8 ms·

Until a few weeks ago I would not have cared to click this link, let alone read all of the article. But that has changed: I recently watched the BBC television

by zevv 5y ago

Until a few weeks ago I would not have cared to click this link, let alone read all of the article. But that has changed: I recently watched the BBC television series "Detectorists"; not everybody's cup of cake, as it is pretty slow going, but "It’s good-natured and charming, and there’s really something admirable about a series so singularly dedicated to making you feel good" https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/jan/28/detectorists-a-sitcom-about-amateur-archaeologists-thats-a-bonafide-heartwarming-joy https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/jan/28/detectorists...

onion2k 5y ago
The Detectorists is one of the best TV shows made in the past decade. I loved it. It was a tonic to the everything-must-be-about-crime-and-death shows that fill Netflix and Prime.
dkdbejwi383 5y ago
Detectorists is like the TV equivalent of having a nice cuppa on a cool, late summer's morning, while looking out the window at the long, brown grass swaying gently in the breeze. Mackenzie Crook's recent Worzel Gummidge adaptation has a similar vibe, although obviously more geared towards families.
- ethbr0 5y ago
  > equivalent of having a nice cuppa on a cool, late summer's morning, while looking out the window at the long, brown grass swaying gently in the breeze Obligatory BBC Shipping Forecast, because it seems right up this crowd's alley: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CxHa5KaMBcM https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CxHa5KaMBcM Recent: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qfvv/episodes/player https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qfvv/episodes/player
AndrewOMartin 5y ago
All historical dramas are just prequals to The Detectorists.
- adolph 5y ago
  I wonder what a future version of The Dectorists would be? Maybe "The Isotopists" that find materials with isotopes from exotic places. https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/tracking-movements-isotopes https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/tracking-movements-isoto...
  - kingcharles 5y ago
    I've been in tech too long.. my first thought is that you meant they would be finding .iso files.
cschmidt 5y ago
Without the show, we wouldn't understand that a "detectorist" is a person and metal detector is the machine they use.
danesparza 5y ago
Without the detectorists, I wouldn't know that University Challenge is a real-life show that I absolutely love. Also: Did you see University Challenge last night?
- onion2k 5y ago
  I like University Challenge but it makes me feel like I'm an idiot. Or maybe it just reveals the fact that I am actually an idiot. I get 4 or 5 answers per show at most. My partner sits and answers about 20% of the questions correctly. She's far cleverer than me. But I'm better at video games so it all evens out.
  - jnsie 5y ago
    I feel the same about hacker news, to be honest.
  - lebski88 5y ago
    I found that when I watched it a lot I got much better at it. The style of the questions needs to be learnt. There are also a bunch of writers, composers and painters that come up a lot. If in doubt guessing one of these from roughly the correct period works pretty well!
sandworm101 5y ago
It depends on where you are in the world. The UK has a couple millennia of metal object to find. I'm reminded of that Bob's Burgers joke about using a metal detector only to find the metal detector discarded by the last guy who tried to find gold coins on a US beach.
atombender 5y ago
It's such a superb show. Something I realized watching Detectorists is that there aren't many realistic adult drama shows (or American movies) these days that aren't about crime or similarly extreme subjects, or that aren't historical dramas. Detectorists is technically a "dramedy", of course, but it's basically a realistic, truthful depiction of everyday life, with some observational humour thrown in here and there. For some reason Hollywood has indoctrinated the world into thinking that fiction can't be true to life, because life is somehow boring. A similar American drama that comes to mind is Lodge 49, which is absolutely fantastic. On Becoming a God in Central Florida has a similar vibe, and is also excellent. Off the top of my head, I'm struggling to think of many other shows. Better Things, Transparent, Togetherness, Succession, Mozart in the Jungle… any other good ones?
- jl6 5y ago
  Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing perhaps? Although I can never tell if it’s some kind of obtuse absurdist parody or sincere.
- munificent 5y ago
  Ted Lasso.
  - atombender 5y ago
    Ted Lasso is good, but it's a saccharine, deeply unrealistic fantasy bordering on self-parody. So I can't really agree with you there.
    - munificent 5y ago
      > a saccharine, deeply unrealistic fantasy bordering on self-parody I personally found it to be none of those things. Often, we experience a piece of art as being something when really much of our experience is defined by what we brought of ourselves to it.
      - atombender 5y ago
dageshi 5y ago
Tangentially related, time team and hugely popular archaeology program that ran in the 90's-2000's in the UK has many of their episodes legally up on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/c/TimeTeamClassics/videos https://www.youtube.com/c/TimeTeamClassics/videos If you want an absolute banger of an episode to evaluate, try this one... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kW3UQEDQ0zQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kW3UQEDQ0zQ
Angostura 5y ago
This was my show during first lockdown when everything seemed strange and it's air of normality and comfort was the balm I needed. Also lovely the way it celebrates the geek and avoids the temptation to mock

by zevv 5y ago

onion2k 5y ago

The Detectorists is one of the best TV shows made in the past decade. I loved it. It was a tonic to the everything-must-be-about-crime-and-death shows that fill Netflix and Prime.

