The second part of BBC One’s new drama Doctor Foster continued this week, upping the emotional state of all the characters as Gemma tries to come to terms with the revelation of her husband’s adultery. Suranne Jones continues to be excellent as the titular GP, displaying a beautiful yet broken performance as the emotionally fragile … >
For those who didn’t study the text at school or haven’t seen the 1954 film with Alastair Sim, An Inspector Calls is a JB Priestly play set in 1912. First performed (in the Soviet Union) in 1945, it is a story that focusses on the death of a young woman, variously called Eva Smith or … >
It’s 1990. The UK is dancing to the Madchester sound or alternatively holding lighters in the air to power ballads by female-fronted bands and Mrs. Thatcher has been ousted from 10 Downing Street by her own party – though the Poll Tax Riots in central London may have had something to do with that. Just … >
One man’s journey toward some semblance of redemption ends in this final instalment of ITV’s The Trials of Jimmy Rose, and while it’s a conclusion, it ain’t happy by any means. Well, it wouldn’t be happy viewing, would it? Nor would we expect it to be: Jimmy (Ray Winstone), in his desperation to keep his … >
Ever since Inspector Reid’s fateful encounter with Susan and Capshaw in Episode 4, Ripper Street’s third season has been treading water somewhat with two generally standalone instalments. This week didn’t cut down on the standalone case of the week action, but packed in plenty more character work and plot advancements to make a packed episode … >
When is the right time for a young man to introduce his older transgender girlfriend to his family? That is a question broached fairly early into the second episode of BBC Two’s new sitcom, Boy Meets Girl. It’s awkward and it shows the fragility of this complicated relationship. While last week’s opening episode was maybe … >
Former Coronation Street actress Suranne Jones headlines BBC One’s Doctor Foster, an edgy and intriguing new five-part nail-biter from Laurence Olivier and BAFTA Award-winning playwright, Mike Bartlett. Jones plays GP Gemma Foster, who falls into an unsteady path of confusion and paranoia when she finds evidence that her husband, Bertie Carvel (Jonathan Strange and Mr … >
‘The Magician’s Apprentice’. When an episode wears a title as Harry Potterish as that, you’d expect its characters to be shrouded in an invisibility cloak. There’s an element of that – it’s called a BBC embargo. However, if you’re looking for wizardiness or witchcraft, look elsewhere. The Doctor’s magic sonic screwdriver may have its part … >
The Trials of Jimmy Rose is the kind of frustrating television that leaves me shouting at the people in it for making such terrible decisions. Jimmy (Ray Winstone) is frustratingly stubborn and, in spite of having had the living crap kicked out of him, seems to struggle mightily to learn anything from his experience. Somehow … >
Welcome back, Inspector Reid. Having recovered surprisingly quickly off-screen after his waking last episode, Reid finally returned to H Division for a bottle episode that incorporated a simple yet engrossing central mystery. Almost all of ‘The Incontrovertible Truth’ is set inside H Division over the course of one night, but this limited setting never once … >