From a story of raw bravery in The War Below to the acclaimed Wolf Hall starring Damian Lewis, the best on demand TV to watch this week
NETFLIX, SKY, ACORN, APPLE & IMDb TV
The War Below
It’s 1915 on the Western Front. Stalemate is leading to a bloody war of attrition in the trenches: something’s got to give. Enter Colonel ‘Hellfire Jack’ Norton-Griffiths (played by Tom Goodman-Hill of Mr Selfridge and The Imitation Game), who has a plan to blow up the German positions from below ground.
It’s 1915 on the Western Front (above). Stalemate is leading to a bloody war of attrition in the trenches: something’s got to give. Enter Colonel ‘Hellfire Jack’ Norton-Griffiths
A team of Yorkshire ‘clay-kickers’, coal miners in civilian life, are given the job of tunnelling under enemy lines and laying explosives. Cue a story of almost unbearable claustrophobic tension, palpable fear and raw bravery, starring Sam Hazeldine (who played George Sewell in Peaky Blinders), Douglas Reith and Andrew Scarborough. Multi platform, available now
The Sparks Brothers
When John Lennon saw Sparks on Top Of The Pops, he rang Ringo and said, ‘You won’t believe this, Marc Bolan’s doing a song with Adolf Hitler!’ Some will only remember the Maels for their 1974 hit This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us.
But for aficionados, curly-haired Russell and moustachioed Ron were the kings of quirk. Their 55-year career is celebrated in a profile featuring interviews with the brothers and those they influenced, including Beck and Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes. Sky Store, from Monday
Locke & Key
Based on a comic book from the mind of Joe (son of Stephen King) Hill, this addictive show follows Locke siblings Tyler, Bode and Kinsey as they grapple with magical keys they find strewn around their ancestral home.
In addition to having amazing powers, the keys are sought by a demon known as Dodge who wants the power all for herself. Netflix, from Friday
Al Murray: Why Do The Brits Win Every War?
Are we helped or hindered by our illustrious military past? That’s the question Al Murray and his comic alter ego, The Pub Landlord, try to answer in this irreverent new history series.
Are we helped or hindered by our illustrious military past? That’s the question Al Murray and his comic alter ego, The Pub Landlord (above), try to answer
Each episode focuses on Britain’s relations with various nations and civilisations, from the Romans to the Americans. NOW, from Wednesday
Invasion
We follow key characters across the world: a Japanese technician, a British schoolboy, a US soldier and Sam Neill (above), a sheriff who chances on a strange circle in a cornfield…
This sci-fi drama about an alien invasion is a slow-burner, but the sparing depiction of extraterrestrial encounters means they have real impact. We follow key characters across the world: a Japanese technician, a British schoolboy, a US soldier and Sam Neill, a sheriff who chances on a strange circle in a cornfield… Apple TV+, from Friday
Jack Irish
Guy Pearce (above) returns as the Aussie criminal lawyer turned debt collector and troubleshooter for the third and final time
Guy Pearce returns as the Aussie criminal lawyer turned debt collector and troubleshooter for the third and final time. Jack becomes increasingly obsessed with unlocking the secrets of the past – but may live to regret doing so when his mission brings him face to face with his most powerful enemy yet. Acorn TV, from Monday
White Collar
Matt Bomer (above) heads the cast as Neal Caffrey, a conman, forger and thief. After being caught by the FBI, he offers to become a consultant in return for an early release from prison
Matt Bomer heads the cast as Neal Caffrey, a conman, forger and thief. After being caught by the FBI, he offers to become a consultant in return for an early release from prison.
The man who caught him, agent Peter Burke, becomes his boss and friend. Disney+, from Wednesday
Leverage: Redemption
All 16 episodes of the US drama’s first series are being made available to air via IMDb’s free streaming service. It focuses on a group determined to bring down the wealthy, those who think nothing of exploiting those less fortunate than themselves.
It focuses on a group determined to bring down the wealthy, those who think nothing of exploiting those less fortunate than themselves. Gina Bellman (above) and Noah Wyle star
Joining them is a corporate lawyer who has realised the error of his ways. Gina Bellman and Noah Wyle star. IMDb TV/Amazon, from Friday
TOP TEN COMEDIES ON BBC iPLAYER TO WATCH NOW
1. This Country
Kerry and ‘Kurtan’ Mucklowe (Daisy May and Charlie Cooper), two bored young cousins, kick around their Cotswolds village, dreaming of the gleaming metropolis that is Swindon.
