Wild At Heart: Series 7 - Episode 11 (Last Ever Episode)

This feature length episode saw the conclusion of series 7 and the show as a whole.

At the start of the episode the family was in conflict with tension between Danny and Alice caused by new born Bobby, relationship problems between Olivia and Cedric and everyone not liking Rosie's older fiancee Dylan. This allowed for a good deal of development and exploration to took place in order have the characters go through more struggles before bringing them to a rounded conclusion.

It was also interesting to see Anders given a lot of development because he has to change his life style after receiving the news that if he doesn't he could end up killing himself. Within this Andres find himself the only one that can heal the rifts while keeping his own secret. This allowed for me to see how much the characters have grown and changed since the start of the series and this was seen through the strength and emotion of the final scenes where the family were reunited and Danny pays tribute to Leopard's Den and Anders

Meanwhile, the episode stays try to the show's usual set up by having the characters deal with a problem with their animals and this one saw them flying to Zambia and trying to save their cheetahs after it was stolen by poachers. But the stress of this ordeal, continuing to drink and the fright from the flying, causes Anders' health to deteriorate and his meddling causes the others to turn on him without thinking. Although the others slowly discover the truth and it was a sad and yet a fitting ending for the character of Anders where he goes into the bush for his last moments.

The main cast consisting of Stephen Tompkinson, Dawn Steele, Lucy-Jo Hudson, Olivia Scott-Taylor, Hayley Mills and Thapelo Mokoera all give great performances, but the most credit goes to Deon Stewardson, who gave a superb performance as Anders Du Plessis and has built a well defined and thought throwugh character.

Call The Midwife - Christmas Special

This was a very touching and poignant episode.

The show kept the strength of its first series in this special with two great stories of love and fear, which further showed the poverty and social situation of the 1950s east end. The first story I want to talk about was that of Mary-Ann Jenkins, an elderly woman living in poverty and horrible conditions. It turns out that she was a victim of the workhouse system and that all her young children didn't survive the ordeal. It was very good how the central character Jenny Lee was determined to help Mary-Ann to improve her health as well as her mental and emotional state.

This led to a scene where Jenny took Mary-Ann to the site of the public grave in which her children along with other workhouse inmates were buried. The simple script, along with the way Jenny pointed out the location of each of Mary-Ann's children and Mary-Ann's controlled reaction worked superbly well to great a very powerful and heartbreaking scene. It was then good to see how Jenny had helped Mary-Ann to regain control of her life and help out with the nativity.

The other story saw teenager Lynette Duncan giving birth and out of fear abandon her new born with the midwives. It was interesting to see how she had to keep secret the fact that she was the mother in the fear of losing her family and when she collapsed due to complications and her parents discovered the truth we saw how they in the end came around to supporting her. This was done through midwife Chummy Noakes, who, as well as providing most the comedy in the episode through her trying to put together the nativity performance, showed a good amount of strength and support for Lynette and was able to convince her that she would be able to take the baby back.

The main cast gave great performances, while Sheila Reid gave a fantastic performance as Mary-Ann and Ami Metcalf also did a good job as Lynette.

Downton Abbey - Christmas Special

This was a good episode of the period drama, with a very dramatic cliffhanger.

This episode dealt mainly with tying up the storylines from the end of the last series. Set a year later it had many continuity elements. For instance, Lord Grantham's opposition to the modernisation of Downton is reversed after he learns of the financial state of their hosts, the MacClare's estate. In turn, he comes to accept Matthew, which adds a lot to the sadness of the tragedy at the end of the episode. Within this as well was his relationship with Cora, which had suffered after the death of their daughter Sybil in the last series and it was good to see that Sybil was still making an impact among the family and staff.

Tom Branson had a good bit of development with him trying to deal with still grieving over Sybil and trying to find a balance between the old and the new him. The use of the guest character Edna Braithwaite was effective in getting him to find his balance because of her questioning of his change in character from the stubborn political-minded working class figure to being the husband of a lady and running the estate of Downton.

