France might be more renowned for gastronauts than astronauts but Gallic space drama Missions (BBC Four), about the first manned expedition to Mars, is proving meaty and flavoursome fare.
As they prepared to touch down after 10 months of travel, the likeable European crew realised that they’d been beaten to it by their dastardly US rivals. More spookily, Russian cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov (Arben Bajraktaraj) – the first man to die during a space mission, in 1967 – was found alive, well, strangely ageless and prone to suddenly appearing in corridors with a beatific expression.
The penultimate double-bill saw a tense stand-off at gunpoint between the two crews, while the on-board computer went...