Rating:
This is a nasty one, Sarge. Here’s our victim, a Sunday night telly viewer . . . dead on their sofa.
Looks like they settled down to watch McDonald & Dodds (ITV) and got bludgeoned over the head with leaden dialogue. Never regained consciousness.
Up and down the country, people were bored into comas or simply lost the will to keep breathing. This two-hour plodathon might be the first crime drama to qualify as a serial killer in its own right.
Among its deadliest elements is the running skit about how mild-mannered DS Dodds (Jason Watkins) likes to smear his takeaway chips with butter. His partner, DCI McDonald (Tala Gouveia), moans about this every time.
TV tonight: more post-Troubles darkness in Bloodlands Phil Harrison, Hannah Verdier, Jack Seale, Hannah J Davies and Paul Howlett
Bloodlands
9pm, BBC One
This bleak, twisty drama continues to examine the long tail of the Troubles and underline the supreme recklessness of any politician taking any action that might awaken the ghosts of Ireland’s recent past. At its heart, there is a superbly intense and downbeat performance from James Nesbitt as Detective Tom Brannick. Tonight, Brannick begins to pick up the pieces after last week’s explosive climax. The team are seemingly being led towards paramilitary killer “Goliath”. But are they walking into a trap?
TV tonight: our highlights for Sunday 7th March whatsontv.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from whatsontv.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
ON DEMAND: Hi-De-Hi! (BritBox, from Thursday) By 1980, Jimmy Perry and David Croft were among Britain s top comedy writers. Dad s Army, which ended in 1977 after nine years on our screens, had made their names, while It Ain t Half Hot Mum, which ran for seven, was drawing to a close. Both series had been inspired by their own experiences, in particular those of Perry, and their next project would be too. Perry was a redcoat at Butlins after leaving the army, and channelled his memories into the show. Hugely popular throughout the 1980s, Hi-De-Hi! is now returning to our screens courtesy of BritBox. Prepare to be amused by a range of wonderful characters, including world weary comedian Ted Bovis (Paul Shane), his naive sidekick Spike (Jeffrey Holland), chief yellowcoat Gladys Pugh (Ruth Madoc) and cleaner/wannabe superstar Peggy Ollerenshaw (Su Pollard).
ON DEMAND: Hi-De-Hi! (BritBox, from Thursday) By 1980, Jimmy Perry and David Croft were among Britain s top comedy writers. Dad s Army, which ended in 1977 after nine years on our screens, had made their names, while It Ain t Half Hot Mum, which ran for seven, was drawing to a close. Both series had been inspired by their own experiences, in particular those of Perry, and their next project would be too. Perry was a redcoat at Butlins after leaving the army, and channelled his memories into the show. Hugely popular throughout the 1980s, Hi-De-Hi! is now returning to our screens courtesy of BritBox. Prepare to be amused by a range of wonderful characters, including world weary comedian Ted Bovis (Paul Shane), his naive sidekick Spike (Jeffrey Holland), chief yellowcoat Gladys Pugh (Ruth Madoc) and cleaner/wannabe superstar Peggy Ollerenshaw (Su Pollard).