Latest reviews

A Mask for Alexis

A Mask for Alexis (1959)

A Mask for Alexis

Lost BBC murder mystery built on deception and shifting loyalties. A business man bound for Paris is arrested at the airport before he can board his plane and charged with the murder of his boss. One woman can prove his innocence, but she is missing

Nightingales

Nightingales (1990)

Nightingales

Nightingales follows three night‑shift security guards whose mundane routine unravels into surreal, bizarre escapades, blending deadpan humour with offbeat fantasy as they confront loneliness, absurdity, and the strange characters haunting their nocturnal world

The Mind Beyond

The Mind Beyond (1974)

The Mind Beyond

A six-part BBC anthology probing extrasensory perception, spiritualism, and the porous border between psychological disturbance and the supernatural. The Mind Beyond juxtaposes scepticism and faith, psychology and mysticism, parapsychology and folk horror

The Detectives

The Detectives (1993)

The Detectives

In a supposedly high-tech battle against crime, Detective Constables Bob Louis and David Briggs charge in like guided missiles of instinct and guesswork—armed with confidence, chaos and conclusions that are invariably, spectacularly wrong

Kipps

Kipps (1960)

Kipps

A forgotten fortune, a draper’s apprentice, and a daring climb into Edwardian high society—ITV's 1960 Kipps transforms H.G. Wells' deeply personal novel into a richly detailed, socially sharp television drama of ambition and belonging

Chef!

Chef! (1993)

Chef!

A volatile culinary genius turns every service into a comic battleground, clashing with staff, critics, and customers as his obsessive pursuit of perfection repeatedly detonates into wonderfully over‑the‑top kitchen chaos

Waugh on Crime

Waugh on Crime (1970)

Waugh on Crime

Years before he was Hyacinth Bucket's hen-pecked husband, actor Clive Swift appeared as a thinking man’s detective; methodical, confident, and occasionally smug. Inspector Waugh was very much part of the groundwork on which later British crime television was built...

Barbara in Black

Barbara in Black (1962)

Barbara in Black

What initially appears to be an unfortunate accident; a violent collision between a van and a lorry on a desolate mountain road in Wales, becomes an intriguing mystery when both vehicles disappear without trace

An Enemy of the State

An Enemy of the State (1965)

An Enemy of the State

When electronics engineer Harry Sutton lands a lucrative contract to install a British‑designed computer in Moscow, he expects a career‑defining opportunity. Instead, he's drawn into a deadly conspiracy, framed for murder, and hunted by the Soviet security services

My Family

My Family (2000)

My Family

Grumpy dentists, chaotic children, and a family that thrives on dysfunction: My Family is a long-running British sitcom that turned everyday domestic misery into a surprisingly warm, enduring comedy favourite

Patience

Patience (2025)

Patience

When a man dies after apparently setting himself on fire in a suspected suicide, an autistic archivist identifies an interesting link to other cases, bringing her unique talent to the attention of the murder team

The History Man

The History Man (1981)

The History Man

A razor-sharp but controversial BBC adaptation of Malcolm Bradbury’s novel, The History Man skewers 1970s academic life through the manipulative rise of a charismatic, radical lecturer amid politics, power and hypocrisy

Kessler

Kessler (1981)

Kessler

Decades after the war, a notorious Nazi reinvents himself as a powerful industrialist, only to be hunted across Europe and South America as past crimes resurface, threatening his fortune, his allies, and his carefully constructed new life

Hawking

Hawking (2004)

Hawking

Remarkable BBC drama that charts Stephen Hawking's early years at Cambridge, pairing intellectual breakthroughs with personal struggle, anchored by Benedict Cumberbatch's compelling performance and a moving exploration of genius, illness and scientific revolution

The Passenger

The Passenger (1971)

The Passenger

David Walker makes a fateful decision on a lonely road: he stops to offer a lift to a young hitch-hiker. What begins as a moment of kindness spirals into catastrophe when she vanishes, only to be found murdered, with evidence cruelly designed to implicate Walker

