1984, Hackney Town Hall review - Room 101 shapeshifts into 2023, but remains as terrifyingly plausible as ever

★★★★ 1984, HACKNEY TOWN HALL Room 101 shapeshifts into 2023, terrifyingly plausible

The immersive experience makes us both victims of, and perpetrators in, an all too familiar perversion of truth

The day after I saw the show, as went about the mundanities of domestic life, I wondered how long it would take to come across a reference to 1984. My best bet was listening to an LBC phone-in concerning next week’s conference at Bletchley Park on Artificial Intelligence, but the advertising break intervened, so I switched to Times Radio.

Disturbing Disappearances, More4 review - headstrong 'tec tackles Pied Piper mystery

★★★ DISTURBING DISAPPEARANCES, MORE 4 Headstrong 'tec tackles Pied Piper mystery

Abducted children case unlocks a tortuous family history

This five-part policier is the finale of the current Walter Presents French season, and takes us to the town of Montclair on France’s eastern border. The opening self-contained episode, occupying a chunky two-hour slot, took for its theme the legend of the Pied Piper. In this, you may recall, the children of Hamelin were lured away by the titular itinerant musician and drowned.

Hypnotic review - a riotously enjoyable thriller

★★★★★ HYPNOTIC Ben Affleck stars in Robert Rodriguez's cunning brain-twister

Ben Affleck stars in Robert Rodriguez's cunning brain-twister

Masterminded by writer-director Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Spy Kids etc), Hypnotic is a speedy, twisty, riotously enjoyable thriller that seeks to bend your mind into impossible shapes while also delivering more than a few droll wisecracks. Ben Affleck, seemingly reinvigorated as half of  "Bennifer 2", is bang on the money here as Austin PD detective Danny Rourke.

Steeltown Murders, BBC One review - eloquent true-crime drama about tracking a serial killer 30 years on

How South Wales Police used DNA testing for the first time

The thought of yet another primetime true-crime series might weary the soul, even if it has been created by Ed Whitmore (Manhunt: Martin Clunes heading two cases as DI Colin Sutton), directed by Marc Evans (Hinterland: Wales’s contribution to modern noir) and stars Philip Glenister. More rapes and murders of young women from the archives? More cops with typewriters and a drinking habit being poorly led by myopic superiors?

The Gold, BBC One review - gripping dramatisation of the 1983 Brink's-Mat bullion robbery

★★★★★ THE GOLD, BBC ONE Gripping dramatisation of the 1983 Brink's-Mat bullion robbery

You can't always tell the difference between the police and the thieves

The raid on the Brink’s-Mat warehouse at Heathrow in November 1983 has entered the folklore of British crime and criminology. The gang of six armed robbers had expected to find £3m in cash, but instead got away with £26m worth of gold bullion. The story of what happened to the loot, the thieves and their associates remains at least partially swathed in mystery to this day.

Happy Valley, Series 3, BBC One review - tension mounts as the Yorkshire crime drama approaches its conclusion

★ HAPPY VALLEY, SERIES 3, BBC ONE Sally Wainwright's masterpiece shows the competition a clean pair of heels

Sally Wainwright's masterpiece shows the competition a clean pair of heels

In this glittering era of global streaming, the viewer is constantly bombarded with the latest and most sensational TV drama from South Korea, Australia, Denmark, California etcetera. But Huddersfield’s own Sally Wainwright continues to show most of the competition a clean pair of heels.

Karen Pirie, ITV review - cold case mystery drags itself across the finish line

★★★ KAREN PIRIE, ITV Val McDermid cold case mystery drags itself across the finish line

Val McDermid adaptation is solid but unspectacular

Although plaudits have been rolling in for Lauren Lyle’s smart and sparky portrayal of the titular detective in Karen Pirie (ITV), getting to the end of the third and final episode felt like a long slog.