Weirdest Films and TV Series You’ve Watched

1. 92

   Nathanvilleposted 4 years ago

   I’ve watched some weird stuff on TV over the years.  When I was young Monty Python might have been classified as weird by some, especially the older generation.  And recently I’ve watched some quite weird stuff on TV such as:-
   
   The American TV Series “A Series of Unfortunate Events”, and
   
   The British TV Series “His Dark Material” (a more in-depth adaptation of the trilogy by the same name, than the more commonly known film version ‘The Golden Compass’).
   
   But at the top of my list, in descending order, the top three are:-
   
   #1.    The Bed Sitting Room:  British Comedy Film 1970
   Surreal post-apocalyptic comedy set in the aftermath of the 3rd world war (nuclear war), where the radiation causes people (the few who survived) to mutate into things, such as a Bed Sitting Room!
   
   Cast include famous Stars such as Arthur Lowe, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe, Marty Feldman and many more….
   
   #2.    Twin Peaks:  American Mystery Horror Drama TV Series.  First two Series aired in 1990 & 1991, with the 3rd and final Series released 25 years later (in 2017) as promised at the end of the 2nd Series.
   
   #3.    The Prisoner:  British TV Spy Series by Patrick McGoohan (famous star of Danger Man in the 1960s) first aired in 1967.

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   1. 91

      IslandBitesposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      TV Shows... Off the top of my head
      Wilfred with Elijah Wood and Moone Boy (Irish sitcom)
      
      Movie
      
      Definitely, Upstream Color

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      1. 92

         Nathanvilleposted 4 years agoin reply to this

         I don’t often see Irish Programmes on TV, but when I do they are usually good.
         
         Cool.  The Movie “Upstream Colour” certainly falls under the category ‘weird’.  I hadn’t seen it, or heard of it before; but on looking it up on Wikipedia and YouTube, it certainly looks intriguing!
         
         Upstream Color Explained: https://youtu.be/kARWsO8kv5c
         https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upstream_Color#Reception

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         1. 91

            IslandBitesposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            I don’t often see Irish Programmes on TV, but when I do they are usually good. I agree.

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2. 92

   Nathanvilleposted 4 years ago

   Most people will have seen or be aware of Twin Peaks and The Prisoner, as both are world famous; but few will have heard of The Bed Sitting Room as it was only ever shown in British cinemas; although it has now been restored and released on DVD.
   
   The first time I saw ‘The Bed Sitting Room’ was at the Arnolfini (an Independent Cinema in Bristol) in 1974.  It’s never been shown on British TV to the best of my knowledge, but I have since bought the DVD.
   
   Rediscovering: The Bed Sitting Room (1969) https://youtu.be/mIT9EWi3E7k

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3. 82

   FatFreddysCatposted 4 years ago

   The "weird" shows that stick in my memory tend to be half hour sitcoms.
   
   The syndicated '80s show "Small Wonder" (about a robot kid who lives with "her" inventor's family) definitely ranks as one of the weirdest shows of that decade. The concept was dumb, the acting was terrible, and everything about it was cheap and awkward. For some ungodly reason, this show still has a cult following today
   
   I may be one of the few people who remembers "Mr. Smith," a sitcom about a talking orangutan who worked as an adviser to the U. S. President. No, I'm not making that premise up. I imagine that cocaine was a major factor in the creation of this show.
   
   ...and there's always the 60s turkey "My Mother the Car," in which a guy buys an old clunker that for some reason is inhabited by the spirit of his late mother (who speaks to him through the car radio). I told my kids about this one a while ago, and they accused me of making it up... till I showed them the pilot episode in YouTube!

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   1. 92

      Nathanvilleposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for enlightening me with your choice.  I love the concepts behind them; a good bases for potentially good TV series.
      
      I haven’t heard of any of these TV sitcoms before, as they never made it across the pond to Britain; so I searched on YouTube and Wikipedia to learn a little bit more about them.  From the clips I found and watched on YouTube, it seems a bit of a shame that they never did make it across the pond to Britain, as (for their day) they seem more entertaining than a lot of the American sitcoms that did get here; certainly on a par with programmes like ‘Happy Days’.

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      1. 84

         GA Andersonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

         Wait, was that intended as pro or anti-Happy Days? Don't be diss'n , (I don't think I am cool enough to say "diss'n," but I will leave it there for effect), Happy Days'
         
         I might have to start talking about Monty Python. (but I did like Benny Hill)
         
         GA

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         1. 92

            Nathanvilleposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            Very astute GA, you know me too well.
            