Other continuity aspects included Thomas and Jimmy resolving their differences after Thomas took a beating for Jimmy, Bates and Anna being able to enjoy time as a married couple and the ending of Edith's courtship with Michael Gregson. In contrast, it was also good to see the guest characters of Hugh and Susan MacClare, being a good bit of development, along with seeing a more fun side to the staff as they were able to have some free time while the family were away.

Along with these continuity elements were some new bits setting up for the next season including the MacClare's daughter Rose being entrusted into Cora's care and the birth of Mary and Matthew's first child, which had seemed unlikely in the past. This very much added to the tragic nature of the final scenes as Matthew was killed in a car crash on the way back from meeting his son. It was done in a very quick and swift way and work well to great a big surprise for the audience.

All the main cast gave good performances, while guest stars MyAnna Buring, Peter Egan and Phoebe Nicholls also held their own and added a lot to support the other characters.

Loving Miss Hatto

This was an interesting biopic, that showed what someone's love can drive them to.

Based on the true story of Joyce Hatto, a concert pianist, who became famous in her 70s after struggling for most of her life to make it in the classical world, but what later turned out to be all down to a fraud plot. The dramatisation saw how her husband, William Barrington-Coupe's love for his wife would see his determination to make her dream of being recognised for her talent by the classical world a reality by taking recordings from other pianists and tweaking them to sound like how she use to play before she was diagnosed with cancer.

This setting and the script by Victoria Wood, made it a very touching story and it easy for me to emphasis with Joyce and William. It also allowed me to see how they were drawn into making the fraudulent recordings and understand their motives behind doing it. This was done through showing Joyce's struggle to become well known through performing in her 20s, but suffered from terrible nerves and lack of confidence. Then when she does perform it was done in an exceptional standard.

William's support and determination also showed a great strength among the couple and it was good how the story was told mainly from his perspective. Then when the fraud was exposed 6 months after Joyce's death, William defended what they did and stated that Joyce wasn't involved at all int he fraud and thought that the recordings were hers. The dramatisation works well to display this by having Willliam talk to the ghost of Joyce and argue over whose fault it all was and then when he is visited by two ex-pupils of Joyce's and see how much they had faith in her, he decides to defend her honour. This brought I really heart-warming and emotional end to the story.

 Francesca Annis and Alfredo Molina were superb as Joyce and William and the chemistry between the two really worked. Maimie McCoy and Rory Kinnear also gave great performances as the younger versions of the couple.

Doctor Who: Series 7 - The Snowmen

This was a great episode and a good introduction to the new companion, Clara Oswald played by Jenna-Louise Coleman.

I thought this was a really great episode full of twists and turns. The story sees the Doctor now acting as a recluse, with him living in the TARDIS on a cloud. This was a really good idea and I liked how he tried to fight against trying to get involved with the strange happenings around Victorian London. The reintroduction of the characters of Madame Vashtra, Jenny Flint and Strax work well to add to the Doctor's determination to keep out of the affairs of others. I also thought the bit where Clara had to give one word answers and the one she used to convince the Doctor to help was 'pond', was really a nice way to sort of give a nod to Amy and Rory.

The humour of the episode was really good and well placed against the drama of the Snowmen attacks. The concept behind the Snowmen was well thought through and a good balance was made between introducing Clara and bringing the jeopardy to the story. I also liked the new design of the TARDIS and how the episode displayed the classic traits of a new companion introduction with a few twists such as Clara saying 'It's smaller on the inside.' instead of the usual 'It's bigger on inside than on the outside.' The use of the name of the parasite that was in the snow, which was the Great Intelligence, was a curious thing to do as that has been associated with the Yetis back in the classic series, so unless this is pointing to their possible return. Will have to wait and see.