dkdbejwi383 5y ago

Detectorists is like the TV equivalent of having a nice cuppa on a cool, late summer's morning, while looking out the window at the long, brown grass swaying gently in the breeze. Mackenzie Crook's recent Worzel Gummidge adaptation has a similar vibe, although obviously more geared towards families.

ethbr0 5y ago
> equivalent of having a nice cuppa on a cool, late summer's morning, while looking out the window at the long, brown grass swaying gently in the breeze Obligatory BBC Shipping Forecast, because it seems right up this crowd's alley: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CxHa5KaMBcM https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CxHa5KaMBcM Recent: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qfvv/episodes/player https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qfvv/episodes/player

AndrewOMartin 5y ago

All historical dramas are just prequals to The Detectorists.

adolph 5y ago
I wonder what a future version of The Dectorists would be? Maybe "The Isotopists" that find materials with isotopes from exotic places. https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/tracking-movements-isotopes https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/tracking-movements-isoto...
- kingcharles 5y ago
  I've been in tech too long.. my first thought is that you meant they would be finding .iso files.

cschmidt 5y ago

Without the show, we wouldn't understand that a "detectorist" is a person and metal detector is the machine they use.

danesparza 5y ago

Without the detectorists, I wouldn't know that University Challenge is a real-life show that I absolutely love. Also: Did you see University Challenge last night?

onion2k 5y ago
I like University Challenge but it makes me feel like I'm an idiot. Or maybe it just reveals the fact that I am actually an idiot. I get 4 or 5 answers per show at most. My partner sits and answers about 20% of the questions correctly. She's far cleverer than me. But I'm better at video games so it all evens out.
- jnsie 5y ago
  I feel the same about hacker news, to be honest.
- lebski88 5y ago
  I found that when I watched it a lot I got much better at it. The style of the questions needs to be learnt. There are also a bunch of writers, composers and painters that come up a lot. If in doubt guessing one of these from roughly the correct period works pretty well!

sandworm101 5y ago

It depends on where you are in the world. The UK has a couple millennia of metal object to find. I'm reminded of that Bob's Burgers joke about using a metal detector only to find the metal detector discarded by the last guy who tried to find gold coins on a US beach.

atombender 5y ago

It's such a superb show. Something I realized watching Detectorists is that there aren't many realistic adult drama shows (or American movies) these days that aren't about crime or similarly extreme subjects, or that aren't historical dramas. Detectorists is technically a "dramedy", of course, but it's basically a realistic, truthful depiction of everyday life, with some observational humour thrown in here and there. For some reason Hollywood has indoctrinated the world into thinking that fiction can't be true to life, because life is somehow boring. A similar American drama that comes to mind is Lodge 49, which is absolutely fantastic. On Becoming a God in Central Florida has a similar vibe, and is also excellent. Off the top of my head, I'm struggling to think of many other shows. Better Things, Transparent, Togetherness, Succession, Mozart in the Jungle… any other good ones?

jl6 5y ago
Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing perhaps? Although I can never tell if it’s some kind of obtuse absurdist parody or sincere.
munificent 5y ago
Ted Lasso.
- atombender 5y ago
  Ted Lasso is good, but it's a saccharine, deeply unrealistic fantasy bordering on self-parody. So I can't really agree with you there.
  - munificent 5y ago
    > a saccharine, deeply unrealistic fantasy bordering on self-parody I personally found it to be none of those things. Often, we experience a piece of art as being something when really much of our experience is defined by what we brought of ourselves to it.
    - atombender 5y ago

dageshi 5y ago

Tangentially related, time team and hugely popular archaeology program that ran in the 90's-2000's in the UK has many of their episodes legally up on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/c/TimeTeamClassics/videos https://www.youtube.com/c/TimeTeamClassics/videos If you want an absolute banger of an episode to evaluate, try this one... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kW3UQEDQ0zQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kW3UQEDQ0zQ

Angostura 5y ago

This was my show during first lockdown when everything seemed strange and it's air of normality and comfort was the balm I needed. Also lovely the way it celebrates the geek and avoids the temptation to mock