Melissa

Melissa (1964)

Melissa

Few television thrillers can legitimately claim classic status across multiple generations, but Melissa occupies precisely that territory. We look at the three versions of this classic tale of blackmail, murder and secrets from the 60s, 70s and 90s

The Carnforth Practice

The Carnforth Practice (1974)

The Carnforth Practice

Short-lived BBC series concerning the personal and professional life of an aristocratic solicitor as he ran a small Lake District practice, navigating modest but meaningful cases that reflected the concerns of the surrounding community

Dead Head

Dead Head (1986)

Dead Head

Petty criminal Eddy Cass is drifting through life on minor scams and bad decisions. When he agrees to courier a package across London and then decides to open it, he is horrified by its contents. His life will soon spiral out of control...

An Englishman's Castle

An Englishman's Castle (1978)

An Englishman's Castle

Set in an alternate history where Nazi Germany won World War II, An Englishman's Castle focuses on a soap opera writer's oblivious life under a fascist regime until a personal revelation forces him to confront the moral implications of his work

Fresh Fields

Fresh Fields (1984)

Fresh Fields

Lively, warm‑hearted sitcom where a middle‑class couple navigate everyday chaos with wit, charm, and gentle absurdity, turning suburban routine into a wonderfully funny celebration of marriage, mishaps, and muddling through

Grady

Grady (1970)

Grady

A principled but volatile ex-prisoner is drawn back into industrial conflict. This 1970s series explores the personal cost of militancy, shifting union politics and one man’s refusal to fit ideological labels in a tense, changing Britain

The Death of Bunny Munro

The Death of Bunny Munro (2025)

The Death of Bunny Munro

A grief‑stricken salesman spirals through a chaotic Sussex road trip with his young son, confronting guilt, masculinity, and haunting memories. Matt Smith leads with intensity, while Rafael Mathé delivers a breakout, emotionally resonant performance

Fallen Hero

Fallen Hero (1978)

Fallen Hero

A respected ex‑rugby star's life unravels after a tragic accident ends his career. Struggling with guilt, fading fame, and strained relationships, he searches for redemption while confronting the consequences of past choices

The Hanged Man

The Hanged Man (1975)

The Hanged Man

Lew Burnett is a self-made man who owns a huge construction company. However, his success has bred resentment, and after the third attempt on his life he sets in motion a daring and dangerous plan to discover who is trying to kill him and why - by playing dead!

Ivanhoe

Ivanhoe (1970)

Ivanhoe

Ivanhoe returns to England from the Crusades after serving alongside King Richard I, who is believed to be imprisoned abroad. Disguised as a pilgrim Ivanhoe navigates a divided kingdom where Prince John plots to usurp the throne

Terri McIntyre

Terri McIntyre (2001)

Terri McIntyre

Simon Carlyle's comedy drama series about Glaswegian Terri McIntyre, who is the owner of a tanning salon Fan of the Tan but spends most of her time cavorting with other colourful characters in the "Whippet Inn"

A Pyre for Private James

A Pyre for Private James (1966)

A Pyre for Private James

A jungle clearing in the Far East. A solitary hut. Inside, four soldiers retreat from an all consuming fire. Beyond a burning curtain, stretched out, the blanketed form of a human being

The Man Who Never Was

The Man Who Never Was (1966)

The Man Who Never Was

An American Cold War thriller following a supposedly dead agent who assumes the identity of his unwitting doppelganger, killed in his place. As he steps into another man’s life, he must convince friends, family—and most perilously, a suspicious wife

The Tripods

The Tripods (1984)

The Tripods

Long before dystopian epics dominated television, The Tripods marched across BBC screens with eerie elegance—an unsettling vision of humanity subdued by towering machines. Sadly, The Tripods is a trilogy that was never realised...

Smallville

Smallville (2001)

Smallville

The coming-of-age story of Clark Kent as he navigates his teenage years, struggles with his emerging superpowers, his relationships with friends and family, and his journey toward becoming the iconic superhero; Superman