Clara was a very interesting and intriguing character. It was good to see how she seemed to be near the Doctor's equal and the two bounced off each other quite well. I liked how the character changed between different personas and did a good job at showing different sides to Clara. Then when they had killed her off, it came as such a surprise and quite a bold move to play. But when the revelation over her connection to Coleman's role in the early episode, Asylum Of The Daleks, and how Clara - later revealed to be Clara Oswin Oswald - and Oswin Oswald were the same person, who somehow died in two different time periods and then seen alive in the present day, it created a lot of intrigue and made me really want to know more. Now I can't wait for the rest of the series.

Coleman gave a superb performance, making Clara a unique and interesting character, while Matt Smith also gave a great portrayal of a different side to the Doctor. The guest cast, including the return of Neve McIntosh, Dan Starkey and Catrin Stewart, and with Richard E. Grant and Tom Ward, all gave good performances. Sir Ian McKellen and Juliet Cadzow also did great as the voices of the Great Intelligence and the Ice Governess, really adding a lot to the episode.

Merlin: Series 5 - The Diamond Of The Day (Part 2)

So here it is. The last ever episode and the show ended in a very epic and emotional way.

This was a great ending to the series and to the show, full of tension, emotion and tragedy. The continuation from the previous episode of the battles scenes worked really well to create an epic opening to the show and they were shot really well. I liked how powerful Merlin was as the older version of him and it really showed his potential and strength. Then when Mordred confronted Arthur and the vision Merlin saw earlier in the series comes true there is a good deal of tension and the lack of dialogue does well to great a good death scene for Mordred and the mortal wounding of Arthur.

I think that the best thing was the scenes between Merlin and Arthur. Merlin's reveal to Arthur of his magic and Arthur's struggle to accept this, were really strong and very powerful. It was good how throughout the episode Arthur started to understand Merlin and see a different side to magic through Merlin's kindness and friendship with him. Then when Arthur died before Merlin could save him, it was so heartbreaking and very touching and Arthur thanking Merlin was so powerful and well performed by Bradley James and Colin Morgan. Merlin's grief and determination to save Arthur were superbly performed by Morgan, adding a lot of strength to the scenes.

Meanwhile, others character gave a lot to the episode as a whole. Gwen showed a great deal of control and strength, while Morgana displayed increased madness and erratic behaviour, which created a good contrast. While Gwaine and Percival were also given more action and Gwaine's death acted as an initial shock before the dramatic finally. All theses aspects add to a very dramatic and powerful conclusion to the series. I also liked the image at the end of the aged Merlin walking past the same spot that Arthur was buried in the modern day.

Morgan, James, Angel Coulby and Kate McGrath all gave superb performances and have overall really made the series and the show a great success. John Hurt, Richard Wilson, Alexander Vlahos, Eoin Macken, Rupert Young and Tom Hopper have all given great performances and have also added a lot to this final story. I will miss the show a lot.

The Makng Of A Lady

This was a good one-off rages to riches Victorian tale.

Based on the novel, The Making Of A Marchionness by Frances Hogson Burnett, the central character Emily Fox Seton was saved by the harshness of poverty when she decides to accept the offer of marriage, not out of love but of the need of security, from Lord James Walterhurst, the nephew of her once employer Lady Maria Bayne. Within this comes an interesting exploration of the importance of duty and position and how purity and kindness, that Emily showed, suffered.

It was good how Emily and James come to love each, but it was sad how his duty to his family causes this to be damaged. Emily's friendship with Walderhurst's cousin Alec Osborne and his wife Hester. The arrival of these two characters seemed to, as well as give a lot of humour, bring a darker edge tot he story, with Alec's erratic behaviour and them faking an invitation from James from them to stay.

The figures of Ameerah and Mr Litton also add to the episode, with suspicion over their true intentions and it is uncertain for most of the story as to which one I should trust. This is further amplified by the later discovery of Litton's body in the river. Then it soon appeared to be an attempt to isolate and kill Emily by Alec and Hester as they would inherit the fortune. The tension at the end was very affective and well built.

