‘The Confessions of Dorian Gray’ Series 3 audio review

Big Finish will release their third Dorian Gray boxset in November with Alexander Vlahos (Merlin’s Mordred) returning to the title role. Directed by Scott Handcock (who wrote the final two stories) this is a collection of eight brand new, half hour episodes with a full disc documentary. Scott has taken care to ensure that this … >

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‘Intruders’: ‘She Was Provisional’ / ‘And Here… You Must Listen’ review

Intruders has a really solid conceptual foundation, a strong cast and a clear vision from X-Files writer and creator Glen Morgan, but nothing about the first two episodes makes it feel like unmissable television. It’s a little too overwrought, so relentless in its deployment of mythology that it barely takes a second to think about character. It’s hard to … >

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‘Wizards vs Aliens’ review: ‘The Secret of Room 12’

Wizards vs Aliens makes a welcome return to CBBC with ‘The Secret Of Room 12’, the first two-part adventure of the show’s third season, penned by co-creator Phil Ford. Our story begins (after a teaser in which sinister forces cause an innocent teacher to make a mess of his shirt) with a report on What … >

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‘Downton Abbey’ Season 5 Episode 6 review

Mr. Bates didn’t do it! What a relief. His search for Anna’s button box turns up Lady Mary’s contraceptive device and instruction manual instead, and he assumes that Anna thinks he murdered Mr. Green and has been trying to prevent a pregnancy. Accusations ensue and they finally hash it all out. Everything appears rosy until … >

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‘Doctor Who’ review: A second opinion on ‘In the Forest of the Night’

Well, you might complain about the result, but you can’t criticise Doctor Who for attempting something new. Branching out, even. You’ve got to keep things fresh and green somehow. And while potentially dangerous plant-life is nothing new to Who, (the Krynoids, Meglos, and the genit-alien Vervoids have created a veritable garden centre of horror) the … >

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‘Doctor Who’ review: ‘In the Forest of the Night’

Jean-Luc Godard once said: ‘It’s not where you take things from, it’s where you take them to.’ Recent episodes of Doctor Who have demonstrated a raft of originality but also embraced much from the show’s past – yet whatever has been appropriated from the old days is always successfully synthesised into something fresh. The gothic … >

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‘Peaky Blinders’ Season 2 Episode 4 review

An aura of doom hangs over Episode 4 of Peaky Blinders. Or rather, over the characters in it. As a one hour-sized middle finger to your peaceful Thursday night, this show is in rude health. It’s rare that drama can so successfully crash into your living room and tell you to fuck off without courting … >

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‘The Great Fire’ Episode 2 review

After a slightly lacklustre opener last week that promised more than it delivered, things are escalated on all levels as we see the consequences of the spreading fire. Having established all the necessary elements that the show will explore in the remaining episodes, we see more of what could make the show a stand out … >

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‘The Babadook’ movie review

Hallowe’en is fast approaching, and as is tradition, cinemas flood themselves with horror films to mark the occasion. Front-runner this season is Australian horror The Babadook. If it sounds like a children’s film, that’s the idea. The plot follows widowed mother Amelia, a nurse who’s struggling to raise her hyperactive, behaviourally challenged six year old … >

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