DVD: A War

Restrained moral drama from the director of ‘A Hijacking’

The premise driving A War – lead character Claus Pedersen’s war – is the decision he makes as Company Commander while leading an army patrol in Afghanistan: whether or not to say he and his Danish unit are under attack from a specific house in a village.

Undercover, Series Finale, BBC One

UNDERCOVER, SERIES FINALE, BBC ONE Implausible drama about institutional racism in the UK and US had its heart in the right place

Implausible drama about institutional racism in the UK and US had its heart in the right place

In its final episode Undercover tied up a lot of loose ends and introduced a number of new ones. The biggest loose end to remain unaddressed was pretty big. Nick Johnson was the alias of a policeman who in 1996 went undercover to spy on black activist Michael Antwi and his lawyer Maya Cobbina. Nick promptly fell in love with Maya; they married and had children.

Line of Duty, Series 3 Finale, BBC Two

LINE OF DUTY, SERIES 3 FINALE, BBC TWO Vicky McClure takes charge in pulsating showdown to round off gripping series

Vicky McClure takes charge in pulsating showdown to round off gripping series

At last, after three series, Line of Duty delivered a denouement that felt like a satisfying jackhammer to the solar plexus. In the first series the bent copper under investigation escaped justice by jumping in front of a lorry. In the second there were more loose ends than are generally produced by a rope factory. It turns out that patience is a virtue and we should all have had faith.

DVD: Pink String and Sealing Wax

DVD: PINK STRING AND SEALING WAX Sub-texts galore in grade-A Ealing melodrama

Sub-texts galore in grade-A Ealing melodrama

Although the Ealing Studios’ melodrama Pink String and Sealing Wax was set in the 1880s and based on a play first performed in 1943, the film hit cinemas in late 1945 when World War II was barely over. The war saw a fundamental shift in the role of women in British society and the film’s scenario reflected this in how it revealed a devastating female reaction to an abusive relationship. After the empowered Pearl Bond takes matters into her own hands, it was clear that her husband Joe will not come out of it well.

How the Other Half Loves, Theatre Royal Haymarket

HOW THE OTHER HALF LOVES, THEATRE ROYAL HAYMARKET Ayckbourn comedy lacks trademark zip

Ayckbourn comedy lacks trademark zip

Alan Ayckbourn's How the Other Half Loves – first performed in 1969, in the round at the Library Theatre in Scarborough – was only his second play. Already, though, it has a few Ayckbourn tropes – warring couples and interconnecting sets – and concerns infidelity and the lies that couples tell each other (and themselves) to keep marriages alive.

The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story, BBC Two

TV BAFTAS 2017: THE PEOPLE v OJ SIMPSON Fallen sports star saga wins Best International Series

Forensic biopic of fallen sports star

Halfway through its 10-week run, The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story appears to be running in real time as it slowly, painstakingly tells the story of how one of the US's biggest sports stars was accused of the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman in 1994. But moving at what is – by modern television drama standards, at least – a glacial pace allows the creators to burrow deep into the American psyche and, more pertinently, examine the deep-rooted racism lurking in parts of US society.

Murder: The Third Voice, BBC Two

MURDER: THE THIRD VOICE, BBC TWO Return of Robert Jones's experimental straight-to-camera crime drama 

Return of Robert Jones's experimental straight-to-camera crime drama

Three and a half years ago the writer Robert Jones and producer Kath Mattock came at the crime genre from an unusual angle. Instead of having characters in a murder case talk to one another, they all addressed the camera directly, each offering their own apparently unmediated viewpoint. The title took its cue from the direct style: Murder. Murder: Joint Enterprise won a Bafta. It has taken a while, but the single experimental film has given birth to a short series of three new cases.

Vinyl, Sky Atlantic

VINYL, SKY ATLANTIC Scorsese and Jagger's series is prone to warping, skipping and scratches

Scorsese and Jagger's series is prone to warping, skipping and scratches

You can almost hear the words ringing out in the dramatic pauses. “We should call it Vinyl. Like, y’know... when you could hold music in your hand... touch it... FEEL it. When it was really WORTH something.

Deutschland 83, Series Finale, Channel 4

DEUTSCHLAND 83, SERIES FINALE, CHANNEL 4 Reverse take on spy drama fraught with family upsets keeps the interest

Reverse take on spy drama fraught with family upsets keeps the interest

Martin Rauch-stroke-Moritz Stamm, the reluctant spy who by the end of the final, double episode of this eight-parter had achieved more than most in that profession, managed the ultimate last night: he came in from the cold. In a series whose refrain could almost have been “You can’t go home again”, there he was back at the domestic hearth as if nothing had happened (except that his mother Ingrid was healed). Idyllic ending? The irony heavy in the air, of course, was that five years or so later the home he had come back to – East Germany – would itself cease to exist.

Happy Valley, Series 2, BBC One

Sally Wainwright and Sarah Lancashire return to police work in Yorkshire laden with BAFTAs

“It’s routine, it’s procedure.” “It’s wank, it’s toss.” As you can tell, Happy Valley is back. If Sally Wainwright made bespoke ironmongery or dry stone walls or exceedingly good cakes, her work would come by royal appointment. Instead you can tell she’s good because she accumulates awards, including most recently a couple of BAFTAs for series one, and attracts actors from the farthest-flung corners of northern drama such as Cucumber and Downton’s downstairs, all gagging to speak her pearly dialogue.