Lydia Wilson did a great job as Emily, while Linus Roache, James d'Arcy and Hasina Haque all gave strong performances. The supporting cast including Joanna Lumley, Sarah Ridgeway, Claire Hackett and Souad Faress all do gave good portrayals of their characters.

Merlin: Series 5 - The Diamond Of The Day (Part 1)

This episode saw the start of the end.

This was a great first part to the last ever series finale, filled with drama, humour and tension. From the off the episode kept building up to the fateful battle at Camlann between Arthur's and Morgana's forces that would determine Arthur and Camelot's destiny. Within this context every character was able to give their bit towards the narrative. For instance, Sir Gwaine's softer side was seen with his handling of the only survivor, Eira, of the first of Morgana's attacks, although she later turned out to be a spy.

The episode also worked well to bring in a little bit of humour at the start, through banter between Arthur and Merlin. However, it was good to see a tender and serious scene take place between the two and how they go off to meet destiny on separate paths. Also, Merlin later warning to Arthur through a dream and Arthur's belief in it shows the strength of their friendship. In contrast, a vengeful Mordred emerged, adding more gravitas to the growing tension and his alliance with Morgana works well to show their determinate to kill Arthur and Merlin.

The exploration of Merlin in this episode was really good as he had to deal with his magic being drained by a creature sent by Morgana. It was good how Merlin became vulnerable at the start of the episode and throughout tried to fight against fate and regain his magic until he was trapped by Morgana in the crystal cave, and he gave up. Then, through the use of the ghost of Merlin's father, Balindor, Merlin finds the belief in himself he needs to emerge out of the light as the stronger older Merlin, whose use as comical figure appears to be at an end.

All the central cast, Colin Morgan, Bradley Jame, Angel Coulby and Katie McGrath all give great performances, along with Richard Wilson, Alexander Vlahos, Rupert Young, Eoin Macken and Tom Hopper's portrayals also add a lot to the episode.

The Town

This 3 part series centres around the residents of the town of Renton.

Mainly centring around the return of Mark Nicholas to the town after the supposed suicide of his parents, the show works well to keep this story as the focal point, but to also bring in other strands of narrative through the lives of other characters. Also as Mark tries to find out more about what happened to his parents, a conspiracy seemed to be developing, which made the story more intriguing.

When it emerged that Mark's mother, Kate, had an affair with Chris Franks, the officer in charge of the investigation into their deaths and that Mark's parents were involved in the death of the mayor Len's son 13 years earlier and it seemed to support the suicide theory. So later when it is revealed that it was the Len that murdered his parents in revenge for what happened to his son, it came as a surprise.

I did like how Mark's sister, Jodie and grandmother, Betty, dealt with the tragedy and how they all tried to move on. I wasn't sure about Jodie at first, but by the end of the first episode I had started to come around to her. Within this it was interesting to see the development of Mark's relationship with past partner Alice, Jodie's relationship with Harry and Betty's friendship with young boy Daniel.

Andrew Scott, Martin Clunes, Julia McKenzie and Avigail Tlalim all gave superb performances as the leading characters. Meanwhile, Charlotte Riley, Goldy Notay, Kelly Adams, Gerard Kearns and Toby Regbo are all great additions to the cast, which allowed for the sense that the story involved the whole town to be shown.

The Poison Tree

This was a good and tense thriller.

Centred around Karen Clarke, who finds herself being stalked and blackmailed after the return of her husband, Rex, from a 12 year prison sentence. From the start there a good amount of mystery and intrigue around the reason Rex was in prison and also for the secret that they can't tell their daughter Alice. From this was see Karen struggling to hid the stalking from Rex and protect Alice from the truth.

The mysterious is revealed through flashbacks to 1999 where a 19 year old Karen meets art student Biba and later moves in with her and her brother Rex. We see how the three grew close and then when Biba and Rex's estranged father tried to sell the house and started to throw out their belongings, it was Biba who accidentally pushed their father over the balcony and then shot Lenny in order to stop him calling the police, instead of Rex. I thought that this was built up well and the reveal was done in a very good way to leave a question of who shot Lenny at the end of the first episode.

