Black Narcissus, BBC One review - a haunting in the Himalayas

★★★ BLACK NARCISSUS, BBC ONE A haunting in the Himalayas

'Sister Act 4'? Only if you've eaten too many brandy-soaked mince pies...

It’s dangerous territory, remaking a classic British film as a TV mini-series. In 1947 when Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger created Black Narcissus, a heady adaptation of Rumer Godden’s 1939 novel, they never set foot in the Himalayas.

Roald and Beatrix: The Tail of the Curious Mouse, Sky One review – twinkly tale for troubled times

★★★★ ROALD AND BEATRIX,  SKY ONE Twinkly tale for troubled times

Dahl-meets-Potter Christmas drama with Dawn French, Rob Brydon and Jessica Hynes

They say "never meet your heroes". That may be true, but it forms the premise of a new TV drama concerning two of the worlds most famous childrens authors – Beatrix Potter and Roald Dahl – who encounter each other at opposite ends of their life. 

Bridgerton, Netflix review - bodice-ripper cliches recycled in Regency romp

★★★ BRIDGERTON, NETFLIX Bodice-ripper cliches recycled in Regency romp

Mixed-race historical mashup is entertaining but shallow

At first glance you might mistake Bridgerton (Netflix) for the latest effusion from the pen of Lord Fellowes, since it conforms so closely to the Fellowesian pattern of manners, money and mores among the English aristocracy. Even the title sounds like a mashup of Downton and Belgravia.

All Creatures Great and Small: Christmas Special, Channel 5 review - big and little dramas in the Dales

★★★★ ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL: CHRISTMAS SPECIAL, CHANNEL 5 Big and little dramas in the Dales

Revived vet show hits a Yuletide home run

Having launched their new-look All Creatures… back in September to wild acclaim, it was a no-brainer for Channel 5 to commission this Christmas Special. The only mystery is why they didn’t schedule it for Christmas Day, where it would probably have seen off most of the not-very-thrilling competition.

Upstart Crow: Lockdown Christmas 1603, BBC Two review – plaguey beaks and bubonidiots

★★★ UPSTART CROW: LOCKDOWN CHRISTMAS 1603, BBC TWO  Plaguey beaks and bubonidiots

Ideas needed for a Scottish play from David Mitchell’s Will and Gemma Whelan’s Kate

If you’ve loved every episode of Ben Elton’s Shakespeare and Co comedy, you’ll know what to expect – but you’ll have to swallow bittersweet pills from only two of the excellent ensemble who’ve given us such comfort and joyous rapid-fire delivery of wordsmithery over three series (and on the London stage, as it was before mid-March).

Small Axe: Education, BBC One review - domestic drama concludes groundbreaking film series with quiet power

★★★★ SMALL AXE: EDUCATION, BBC ONE Systematic prejudice in the 1970s school system gives emotional punch to Steve McQueen's finale

Systematic prejudice in the 1970s school system gives emotional punch to Steve McQueen's finale

The fifth and final film in the Small Axe series is titled Education. At first, it appears this refers to the education of the central character, 12-year-old London boy Kingsley Smith, impressively played by Kenyah Sandy, who’s transferred to a disgraceful “School for the Educationally Subnormal” after being disruptive.

Tin Star: Liverpool, Sky Atlantic review - massed mayhem on Merseyside

★★★ TIN STAR: LIVERPOOL, SKY ATLANTIC Massed mayhem on Merseyside

It's high noon as Jack Worth and family come looking for vengeance

Breaking away from the outlandish shenanigans in Little Big Bear in the Canadian wilds of its first two series, this third outing for Tin Star brings Jack Worth (Tim Roth), wife Angela (Genevieve O’Reilly) and daughter Anna (Abigail Lawrie) back across the Atlantic to Liverpool to confront dirty secrets they’ve been running away from for 20 years.

Coronation Street: 60 Unforgettable Years, ITV review - inside story of the world's longest-running TV soap

★★★★ CORONATION STREET: 60 UNFORGETTABLE YEARS, ITV They said it wouldn't last, but 'Corrie' became an all-time classic

They said it wouldn't last, but 'Corrie' became an all-time classic

The seductively breathy Joanna Lumley supplied the voice-over for this hugely entertaining romp through the history of Coronation Street, celebrating “the Diamond Jubilee of the world’s longest-running soap.” Yet wasn’t the uber-posh Lumley, scion of the British Raj, a discordant choice for this long-running saga of Mancunian folk?

Small Axe: Alex Wheatle, BBC One review - elliptical telling of a writer's troubled early life

★★★★ SMALL AXE: ALEX WHEATLE, BBC ONE Elliptical telling of a writer's troubled early life

Steve McQueen engages powerful performances and fine filming to show rather than tell

Anyone who expects traditional narrative in Steve McQueen’s five Small Axe films about the black experience in the London of the 1970s and 80s will be disappointed.

The Dambusters, Channel 5 review - yet another telling of the Bouncing Bomb story

★★★ THE DAMBUSTERS, CHANNEL 5 Yet another telling of the Bouncing Bomb story

An eager Dan Snow recreates the fabled mission of Guy Gibson and 617 Squadron

The story of the raid on dams in Germany's Ruhr Valley by the RAF’s 617 Squadron in May 1943 has become a subject of perennial fascination as well as a potent national myth.