We Made It: Stuntwoman Tracy Caudle

WE MADE IT: STUNTWOMAN TRACY CAUDLE Forget Evel Knievel: a well-crafted stunt is more about precision than daring

Forget Evel Knievel: a well-crafted stunt is more about precision than daring

With a raft of high-quality digital effects available, real stunts might seem a little old-fashioned. In truth, the art of the stunt is alive and well: according to veteran performer Tracy Caudle, not only is it often cheaper to film the real thing, but “a computerised fall never looks quite right.” She has filmed scenes for TV and film, and with credits including Skyfall, Shaun of the Dead, Midsomer Murders and Doctor Who, chances are you’ve seen her fall to her death, crash a car or come to grisly grief one way or another, many times over.

Endeavour, Series 3 Finale

THEARTSDESK AT 7: ENDEAVOUR The slow, lingering death of the Great British Crime Drama

The slow, lingering death of the Great British Crime Drama

We have been here before – literally. Morse and his colleagues discreetly observe a gangster’s funeral in Kensal Green cemetery – just as they did in Promised Land, one of the best episodes of Inspector Morse, first broadcast in March 1991. A quarter of a century has passed (along with John Thaw) yet ITV are still trying to breath new life into the ratings warhorse.

Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands / Mr Selfridge, Series 4, ITV

BEOWULF: RETURN TO THE SHIELDLANDS / MR SELFRIDGE, SERIES 4, ITV Anglo-Saxon legend gets unlikely digital makeover

Anglo-Saxon legend gets unlikely digital makeover

The miracle of galloping digital technology has become a mixed blessing. We have iPads, space stations and self-parking cars. On the other hand, we also have what might be perfectly good TV programmes made ludicrous by absurd CGI monsters.

Jericho, ITV

JERICHO, ITV Once upon a time in the West Riding

Once upon a time in the West Riding

Interesting idea – a Western set in the Yorkshire Dales in the 1870s. Jessica Raine, spotted last year as the other Boleyn girl in Wolf Hall and evidently keen to put Call the Midwife as far behind her as possible, stars as Annie Quantain, a schoolmaster's widow forced to leave the family home thanks to a mountain of debts. As the bailiffs cart away the furniture, she's horrified to find herself a penniless vagrant.

Harry Price: Ghost Hunter, ITV / Homeland, Series 5 Finale

HARRY PRICE: GHOST HUNTER, ITV / HOMELAND, SERIES 5 FINALE Rafe Spall shows spook-busting promise, while 'Homeland' freezes the blood

Rafe Spall shows spook-busting promise, while 'Homeland' freezes the blood

Earlier this year, Sky Living showed The Enfield Haunting, a tale of eerie events in a 1970s council house. One of its stars was Timothy Spall, playing a paranormal researcher. Maybe he had a premonition that his son Rafe would carry on the family's supernatural tradition in the leading role of Harry Price: Ghost Hunter  (★★★★★).

Downton Abbey – The Finale, ITV

DOWNTON ABBEY - THE FINALE, ITV The end? Really?

The end? Really?

On Monday ITV showed BAFTA Celebrates Downton Abbey, in which a massed gathering of cast and crew plus a few celebrity guests toasted Downton's five-year stampede to global acclaim. Its creator Julian Fellowes waddled onstage and told an anecdote about how he'd been accosted by a Downton fan while browsing in a Barnes & Noble bookshop in New York. "Just let Edith be happy!" she wailed at him.

Prey, ITV

PREY, ITV Compelling central relationship lifts Manchester crime show from the mundane

Compelling central relationship lifts Manchester crime show from the mundane

ITV’s Manchester crime series Prey has, like a Premiership football club bought by a billionaire, returned for a new season with the same name but different faces. But these aren’t the shiny young faces of virtue that populate the footballing aristocracy. Prey focuses on compromised officers of the law: righteous protagonists gone to the bad, who lend the plot intriguing shades of grey that match its moral tone with the weather and scenery.

Downton Abbey – The Last Episode, ITV

DOWNTON ABBEY - THE LAST EPISODE The final episode of the last series... and not quite all is revealed

The final episode of the last series... and not quite all is revealed

They said there'd never be an audience for a period drama about an aristocratic Edwardian family. Six series later, we're bidding adieu to a national (and indeed global) institution, as Julian Fellowes's motley band of ridiculous, ahistorical and frequently exasperating characters potter off into the fading TV sunset. There's still the Christmas special, but – though we might not admit it – we'll miss them.

Jekyll & Hyde, ITV / From Darkness, Series Finale, BBC One

JEKYLL & HYDE, ITV / FROM DARKNESS, SERIES FINALE, BBC ONE Charlie Higson rewrites Robert Louis Stevenson for the age of superheroes

Charlie Higson rewrites Robert Louis Stevenson for the age of superheroes

It's the age of the prequel, sequel and origin story, and the ingenious Charlie Higson has decided that now is the time to give Robert Louis Stevenson's divided-self myth a superhero-style makeover. Action-packed and a little bit shocking, this supercharged Jekyll & Hyde (****) has the makings of a major hit.

Listed: The 100 Funniest Things about Downton Abbey

LISTED: THE 100 FUNNIEST THINGS ABOUT DOWNTON ABBEY Julian Fellowes' juggernaut has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous in six series. Here's how he did it

Julian Fellowes' juggernaut has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous in six series. Here's how he did it

It began with the sinking of Titanic and the loss of not one but two heirs to the title. James Cameron having already filmed this disaster, the producers of Downton Abbey were spared the expense of re-enacting it. Last week another Hollywood blockbuster was in viewers' thoughts as the most iconic scene from Alien was re-enacted at the Downton dining table. His Grace’s ulcer burst on scene in a lurid shade suggesting Crawley blood is less blue than previously supposed.