The secret emerges that Alice, was the daughter of Biba and Lenny, not Karen and Rex, who was left with Karen after Biba's apparent suicide. This aspect was well written and handled, with it being seen from Karen's perspective. The use of the flashbacks works well to build up tension and allowed me to connection with Karen and see how she was pushed into being part of the cover up and taking care of Alice. When the second mystery stalker is revealed, it was aurprise and the action that Karen takes was very shocking.

MyAnna Buring, Matthew Goode and Ophelia Lovibond all gave great performances as the three central characters, while newcomer Hebe Johnson gave a strong performance as Alice.

The Hour - Series 2

This series saw police corruption and organised crime take centre stage.

So in the wake of the previous series' revelations and a gap of 9 months, this series opened with the Hour facing competition from ITV's Uncovered, Freddie's absence, Hector's entrance into celebrity and a new conspiracy. With these elements it made it intriguing and compelling from the start to see how they would develop and gave new areas for development for the characters. This was also seen when their source, Rosa Maria Ramirez is murdered and Bel's guilt and Freddie's apparent indifference comes into conflict.

As with the last series, historical events are used as a background to many of the episodes. For instance, it shows the space race, the attitudes to immigration, the cold war and the corruption among police and socialites. These all help to build a continually intriguing storylines and create a tense and well pace piece of drama. Moreover, I like how Bel's emotions for Freddie have been amplified, but must be hidden in the face of Freddie's marriage to a French woman,  Camille Mettier, during this time away. In contrast, it's interesting to see how Freddie struggles with married life and his relationship Camille is tested by Bel's presence, which later leads to the ending of it.

I also like how the characters, Lix Storm and Marnie Madden, have been give more development, with Marnie carving her own career in TV and it being revealed that Lix had a daughter she gave up for adoption and is trying to find her along with new character Randall Brown. This development showed a stronger side to Marnie and a softer side to Lix, making them more in-depth characters.

The main cast, including Ben Whishaw, Romola Garai and Dominic West all gave great performances, while Anna Chancellor and Oona Chaplin gave strong performance with their character's new development. Peter Capaldi, Hannah Tointon, Lizzie Brochere, Tom Burke and Vincent Riotta are all great additions to the cast, allowing their character to make their mark and grow well throughout. This has been a great series and the cliffhanger of the last episode was so good and very tense.

Last Tango In Halifax - Series 1

This is a warm-hearted story of an elderly couple reunited after 60 years apart.

This was the feel good story of Alan and Celia who, after knowing each other when they were teenagers, are reunited through Facebook and start the long awaited relationship that they should have had 60 years earlier. The show works well to keep these two characters as the central point, while bringing in the complicated lives of their family, including Alan's daughter Gillian's affair with Paul and relationship with her son, Raff, and Celia's daughter Caroline's failed marriage to John and her relationship with co-worker Kate.

All the characters are well developed, with Alan and Celia's growing honesty with each other feeling quite natural and really good. Moreover, I think through the lively and strong characterisation, it really helped to shine a more positive light on old age and shows that the elderly shouldn't be taken for granted or portrayed as weak as they often are. As a side note, it also allowed for a good light to shine on social media as it showed how Facebook can be used in a positive way to reunite long lost friends.

I liked how the relationship was tested in the last episode, with Alan being disappointed by Celia's harsh reaction to her finding out about Caroline's relationship with Kate. This set up a very emotional and powerful episode and I thought that Celia's change of mind was down in a very smart way. Furthermore, when Celia reconciles with Alan after his has a heart attack, it was very powerful and allowed for a very happy way to end the series.

Anne Reid and Derek Jacobi gave wonderful performances as Celia and Alan, with Sarah Lancashire and Nicola Walker supporting them with strong portrayals of Caroline and Gillian. There were also good performances from Dean Andrews, Tony Gardner, Josh Bolt, Nina Sosanya, Louis Greatorex and Edward Ashley.

