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Downton Abbey, Series 6, ITV

Jasper Rees Monday, 21 September 2015

It began with the sinking of the Titanic all those series ago. However many holes Julian Fellowes has seen fit to build in to the design, his own ocean-going liner has valiantly refused to go down with all hands on deck. But by Christmas we will have seen the last of Lord Grantham and his household, until such time as they all get resurrected for a big-screen reunion, even the Dowager Countess Maggie.

The Gamechangers, BBC Two / Narcos, Netflix

Adam Sweeting Wednesday, 16 September 2015

Starring Daniel Radcliffe as Sam Houser, who's portrayed as the dominant creative mastermind behind Rockstar Games and its phenomenally successful Grand Theft Auto series, The Gamechangers (**) sought to depict legal battles over GTA's violent and sexually explicit content as landmarks in the history of artistic freedom.

This Is England '90, Channel 4

Tom Birchenough Monday, 14 September 2015

It’s been worth the wait.

The King Who Invented Ballet, BBC Four

Hanna Weibye Monday, 14 September 2015

Someone more unlike Louis XIV than David Bintley is hard to imagine.

Comment

Gogglebox, Channel 4

Barney Harsent Saturday, 12 September 2015

So Gogglebox, a programme that allows voyeurs to watch viewers, has made it to series six. Rarely has telly been more knowingly “meta”. I can only think of Game for a Laugh’s catchprase, “Watching you, watching us, watching you, watching us,” but that was: a) nowhere near a true representation of how the show actually worked; b) creepy and weird.

Doctor Foster, BBC One

Jasper Rees Thursday, 10 September 2015

Doctor Foster takes its name from a nursery rhyme, but don’t be lulled. From the moment its brunette protagonist finds a long blonde hair on her husband’s scarf, we are hurtling headlong into a revenge drama.

Treasures of the Indus, BBC Four

Marina Vaizey Tuesday, 08 September 2015

The BBC India Season is bringing us a cluster of programmes amounting to a fascinatingly varied series of visits to the subcontinent. Incidentally, and not coincidentally, there is also an India Festival with myriad exhibitions, conferences and lectures at the Victoria and Albert this autumn.

Comment

Lady Chatterley's Lover, BBC One

Marianka Swain Monday, 07 September 2015

The major controversy of this revisionist BBC adaptation is not DH Lawrence’s naughty bits, but the lack of them. Gone are the four-letter words and personified genitals – just one half-embarrassed mention of “John Thomas” – while graphic sexual descriptions are replaced by soft-focus, coyly implicit lovemaking.

Boy Meets Girl, BBC Two

Veronica Lee Friday, 04 September 2015

Any romcom that begins with a woman saying the line “I was born with a penis” is OK by me. And that's how Boy Meets Girl, a superb new comedy created by Elliott Kerrigan, begins a six-part series.

Love and Betrayal in India: The White Mughal, BBC Four

Marina Vaizey Friday, 04 September 2015

William Dalrymple has discovered a fascinating true romance from history in this story of the relationship of Indian-born British diplomat James Achilles Kirkpatrick and the Muslim princess Khair-un-Nissa in Hyderabad at the turn of the 19^th century. His remarkable programme not only captivated in itself but threw a fascinating light on layers of cultural differences, adaptations and understanding.