11. The Day Today
Despite the fact it only lasted for six episodes, The Day Today was one of the most influential programme of the last two decades. It was satire for those interested in the media, but worked very well on an absurdist level too, bagging viewers who just wanted to laugh at something completely ridiculous. The show parodied the emerging style of UK news coverage, heavily influenced by the US, in a way that made real journalists squirm. Wild horses disrupting the tube, bombdogs and the Queen beating-up John Major were just some of the surreal headlines which got the audience (especially the student contingent) hooked. It was the talented cast's committed delivery of these spoof stories that really sold the series. The overwrought hype of sheer nonsense was led by Chris Morris with full-on faux anchor man intensity. Steve Coogan in an earlier, tamer, incarnation of Alan Partridge was another break-out star. Classic moment: A report about delayed commuters trapped on a train - enraged by delays they turned to anarchy and paganism.