Natural World: The Super Squirrels, BBC Two review - silliness and facts

Gleeful take on overlooked rodent family

Squirrels are a breed as diverse as they are ubiquitous: they inhabit environments as extreme as desert and tundra, and all the lush greenery, rainforest and urban jungle imaginable between. So bless the producers of The Super Squirrels who humorously avoid a straight-down-the-line profile of the nearly 300 species around the world and instead showcase their not inconsiderable abilities through a series of gleeful reality TV piss-takes.

Manchester: The Night of the Bomb, BBC Two review - devastating account of the lottery of terror

★★★★★ MANCHESTER: THE NIGHT OF THE BOMB Devastating account of the lottery of terror

A year on, a heartrending reconstruction of the Ariana Grande concert from hell

“I thought she maybe had superpowers to go that high.” Emilia Senior, 12, watched her sister Eve, 15, thrown into the air by the force of the explosion. When Eve came to earth her own perception had tilted on its axis: “I saw my legs on fire,” she remembered, “and then I was unconscious.” Short of targeting a kindergarten, a terrorist could not have chosen to decimate a more blameless demographic than teen fans of Ariana Grande.

The Bridge, BBC Two, series 4 review - Scandi saga is darker than ever

★★★★ THE BRIDGE, SERIES 4, BBC TWO Saga Norén is back for one last grisly case

Saga Norén is back for one last grisly case

In the 1990s, which brought us Morse, Fitz and Jane Tennison, an idea took root that all television detectives must be mavericks. They needed to be moody, dysfunctional, addictive, a bit of an unsolved riddle. These British sleuths were all variations on a glum theme but the scriptwriters knew the limits. Make them suffer, but don’t put them through hell.

Syria: The World's War, BBC Two review - anatomy of a conflict, brilliantly told

★★★★★ SYRIA: THE WORLD'S WAR Anatomy of a conflict, brilliantly told

A view from the streets and the chancelleries: Lyse Doucet attempts a perspective on the conflict of our century

This was not a film that left you with much respect for the wisdom of politicians, but perhaps its truest line came from John Kerry, when he called the ongoing – seven years, and counting – Syrian conflict “an insult to the humanity of this planet”.

The City and the City, BBC Two review - detection in four dimensions

★★★ THE CITY AND THE CITY, BBC TWO David Morrissey manages to keep fantasy psy-cop show on the road 

David Morrissey manages to keep fantasy psy-cop show on the road

It’s difficult to grasp in your imagination, never mind filming it and putting it on TV. In China Miéville’s source novel, dramatised here by Tony Grisoni, the twin cities of Besźel and Ul Quoma exist side by side, and in some areas even overlap. However, citizens of either city are forbidden to see each other and must learn to “unsee” people, buildings or objects from the opposing one.

Civilisations: First Contact, BBC Two review - David Olusoga goes for gold

It's not all about colonialism as Europe establishes cultural contact with other continents

After the suave theatrical persuasions of Simon Schama and the earnest professorial shtick of Mary Beard, in episode six of Civilisations (BBC Two) it was the turn of David Olusoga, the third of the documentary's triumvirate of presenters.

Mum, BBC Two, series 2 finale review - the perfect way to go

★★★★★ MUM, BBC TWO, SERIES 2 FINALE The perfect way to go

Lesley Manville and co should quit their unimprovable sitcom while they're ahead

Should Mum end here? There have been only two series on BBC Two, and it closed the second with all the characters poised for the next step. A third series has been commissioned, so there will be the opportunity to see what happens next for Cathy and Michael now they’ve hugged and, for the second time, held hands. In Spain they might even get round to kissing. But the bitter-sweet comedy of romantic yearning is one thing and fulfilment not the same at all.

Big Cats About the House, BBC Two review - irresistible feline-human bonding

★★★★ BIG CATS ABOUT THE HOUSE, BBC TWO Irresistible feline-human bonding

When a jaguar comes to stay... Wildlife television goes domestic

There is a jaguar in the house. Aged five days, and having been rejected by her mother, Maya has arrived from the wildlife park where she was born for hand-rearing by Giles Clark at his home in Kent. The cub is going to spend her early days with his family, with round-the-clock care from Giles, obsessed as he is with the situation of big cats worldwide.

Being Blacker, BBC Two review - absorbing film about family, culture and society

★★★★★ BEING BLACKER, BBC TWO Absorbing film about family, culture and society

Molly Dineen documentary puts race identity in Brixton under the microscope

They don’t commission many television documentaries like Being Blacker (BBC Two) any more. That is not unconnected to the fact that Molly Dineen downed her camera a decade ago.