The Musketeers continues its solid, unsurprising start with ‘Sleight of Hand’.
It too is another enjoyable yet predictable romp through the murkier side of swashbuckling. Meanwhile, characters are further defined, approximately fifty people are shot, and guest stars swagger as only Jason Flemyng can swagger (copiously shifting weight from buttock to buttock with each stride).
Talk of Britain being on the brink of war causes unrest within the Selfridges staff, with fears that they will all lose their jobs if Mr Selfridge escapes back to America to avoid the European conflict. This, and demonstrations by Trade Union representatives, leads Harry to create an ‘Empire Exhibition’ to explain to both the customers and the staff that the store is staying put. This is topped off with a staff party held at Delphine’s to boost morale, but with it comes all sorts of conflict and drama.
Likely to be smuggled your way under a blaze of pretty much no publicity whatsoever, this dark delight from Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith is BBC Two’s new modern version of anthology tales such as Tales Of The Unexpected and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. But to sell it as merely some kind of unimaginative remake would be to sell it short.
From the pen of Jed Mercurio (Bodies), Line of Duty takes place inside the complex, high-stakes world of a police internal investigation. First broadcast in mid-2012, this highly successful drama is finally coming to DVD ahead of its upcoming second series.
The fifth and, sadly, final series of the BBC One’s award-winning sitcom featuring the UK’s favourite fictional family, the Brockmans, is here and it’s very much a typical Outnumbered episode.
David Lavery’s book was originally intended to chart Joss Whedon’s successful television career and then ponder over his failure to translate it into big screen success. Fortunately, with his abortive Wonder Woman project now career footnote, it revels in the triumphant box office success of Marvel’s The Avengers.
Pass that popcorn-filled Deerstalker, would you? Because with that filmic running length, a principal duo of Hollywood stars, and the fact that each 90-minute feature is advertised with the hashtaggable anticipation of your average blockbuster, every episode of Sherlock is less a TV drama and more a movie that has escaped into your living room. So it stands to reason that it should be given a fittingly filmic score.
Adrian Hodges’ adaptation of Alexander Dumas’ novel occupies the post-Sherlock Sunday evening slot on BBC One and it looks the part. Prague doubles for a lived-in Seventeenth Century Paris, and the fight scenes are stylish and kinetic. A strong and charismatic cast delivers, though ultimately the end product is solid rather than exceptional.
As Mr Selfridge opens his department store doors for a second series, we are taken four years on from the events of Series 1’s finale, though the ramifications of it can still be felt.
Lord and West End legend Andrew Lloyd Webber is back with a brand new musical that revisits one of the biggest scandals of the Sixties.
Enlisting the help of Oscar-winning wordsmiths Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons) and Don Black (Born Free), Stephen Ward tells the story of the Profumo Affair which rocked the Conservative government of the time.