bluebox staff select their favourite TV shows.

As the nights begin to draw in, the beer garden begins to look a little less tempting and the mind wanders on how to to keep entertained over the winter months. The advent of Netflix and other streaming services has meant an increase in binge watching but would bluebox staff favourites be streamed or would we need to reach for the dusty box-set?  

Below are some TV high-points of the team that probably do more to reveal the ages and slightly dubious tastes of our team-members than we'd like: 

 Beth, Marketing Assistant

Chosen Show: The Hunt

My chosen TV show is 'The Hunt', which is a nature documentary by BBC TV series. 

This is one of many shows narrated by Sir David Attenborough. I love all of the Attenborough documentaries, however, this is one of my favourites. This specific documentary focuses on the relationship between predator and prey, and lets us dive deeper into how the animals live. 

Each episode targets different habitats on earth, this allows us to view animals facing diverse obstacles. Determination, enthusiasm and patience is required to capture the most beautiful and elegant shots of the animals in action. I've always loved nature, and I found this documentary satisfying and interesting to watch.

 Lee, Web Developer

Chosen Show: Stranger Things

Stranger Things is currently my new favourite TV show. 

I'm really diggin' the 80's vibe it has going on, it could easily be mistaken for an old classic with its funky synth beats and camera effects. The show is set in a normal, quiet little town, when one night a young boy disappears and everything is turned upside down. From thrills to chills the show has it all. 

I feel like a kid again watching a scary version of ET or The Goonies. Looking forward to season 2!

 David, Marketing Manager

Chosen Show: Murder in Successville

My favourite TV show (at the moment that is) is Murder in Successville. It's a BBC 3 comedy that's just finished its second series.

It's quite hard to describe but I'll give it a go. It's an improvised comedy which sees a celebrity tasked with solving a murder in Successville - a low-down town populated by fake celebrities (Chief of Police is Nigella Lawson, Katy Perry is a cafe owner and Kim Kardashian is a psychopathic killer for instance).

It's a weird cross between a cop show, 'noirish' series like Twin Peaks and reality TV. Each week a different celebrity is cast as a rookie police officer set to help solve the murder. Leading the investigation is hard bitten cop DI Sleet (played brilliantly by comedy actor Tom Davis). Although the plot is scripted and the actors rehearse, the celeb doesn't have a clue whats going on. They are just thrown into situations and expected to think on their feet. Series 1's celebs included Made in Chelsea star Jamie Lang and TV presenter Dermot O'Leary. Series 2 featured I'm a Celeb winner Vicky Pattison and Spice Girl Emma Bunton.

All of the ones I've watched have been 'laugh-out-loud-funny'. In each episode they leave in one time when the cast crack up laughing at what's happened or what has been said. These are often one of the funniest bits. And the who-dunnit plots are actually pretty solid too. I really hope they commission a third series. 

 Kev, Creative Designer

Chosen Show: The Hit Man and Her

Pete Waterman, of Stock Aitken and Waterman fame, was making pop hits like they were going out of fashion. SAW songs ruled the charts and as a young adult just having left a small fishing village to join the RAF I found music, beer, girls and disposable income a great combination (well perhaps not the girls!). 

I loved coming back from a club in the early hours of the morning, to watch other people live from a far more exotic club than the one I just vacated. The 'Her' of the show was Michaela Strachan, every teenage boy's dream in her 90's hot pants. Most men the wrong side of forty will have watched this show, but perhaps not all will admit to it...I'm cool with that.

 Jim, Web Developer

Chosen Show: The Simpsons

"The Internet? Is that thing still around?" - Homer J Simpson

I choose The Simpsons. The hours of entertainment I have had from The Simpsons is unfathomable, all my life the Simpson family has been waiting with it's hilarious humour, stupid jokes & fantastic signage throughout every episode.

In case you have been living in a bunker for the last 27 years The Simpsons is a long running cartoon comedy following the lives of the Simpson family in a little town known as Springfield. It is easily one of the cleverest, perfectly executed shows ever to hit our purple TV sets with bunny ear antenna and I can't imagine a world without it. 

 Simon Sales Director

Chosen Show: Twin Peaks

I've had to go with Twin Peaks.

Wiki lists the genre as crime & serial drama, psychological thriller and psychological & supernatural horror, which pretty much sums it up. I'd also add black comedy. 

The direction (particularly the David Lynch episodes), scripting and soundtrack are all first class. The show I judge all others by, its influence is still being felt across TV, film and video games 25 years later. Plus there's a new series in 2017!

 Tom, Web Developer

Chosen Show: The Office UK

My favourite TV show is the Office (UK). David Brent has given me some great advice, the most valued being: "You just have to accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue". More importantly the office has taught me that throwing your shoes over a pub makes you a man. 

It's one of the only shows I can watch over and over and it gets funnier each time. Also, if you want to annoy you co-workers, put their stapler in some jelly.

 Jason Account Manager

Chosen Show: Firefly

Firefly, It's excellently witty, sometimes dark, always entertaining and the characters are just so shiny!

The show was cancelled after eleven of its fourteen episodes and as such you'd think that it was bellow par, you'd be wrong. It went on post-cancellation to win numerous awards including an Emmy and even prompt the making of a bloody awesome feature film only two years later.

You may think me a Josh Wheadon fanboy, I'm not, he wrote Avengers age of Ultron, what a bag of......

 Chris Web Developer

Chosen Show:'Allo 'Allo!

BBC sitcom from the 80's. Written by the same people who wrote Dad's Army, Are You Being Served and It Ain't Half Hot Mum. It's just a ridiculous take on France during German occupation in the 1940's.

The characters are nearly all victims of circumstance and some of the situations they get themselves into are amazing. For example the head waiter at Cafe Renee has to re-marry his own wife whilst posing as his own twin brother in order to get the deed to his cafe back after faking his own death with the help of a German officer who fancies him, it's crazy.

The show ran for 9 series and whilst the later few are slightly more forgettable the early ones are brilliant.

 Steph Office Administrator

Chosen Show: Planet Earth

Planet Earth is a brilliant series, narrated by the man that everyone wants as their granddad, David Attenborough.

Learning about the natural world is something that has always interested me and as a photographer I massively appreciate the stunning footage in the series. Personally, I find watching the show very comforting and being able to understand more about the colossal planet that we live on helps to give me more perspective on things. With captivating cinematography and amazing narrative, it's easy to live vicariously through the show.

I've always enjoyed travelling and will happily adventure somewhere whenever I get the opportunity to, so Planet Earth is definitely one of my favourite shows to explore the unexplored.