2. Ghosts
A young couple live in a mansion haunted by a number of ghosts from different periods of history. Very funny but also sweet and big-hearted.
3. Detectorists
Andy (Mackenzie Crook) and Lance (Toby Jones) are two friends who enjoy getting out into the English countryside with their metal detectors. A perfect sitcom.
4. One Foot In The Grave
The original grumpy old man, irascible curmudgeon Victor Meldrew (Richard Wilson), rages against the world.
Cynical, self-serving Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson, above)
5. Blackadder
Historical sitcom revolving around different incarnations of the cynical, self-serving Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson). It has one of the most poignant endings in TV.
6. Porridge
Crafty old lag Norman Stanley Fletcher (Ronnie Barker) takes the naive young Godber (Richard Beckinsale) under his wing in prison.
7. Fawlty Towers
The snobbish hotelier Basil Fawlty (John Cleese) is one of the greatest comic characters of all time, and the frenetic moments of high farce are still excruciatingly funny.
8. Fleabag
An angry young woman is dealing with, we gradually learn, the fallout of trauma. Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s brilliant creation felt genuinely groundbreaking at the time of broadcast.
9. What We Do In The Shadows
Brilliantly daft show about four vampires who share a house in Staten Island and their dealings with other vampires, werewolves, ghosts and clumsy interactions with the modern world.
10. Miranda
Miranda Hart plays the socially awkward title character, forever finding herself in odd situations, often as a result of her gaucheness.
BBC iPLAYER & ITV HUB
Wolf Hall
Mark Rylance is Thomas Cromwell, who rises through the Tudor court to become Henry VIII’s fixer, in this acclaimed six-episode adaptation of the first two novels in Hilary Mantel’s trilogy.
It’s essentially a political thriller. Cromwell, a blacksmith’s son, has to negotiate all the intrigues of the court in order to secure the King’s wishes: separation from his wife, Catherine of Aragon, and from Rome.
Cromwell, a blacksmith’s son, has to negotiate all the intrigues of the court in order to secure the King’s wishes. This is Mark Rylance’s show but Damian Lewis (above) is terrific
This is Rylance’s show but Damian Lewis (right) is terrific as the capricious King, as is Claire Foy as Anne Boleyn. BBC iPlayer, from Thursday
Manhunt The Night Stalker
Martin Clunes again takes on the low-key yet effective persona of DCI Colin Sutton, having played him in the first series about the investigation to catch Levi Bellfield, who murdered Milly Dowler in 2002.
This time the story is of a criminal who burgled homes and, shockingly, raped and sexually assaulted elderly people over 17 years before he was finally caught. In a terrific performance, Clunes seems to have grown even more into the part of the eagle-eyed policeman, who is drafted in to re-energise a directionless team, while the four-part series really highlights the painstaking and forensic nature of great detective work. ITV Hub, available now
Luther
Idris Elba is the brilliant but troubled cop DCI John Luther. In the first episode of the first series – there are five – he is investigating Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson), who is suspected of murdering her parents.
Morgan, too, is brilliant – she went to Oxford at 13 and completed a PhD in astrophysics at 18 – but she is also a psychopath. She becomes Luther’s companion and sometimes his quarry.
Idris Elba (above) is the brilliant but troubled cop DCI John Luther. In the first episode of the first series – there are five – he is investigating Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson)
Pretty much everything about the show is wildly implausible but it’s also hugely entertaining, although you might find yourself thinking that, just once, it might be nice to have a TV detective who actually does things by the book. BBC iPlayer, series 1-5, available now
Rik Mayall: Lord Of Misrule
The Young Ones’ Cliff-loving Rik, Blackadder braggart Lord Flashheart, evil Alan B’Stard in The New Statesman… as the big cheese of the 1980s ‘alternative’ scene, Rik Mayall was the bright future of comedy.
Then suddenly he was its past, after his shocking death from a heart attack in 2014. He was only 56. In an affectionate profile, fellow comics Ben Elton and Alexei Sayle pay tribute, while older comedy legends Michael Palin and Lenny Henry also tip their hats to a talent gone too soon. BBC iPlayer, until Friday