Merlin: Series 5 - The Drawing Of The Dark

This episode saw Mordred join Morgana.

Mordred came to centre stage in this dramatic episode, which saw him switch his loyalties from Arthur to Morgana. I think it was done in a very good way with Mordred being seen as a very caring and loyal person, whose turn to Morgana's side was as much as a result of his friends betrayal, as it was because of Kara's influence. The use of the character of Kara, who was a fellow druid and person that Mordred loved, helped to act as Mordred motivation, especially in the event of her death after she was put on trial and sentenced to death by Arthur.

This betrayal by Arthur, especially after Mordred begged him to reconsider, does show how Mordred's loyalty is tested and allowed him to sympathise with him as I could see the difficult he faced. Kara also was an interesting character, representing Morgana's growing influence and how Arthur's continuation of the laws against magic have turned people against him and made them see him to be the same as his father. This was then contrasted by Arthur's offer to Kara to free walk if she repents for her crimes and showing that her fate was her own fault as it was Arthur's.

It is also good to see how Merlin tries to fight against the tide of fate and how all the things he does in the episodes, including betraying Mordred to Arthur, are all done for the greater good. Although I can see how Merlin's past suspicion toward Mordred has not helped the situation and comes ahead in this episodes in a big way as Mordred reveals Emrys' true identity as Merlin to Morgana. This added to the sewing of the seeds of Camelot's doom that have been growing in the last few episodes and now it will be interesting to see how the two-part finale will shape itself.

I thought Alexander Vlahos and Alexandra Dowling gave great performances as Mordred and Kara, and their chemistry works well to develop a believable relationship that I could invest in and feel sympathy for how it tragically ended. Also I think Colin Morgan gives a very strong performance as the out of depth Merlin, who realises he can no longer fight the path of destiny.

The Secret Of Crickley Hall

This was a great and thrilling drama.

Centring around two periods of the same house, Crickley Hall. The first being the present day, where the Caleigh family have moved in for six months to get away during the one year anniversary of parents Eve and Gabe's son Cameron going missing. The other is the house used as a orphanage in World War 2, where the children are mistreated by brother and sister Augustus and Magda Cribbins and events around the tragic deaths that took place there.. And the connection of the two periods acts through the character of Percy Judd, who worked for the Cribbins and remained as the caretaker of the house through to the present day.

The show does well to show underlying themes of child abuse, through Nancy Linnet's campaign to free the children from the grips of the Cribbins, and bullying of Loren Caleigh because of her brother's disappearance. The attitudes of the Cribbins toward German orphan Stefan Rosenbaum, also reflect on how German refugees may have been treated by many people during the war. And with these underlying themes came the mystery of what happened to Stefan and Maurice Stafford whose bodies were never found.

The three-part drama works well to shift smoothly between the two times and it keeps the mysterious of both times twisting and turning in a very good way. Also the way the ghostly happening are filmed with close up shots helps to add to their potential realism. It was interesting to see how the stories became more darker as they develop, with the sweet romance between Nancy and Percy and then her later murder by Maurice and Magda, and the deaths of the orphans apart from Stefan at the hands of Augustus.

With this in mind, the final episode saw a great deal of tension and heartbreak, as Percy discovered the truth about Nancy's disappearance and the Caleighs found out about Cameron's accidental death, which was handled in a very affective manner. Furthermore, we later find out that Maurice, now known as Gordon Pyke, is under the control of the ghost of Augustus to kill one of the Caleigh children, which he finally gives up doing when confronted by the ghost of Nancy.

Suranne Jones, Tom Ellis, Olivia Cooke all give great performances, adding a lot of emotion and strength to the story. Other cast members including Douglas Henshall, Sarah Smart, Iain de Caestecker, Susan Lynch, Donald Sumpter and David Warner, also give good performances, allowing their characters to develop well. I also have to give credit to young actors Maisie Williams, Pixie Davies, Elliot Kerley and Kian Parsiani, who did a great job at showing their great potential.

