All That Jazz: The Beiderbecke Trilogy
❉ Michael Seely looks back on Alan Plater’s trilogy, 30 years on from the first airing of its last instalment.
drama
Return of the mac: ‘Columbo: Season 1’ on Blu-Ray
❉ 12 hours of one of the greatest detective shows ever to grace our screens and Columbo’s raincoat, cigars and battered Peugeot have never looked better.
Oz on the Tyne: ‘Spender’
❉ Chris Orton looks back on the BBC detective drama set in and around Tyneside, written by Ian La Frenais and starring Jimmy Nail.
‘The Coming of the Martians’ reviewed
❉ Colin Morgan stars in a full-cast audio dramatisation of H. G. Wells’ seminal sci-fi epic The War of the Worlds.
‘Callan – Volume 1’ reviewed
❉ The Section’s finest killer – together with Lonely, Hunter, Meres and Liz – is resoundingly back. Big Finish have played a blinder.
‘Star Cops: Mother Earth Part 1’ reviewed
❉ “There is huge scope in this series.” The gamble bringing back cult sci-fi drama Star Cops onto audio has paid off, writes Michael Seely.
Big Finish Round-Up: Spin Me Round!
❉ Big Finish’s recent Doctor Who spin-off releases reviewed including Jago and Litefoot’s final curtain call.
‘Heimat: A Chronicle of Germany’ on Blu-Ray reviewed
❉ “Heimat is a magnificent achievement, a truly pioneering piece of drama which paved the way for the novelistic TV dramas to come.”
‘Doctor Who – Tales from New Earth’ reviewed
❉ Don Klees returns to the year 5 billion in the latest collection of stories from the worlds of Doctor Who.
‘The Diary of River Song – Series Three’ reviewed
❉ Well written, finely acted and just downright entertaining, this is a story that needed telling, writes Ian McCann.