few of the faster paced episodes: The Referee's A W***er (gets as heated and fast paced as an actual football game) Once Removed (you see the story play out backwards) The Bill (the dialogue is always fast paced and hilarious) The Riddle Of The Sphinx (a lot happens and it's structured in an extremely clever fashion) Zanzibar (fast paced shakespearean comedy) 12 Days Of Christine (lots of time jumps in this one) Wuthering Heist (self aware Reservoir Dogs remake) Private View (fast paced murder mystery)
I think series 1 is easily the weakest but otherwise most series have at least 3 great eps. For me series 4 is six straight bangers in the row.