1970s British TV Dramas That Still Hold Up

British television drama in the 1970s was often made quickly and cheaply, much of it on videotape in the studio, and the best of it still lands because the writing and acting carry everything. This list gathers drama series and serials that began between 1970 and 1979: costume epics, hard-boiled cop shows, wartime thrillers, spy stories, science fiction and a couple of genuinely strange experiments. Comedies and comedy-dramas such as Minder are left out, as are single plays and anthology strands such as Play for Today, and long-running shows that started in the 1960s. Each pick earned its place by working for a viewer today, not just by reputation. Expect slower pacing than modern TV, visible studio sets and the occasional wobbly effect; in exchange you get some of the finest screen acting Britain has produced. The entries run in the order the shows first aired, so you can watch the decade change, from tape-bound history plays to the filmed grit of Euston Films.