Time Team

Time Team has now entertained the likes of myself for 10 years. With episodes like the 2 visits to Turkdean or the Mosaic at Dinnington or even the thousands of tons of soil moved to reveal the viaduct in Wales, how can you help but be in awe at the speed Tony, Mick, Carenza, Phil and all the hard working diggers excavate sometimes hard to work sites. I haven't missed many episodes and if I have it will only be some of the very early ones. I hope they never stop making this unmissable piece of entertaining education.

This is the show to watch and it had to be a dream job for the professionals working on this show for 20 years. All the different sites they got to dig that would take most archaeologists several lifetimes to visit. Don't let Phil Harding's happy go lucky attitude fool you, he's as smart as anyone in his field, possibly smarter. Mick Aston is another incredibly knowledgeable part of the team and the team leader who got the shaft later in the series by Channel 4 causing him to quit when they brought in some spokeswoman former model - on an archaeology show, I don't blame him. There are several other professionals that are regulars on the show who are also very well versed in their fields of expertise and they occasionally bring in specialists like pottery or weapons specialists and an osteoarchaeologist on occasion. The end of one episode a man said he learned 3 things in the 3 days the Time Team was there and the 3rd and final thing he learned was Phil Harding could really put back the beer, which is hilarious and not surprising. He's my favorite person on the show, and he will be yours too. Almost the entire series is available on Amazon Prime video.

I've gone through the twenty years at least twice, and always come back. The talented and interesting "regulars" are a main reason for the show's continued popularity. Literally, it is timeless--not depending on the current news, celebrities, or fashions. It is educational, and it also would appeal to fans of mystery stories, because each episode involves a mystery and you participate as clues are dug up. The regulars are probably good friends, and not just good actors. Finally, each episode is independent, so you don't have to watch them in order and if you miss one or more episodes, you don't need to catch up on the story. I'm a permanent fan.

Each show covers one archaeological dig - start to finish - incorporating the expertise of historians, anthropologists, paleontologists, area locals, geo-physicists, cartographers and area surveyors to name but a few. The team use artists to both sketch out archaic scenes as well as design computer graphics to show 3 dimensional perspectives of once existing structures. Adding re-enactments, experiments and the rebuilding of artifacts by modern experts only adds to the diversity of the show.

The holistic approach to the dig-site provides a fascinating, multi-tiered study that is accessible to the viewer, regardless of their background.

Can you say binge watching? I've been watching all 20 seasons from start to finish and absolutely love it! For anyone interested in Archaeology and especially British archaeology this show is a treasure trove! Most seasons can be found on Amazon Prime and YouTube. Highly recommended! The characters who make up the team are quite amusing as well! Start with season 1 and watch the archeologists age and some go grey or lose their hair as you move through the seasons lol.