Roku UK: Using your Roku player as a TV time machine

Today’s TV offers more variety than ever before with new shows and formats popping up constantly. Sometimes though it’s nice to take a trip down memory lane and re-live the best (and worst!) of broadcasting history. Use your Roku player as your very own TV time machine for a bit of retro viewing!

Comedy
A great test of any comedy show is whether it can still make us laugh, decades after first appearing on our screens; From 70’s sitcoms to 80’s panel games and 90’s ‘alternative’ comedy shows, there’s a variety of content out there which is bound to raise a chuckle among audiences young and old.

Through Roku’s ITV Player channel, viewers can re-live 70’s humour at its finest with a couple of classic series:

‘Rising Damp’ – Starring Leonard Rossiter, Frances de la Tour, Richard Beckinsale and Don Warrington, the programme follows the antics of miserly landlord ‘Rigsby’ and his unfortunate tenants. Combining slap-stick comedy with witty scripting, the sitcom has been consistently cited as one of Britain’s best TV shows. (Episodes from series 1 & 2 are currently available on ITV Player.)

‘Man About the House’ –Often regarded as emblematic of UK in the mid-1970s, the show explores the trials and tribulations of flat-mates Chrissy, Jo and Robin. Trivia buffs may be aware that the sitcom inspired not one, but two spin-off series; George and Mildred and Robin’s Nest.  (Episodes from series 5 & 6 of Man About the House are currently available on ITV Player.)

Sticking with 70’s sitcoms, comedy fans can stream the much loved Fawlty Towers (series 1 & 2) on Roku via Netflix. Set in a Torquay hotel run by the caustic Basil Fawlty, his wife Sybil, Polly the maid and the hapless Spanish waiter Manuel, Fawlty Towers was named the best British television series of all time by the British Film Institute. Looking through the episodes available on Netflix it’s easy to see why!

Over on the All 4 channel, series 1-10 of short-form improv comedy Whose Line is it Anyway? are available to watch on demand. Hosted by Clive Anderson, the British version of the show originally ran from 1988-1998 and regularly featured some of the UK’s best loved comedy actors, including: John Sessions, Stephen Fry, Tony Slattery and Paul Merton.

Drama
The drama programmes of yesteryear may seem a little tame compared to the likes of Breaking Bad and True Detective, but they make for enjoyable viewing nevertheless; which is probably why certain shows have now been made available to watch on demand. ITV Player currently boasts two of the best crime dramas of the late 70s/early 80s: The Sweeney and Minder. The former stars Dennis Waterman and John Thaw as members of the Flying Squad who specialise in armed robbery and violent crime in London. Minder also stars Dennis Waterman, though this series is a bit more upbeat in tone (despite the fact that it focuses on the exploits of the London criminal underworld!).  They’re both worth checking out if you’re in the mood for classic squad cars and questionable fashion!

For fans of vintage American TV drama, the Dramatic Television Night channel on Roku is definitely worth a punt. It’s essentially a selection of night-time TV drama series that aired during the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s, including classics such as Bonanza and Medic. In a similar vein, the Popflix Classic TV channel features hundreds of shows for free, including Dragnet, The Lone Ranger, Sherlock Holmes, and more!

Kids TV
Whether you want to relive your childhood or show your own children what television was like ‘back in the day’, kids TV shows arguably provide the best entertainment when it comes to retro viewing. Animation has never lost its appeal and it’s interesting to see how formats have developed over the years. Check out the American Cartoon Classics channel on Roku which offers an extensive collection of vintage/public domain animated series from the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s. Shows include: Popeye, Tom & Jerry, The Three Stooges and lots more.