Contributors pick baffling but addictive TV shows

Contributors highlighted a range of baffling yet engrossing TV shows, naming everything from surreal British comedies to mind-bending international dramas. Tom Whelan of South Shields called Catterick his favourite baffling show. It stars Vic and Bob with a backup cast including Reece Shearsmith, Tim Healey, Mark Benton, Matt Lucas and Morwenna Banks.

Whelan said it starts innocuously with Carl Palmer (Bob) returning to visit his brother Chris (Vic) but quickly descends into anarchy, with an extremely loose plot centring on the criminal antics of mummy’s boy Tony (Shearsmith) and “more tangents than a geometry conference”. Other contributors recalled being mesmerised or baffled by darker or more dreamlike series.

Liam, 40, Amsterdam, described Monkey Dust as a “sharp, dreamlike” animation about a sad bunch of urban dwellers whose episodes take tragic or nightmarish turns. Gaverne, 56, London, said The OA felt like entering “the twilight zone”, with inter-dimensional and time-travel elements.

Claire Shepherd, south Wales, recommended Mrs Davies as “brilliant, funny and bizarre”, noting it begins with a medieval flashback and a crimefighting nun in a world ruled by a benign AI.