1. Max Headroom
Before prestige TV was a thing, there was Twin Peaks. Lynch and Frost blew up the small-town murder mystery, drenching it in pure, unadulterated surrealism. One minute it’s a soap opera, the next it’s a nightmare jazz club. The atmosphere was thick, the characters were wild, and it proved you could get seriously weird on network television, making everyone wonder what the hell they just watched. Iconic.
2. Twin Peaks
Six decades later, The Prisoner still messes with your head. It’s this wild, existential spy show, but also an allegory for conformity, with Number Six trapped in a beautiful, sinister village. The whole vibe was a fever dream, full of strange rules and practical visual tricks that still feel modern. It wasn't just a British import; it was a philosophical assault, utterly unique and deeply unsettling. Be seeing you.
3. The Prisoner
MTV wasn't just music videos, not entirely. Liquid Television was the experimental playground where animation truly went wild. It was short-form chaos, a rapid-fire assault of bizarre, often punk-adjacent cartoons that birthed Beavis and Butt-Head. And it wasn't just that; it was a breeding ground for artists pushing visual boundaries, a weekly dose of pure, unadulterated, low-fi creative anarchy. A true cable gem.
4. Liquid Television
Forget Hollywood blockbusters; the BBC's Hitchhiker's Guide was the real deal. It was a lo-fi, deeply British, and utterly brilliant sci-fi comedy. The analog effects, the talking book, the sheer absurdity of it all. It took Douglas Adams's genius and translated it to the small screen with a DIY charm that felt perfectly punk. And it made you think, between laughs, about everything. Mostly towels.
5. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas, cruising in neon-soaked South Beach. Miami Vice wasn't just a cop show; it was a two-hour music video every week. The fashion, the synth-pop soundtrack, the pastel suits. It oozed style and a kind of sun-baked nihilism, making crime look dangerously cool. It was pure 80s maximalism, a perfect blend of high-gloss production and gritty street drama. Groundbreaking television.
6. Miami Vice
British comedy usually played it safe. Then came The Young Ones, a total, glorious mess. Four students, one house, and absolute anarchy. It was punk rock in sitcom form, a violent, surreal, politically charged assault on traditional humor. The practical gags, the guest bands, the sheer, unbridled chaos. It blew up the format, proving you could be utterly bizarre and still be hilarious. Proper mental, that show.
