I shouldn’t like to have lived in the Russia of War and Peace, as pretty as it may have been. The consequences of Natasha’s momentary lapse of sanity have come to light: James Norton plays Andrei here with a stoicism so fragile you can see his brokenness leaking out through the fractures in it – … >
That any given episode of Call the Midwife will be emotional is a given. This show churns out a resonant tearjerker week after week by both showing life’s cruel realities and allowing for glimpses of hope. But, in this episode, the aim is more to stir up feelings of rage and exasperation, as a young teacher in a relationship … >
Kicking off a new year of Doctor Who audio adventures, ‘The Diary of River Song’ became an unexpected Christmas present when it was made available to download early off the back of her festive television appearance. The first volume of ‘The Churchill Years’ arrived too, offering adventures for the Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors – … >
Following the climatic death of Ciaran Hinds, Michael Maguire, at the end of Episode 2, and following a two-week absence due to the BBC’s FA Cup coverage, Shetland returned to these shores with more intrigue and drama. In this week’s episode, Jimmy Perez (Douglas Henshall) and Tosh goes to Glasgow to investigate why Michael Maguire’s … >
After the revelation of John(ny) Blackwell’s familiar connections, the news began to ripple through the town of Jericho. For her part, Annie Quaintain opted to create some distance between them in the hope of luring her son back across the way from his new employer, Ralph Coates. At Blackwood House, the eldest son’s return has … >
As one of British TV’s more graphic and gory shows, Ripper Street has featured a copious amount of blood in its time, increasingly so now it’s made the jump to Amazon. Naturally, the next step was an episode that was all about blood. ‘A White World Made Red’ began with a superbly atmospheric opening scene … >
They’re really putting the dick in Dickensian this week. In news that will surely redefine forever the way you read Oliver Twist, or watch Sir Harry Secombe belting out ‘Boy for sale!’ in Lionel Bart’s eponymous musical, we discover that corpulent literary fixture, Mr Bumble, has a nickname for his penis. It seems to be … >
After Dwayne’s childhood friend is found dead, he has a reason to suspect foul play when he receives a text from the victim’s phone after his death, telling him he’s been murdered. Is it a prank or is something more sinister apparent? “This message from the grave…it’s a bad business.” Things take a decidedly more … >
The first of two double-bills on Sky Arts marking the 150th anniversary of HG Wells’ birth treats us to atmospherically creepy adaptations of ‘The Late Mr Elvesham’ and ‘The Devotee of Art’, with Ray Winstone providing onscreen narration as the author. In ‘The Late Mr Elvesham’ we’re introduced to Edward George Eden, a poor medical … >
‘The Lady in the Lake’ opens the new season of Marvel’s Agent Carter with a rematch between Peggy and ‘Dotty Underwood’, the one loose end from the first season (as a dazzling opening montage of last year’s run reminds us). Dotty is breaking into a bank vault, but the SSR are a step ahead and … >