Anzac Girls, More4

ANZAC GIRLS, MORE4 Australian nurses-at-war drama lacks gravitas (and a decent budget)

Australian nurses-at-war drama lacks gravitas (and a decent budget)

For Australians and New Zealanders, the grim meat-grinder of the Gallipoli campaign in 1915 was their equivalent of the Somme, albeit under brilliant Aegean skies. The Australian-made Anzac Girls is based on real-life diaries and letters from the era, and homes in on five nurses from Down Under who were sent to treat the casualties. Inevitably they found conditions far more shocking and horrific than they'd imagined.

Ordinary Lies, BBC One

ORDINARY LIES, BBC ONE Car showroom saga makes a sluggish start

Car showroom saga makes a sluggish start

Screenwriter Danny Brocklehurst has some stellar credits on his CV (Shameless, Exile and The Street among others), though I don't know if Ordinary Lies is going to rate among his finest achievements. Over six episodes, the series will tell the stories of six employees of a car showroom, JS Motor Group Ltd (seemingly somewhere in the north-west), and how being frugal with the actualité blights their lives.

Poldark, BBC One

POLDARK, BBC ONE Winner of the Radio Times Audience Award at the BAFTAs

Can this new version of Winston Graham's novels compete with its 1970s predecessor?

Hooray! The BBC has learned its lesson from the "Mumblegate" furore that erupted around last year's adaptation of Jamaica Inn, and ensured that even the most unwashed and toothless Cornish yokel in this all-new Poldark is almost 90 per cent intelligible. As the central character Ross Poldark, Aidan Turner (of Hobbit fame) is a model of robust actorly diction. 

UKIP: The First 100 Days, Channel 4

UKIP: THE FIRST 100 DAYS, CHANNEL 4 A restrained but chillingly plausible cautionary tale

A restrained but chillingly plausible cautionary tale

As worst-case scenarios go, the prospect of a UKIP government in a little under three months’ time is a frightening but unlikely one – isn’t it? That they have only two MPs, and leader Nigel Farage is yet to find a seat, has done nothing to stop UKIP setting the political agenda, bulldozing its way to centre stage to demand a place in the forthcoming televised election debates.

Indian Summers, Channel 4

INDIAN SUMMERS, CHANNEL 4 The writing's on the wall for the Raj, but will we ever make sense of all these characters?

The writing's on the wall for the Raj, but will we ever make sense of all these characters?

In the tradition of A Passage to India, The Jewel in the Crown and Staying On, Indian Summers is ambitious, a serious soap attempting to show the dying days of the Raj through a host of interwoven personal and political attachments. Passions run high in the foothills of the Himalayas, cool in the Indian summer, but X-rated for human relationships.

Better Call Saul, Netflix

BETTER CALL SAUL, NETFLIX 'Breaking Bad' spinoff voted Outstanding Drama Series at 2015 Emmy Awards

Eagerly-awaited 'Breaking Bad' spinoff makes assured debut

Finally the moment the Breaking Bad diaspora has been waiting for, with the arrival of Vince Gilligan's new show about the earlier career of New Mexico's least scrupulous lawyer, Saul Goodman. Mind you, the title is a little bit misleading, because Saul doesn't exist yet. In this incarnation, he's still just a hustling low-life called Jimmy McGill, a man who never knowingly leaves any barrel unscraped.

Fortitude, Sky Atlantic

FORTITUDE, SKY ATLANTIC Love, death and monsters in the Arctic Circle

Love, death and monsters in the Arctic Circle

If you can't beat 'em, steal brazenly from 'em. Instead of importing another Scandinavian drama series and slapping on some subtitles, or recycling Fargo or Breaking Bad (or for that matter Deadwood or Twin Peaks), Sky Atlantic has pushed the boat out and created its own slab of sub-zero Nordic mystery, packed with bankable international names. If this extended pilot episode was a reliable guide, it's going to be a tortuous ride on black ice.

Mr Selfridge, Series 3, ITV

MR SELFRIDGE, SERIES 3, ITV Despite the ravages of the Great War, the retailing saga bounces back looking fighting fit

Despite the ravages of the Great War, the retailing saga bounces back looking fighting fit

Mercifully not preceded by a Broadchurch-style hype-tsunami, the new series of Mr Selfridge has slipped neatly back into the Sunday 9pm slot as if it's the rightful owner just back from a year of travelling round the world. It's not revolutionary, ground-breaking or "subversive", but equipped with some new characters and promising plotlines, this opening episode ushered us into the post-World War One era with a spring in its step and the wind in its hair.

Broadchurch, Series 2, ITV

BROADCHURCH, SERIES 2, ITV Second coming of the seaside murder saga takes a legalistic turn

Second coming of the seaside murder saga takes a legalistic turn

You can see why writers and TV companies like the idea of creating sequels to successful series, but trying to make lightning strike twice has obvious drawbacks. In the case of the original Broadchurch, the runaway ratings blockbuster which ended in April 2013, the story felt so complete and self-contained that the notion of a sequel seemed redundant, or gratuitous.

Foyle's War, Series 9, ITV

FOYLE'S WAR, SERIES 9, ITV Factually-based storyline struggles to turn itself into convincing drama

Factually-based storyline struggles to turn itself into convincing drama

Writer Anthony Horowitz has imbued Foyle's War with longevity by anchoring it among some lesser-known and frequently shameful occurrences in the margins of World War Two, and this ninth series opener duly embroiled us in murky shenanigans involving unscrupulous oil barons and cynical German industrialists. The former DCS Foyle is continuing in his post-war role with MI5, as the Russians continue to infiltrate remorselessly from the east while the West is still struggling to pick itself up off the cratered and rubble-strewn floor.