The arrival of yet another British crime drama series isn’t necessarily reason to break out a bottle of champagne and smash it against the side of the telly. Happily, Case Histories is more than capable of fighting its corner.
When is a sitcom not a sitcom? When the Venn diagram of situation to comedy is balanced heavily in favour of the non-funny bits? This certainly seems to be the case with Psychoville as it nears the end of its second series.
Nobody’s safe. Anyone can die. There is no ‘main’ cast. And nobody is who they first appear to be.
‘It’s all very soul destroying, isn’t it – actual police work?’ remarks DCI John Luther to his protégé DS Justin Ripley at the beginning of Episode 1 of this new series.
Over the course of its first four episodes, The Shadow Line has matured from an overwrought, rather confused melodrama plagued with florid verbosity into one of the BBC’s best thrillers in a very long time. In the fifth instalment, it gets even better.
After a promising but ultimately disappointing opening, the concluding episode of this two-part story was not only charged with rescuing the floundering tale of the doppelgangers in the acid-mining monastery, but also leading into the much-hyped mid-series finale.
Angry Boys stars Sydney-born comedian Chris Lilley (Summer Heights High) as Daniel and Nathan Sims, twin teenage brothers from small-town Australia who first appeared in the mockumentary We Can Be Heroes (transmitted as The Nominees in Britain by FX UK).
That age-old question writers can’t help asking – what would you do for love – crops up again in this new two-part existential drama about a normal couple facing a terrible, life-changing decision.
Finger tricks, backstabbing and in-fighting. It’s time for… The Apprentice! After a ridiculously long flashback of the series so far, tonight’s episode starts with the traditional phone call from Lord Sugar’s secretary. (Seriously, does that woman never sleep?) This week, the candidates are sent to meet Lord Sugar at the British Museum. Why? Well, we’ll … >
Any drama serial being broadcast over five consecutive nights has to work very hard to hook the viewer immediately and maintain a decent level of either excitement, intrigue or both from the opening credits onwards.