            In the days when we only had 5 TV Channels in the UK:-
            
            •    BBC1
            •    BBC2
            •    ITV
            •    C4 (Channel 4), and
            •    C5
            
            Programmes like Happy Days were entertaining; we didn’t have much else to choose from. 
            
            However, since the 1990’s, with the introduction of Satellite TV (SKY TV) and Cable TV (Virgin Media) we’ve been spoilt for choice. 
            
            Albeit, I do have the 'Get Smart' Series on DVD because that can be quite entertaining (in small doses).
            
            Where I do love American TV isn't in their comedy (because as you know, I much prefer British Humour), it's in their Si-Fi e.g. Star Trek, Lost in Space etc., and some of their Fantasies like Buffy the Vampire Slayer etc.

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            1. 82

               Rachelle Williamsposted 4 years agoin reply to this

               I have a love affair with British horror from the 60s and 70s, those Hammer films were the best!

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               1. 92

                  Nathanvilleposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                  Yep, great films; and then Hammer (amongst other productions) also did the popular TV Series of ‘Hammer House of Horror’ in 1980, which were on a par with their earlier films (13 episodes, 50 minutes each) with Peter Cushing starring in episode 7 “The Silent Scream”.

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   2. 82

      Rachelle Williamsposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      You know...I thought I knew everything there was to know about television and television history. But, that Mr. Smith thing flew right past me. A talking orangutan who worked as an adviser to the U. S. President?
      
      How weird is it that today we have a talking orangutan as the U.S. President...But, I digress. That Mr. Smith thing is even weirder than my weird one where Joan Collins falls in love with a tree and cheats on her husband with it.  And, yes indeed, Small Wonder was kinda kooky as well...

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4. 82

   Rachelle Williamsposted 4 years ago

   I'm a first Generation X nerd, so my favorite genres are Sci-Fi and Horror..so, as you can imagine, I've seen some weird stuff.
   
   There is one thing in particular that always comes to mind as the weirdest.. It was a sci-fi film called, Tales That Witness Madness (1973). The fourth segment of the movie stars Joan Collins as a woman who's husband brings home some sort of prized tree.
   
   
   
   Hold on to your hats, cuz the rest of the story gets really weird from here on out... So, the man is CRAZY about this tree, so much so, til he starts ignoring his wife for the tree. His wife becomes sad, depressed, angry and then eventually jealous...of the tree.
   
   To make a long story short, the woman starts cheating on the man....with the tree, and the story comes to a head when the man comes home from work to find his wife in bed...with the tree.   Yep folks, I can't imagine it gets any weirder than that.

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   1. 92

      Nathanvilleposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Wow.  On reading your first sentence ‘Red Dwarf’ popped into my mind; another favourite TV series which I’ve got the full DVD collection of.
      
      I’m a nerd from the end of the Baby Boomers Generation, so I’m on the same page as you with the Sci-Fi and Horror.
      
      ‘Tales That Witness Madness’ (not sure how I missed that one); I must have been out drinking with mates the night they showed it on TV.  Although I’ve seen most of the other films of the same subgenre of that era from the same Production Company e.g. Tales from the Crypt (1972), From Beyond the Grave (1974) etc., and loved them all.

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      1. 82

         Rachelle Williamsposted 4 years agoin reply to this

         ‘Tales That Witness Madness’ was just the weirdest thing ever, I saw it over 35 years ago and I still cannot shake it off. Be glad you were out drinking that night... I have seen those other ones as well, I liked them. I suppose I'm just attracted to the odd things in life.

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         1. 92

            Nathanvilleposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            Ditto – Me Too.

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5. 82

   FatFreddysCatposted 4 years ago

   Speaking of Python, after the passing of MP's Terry Jones earlier this week I looked up a few episodes of the pre-Python series he starred in with Eric Idle and Michael Palin, "Do Not Adjust Your Set," which I'd never seen before. 
   
   It was just as weird as MP, with the added bonus of weird music from the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band!

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   1. 92

      Nathanvilleposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Do Not Adjust Your Set.  That brings back memories, I and my school friends use to watch it in the evenings and then talk about it in the playground the following day:  ‘Happy Days’.

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