Merlin: Series 5 - The Kindness Of Strangers

This episodes saw the build up to the two-part finale start.

This episode saw Morgana stepping up her campaign to found out the identity of Emrys and soon it turned into a cat and mouse chase as Merlin was given the knowledge of the Old Religion by Finna that is needed for the coming battle. Within this it was good to see Merlin and Gaius's relationship, like that of a father and a son, come into focus, which shows the amount of growth that the characters have gone through together.

There was a good contrast between the loved up scenes between Arthur and Gwen and the capture and later death of Alator of the Catha by Morgana, who previously appeared in series 4. It helped to give shades of light and dark to the episodes. Also the use of Alator again adds to the strength of Morgana's conviction to find Emrys, as Alator had been previously employed to haunt down Emrys by Morgana.

It was also good how the script made it unsure whether Finna's loyalities were initially with Merlin or Morgana, but this soon turned out to be the former. I was thinking that with the mention of Saxons, not just in this episodes but in others seemed to be the show trying to tie its historical narrative into established history. It very much felt like a build up of the continuity and narrative as Mordred's importance in future events start to pick up, Finna's warning to Merlin about 'the druid boy' and Morgana's declaration of war.

Gary Lewis makes a good return as Alator and Sorcha Cusack gives a great performances as Finna.

Merlin: Series 5 - With All My Heart

This was a good episode, where Gwen was fixed!

It was a really good story, with a nice mix of humour and drama.  I'm glad to see that Gwen's recent evil activity has now been explained as being down to powerful magic from the Old Religion that causes the victim's soul to be replaced by the demands of their master. Then I really liked the bit between Arthur and Gwen, where only the line 'With all my heart' is able to bring back some of the old Gwen and allow her to be cured. I also thought it was done in such a simple and effective way.

I thought that Merlin in drag as the Old Woman worked as a humourous tool and I supposed was used because of how serious the upcoming episodes will be. Furthermore, this I suppose helped to show the Merlin of previous series, compared to that of him as the Old Man Merlin threatening and actually injuring the Dochraid, which I wasn't that sure of really. But I did like the bit where Gaius and Merlin have to smuggle Gwen out of Camelot and it was good to see Richard Wilson providing a lot of the humour.

As we near the end of the series, Mordred came more involved and showed a strong sense of loyalty towards Arthur, which is a very contrasting image to that of him killing Arthur in Merlin flash forward. Also Morgana appears to be starting to lose control and it'll be interesting to how her and Mordred's alliance is meant to emerge.

Credit goes to Angel Coulby and Bradley James for their strong performances and Colin Morgan brings out a very good comical effect in his. Maureen Carr also gives a good performance as evil Dochraid.

Hunted - Series 1

This is a good spy drama and improved throughout the series.

Having been created by the same people behind Spooks, comparisons might be made and although it does have all the elements of a spy drama, it feels different. I felt this was because the series is more centred around one character, Samantha 'Sam' Hunter , and her journey to find the person who betrayed her. The character's tragedy backstory adds a contrast and a connection for the audience in face of the strong and cold exterior that Sam portrays.

The series also focuses around the work of the private security services, in the form of the company Byzantium and the team's mission that is controlled by their client. This allows for an interesting exploration, as moral issues emerge, along with the fact that the team members can't know who the client is or why they have employed them, but still have to complete the orders. Furthermore, this came forth with the team having to 'terminate' one of their group who had been captured.

The sub-plots of the conspiracy to kill Sam, Sam's mission to integrate herself into the Jack Turner household and the elements of the mission that emerge with each episode, work well to create tension and suspense. They also work to create twists and turn that are able to keep the story fresh and moving in a fast pace over the 8 episode run. I think this series worked well to maintain the story arc and concluded in a very dramatic and clever way.

Melissa George gives a superb performance as Sam, giving a very layered portrayal. Other members of the cast including Stephen Campbell Moore, Patrick Malahide, Adam Rayner and Indira Varma, all give good performance, making their characters stand out.