Misfits: Episode Eight

Rudy: “This is all wrong, this. I wanted me ET ending.”

It was obvious there was more to Nadine's story than her being a nun. You don't throw tomato soup on a cream floor unless it's serious, and it doesn't get much grimmer than almost bringing about the apocalypse. Yes, the four horsemen were on BMXs rather than horses and, yes they had swords instead of scales, bows and scythes -- but they did at least attempt to bring about war, death and conquest. I'm not sure what happened to famine -- did Rudy and Nadine get to eat that ham and pineapple pizza or not?

Misfits: Episode Seven

Greg: “Do you know what they do with people who pretend to be on community service?”

They force them to do actual community service apparently. I'm not sure that's true, but it works -- Abby is now a fully suited member of the gang. This season's struggled a little under the weight of having too much to do. Introducing three brand new characters in just eight episodes is an almost impossible task. The episodes rarely get to be about just the stories -- which makes me hope that Misfits gets a fifth season. I'd love to see what these characters are capable of without the seemingly ever present spectre of re-population hanging over them.

Misfits: Episode Six

Rudy: “Trust me, you will never forget your first Richard Saunders house party.”

Ahhh... the obligatory party episode. I love it when the misfits get an opportunity to let their hair down. As well as a golf playing rabbit wearing a suit, we were also introduced to the legendary Colonel Saunders (from season three), saw Finn get laid (in all its exhausting glory), and finally discovered Alex's big secret. That's assuming it is big. It may turn out to be quite small. (Zing!) I think we also picked up a new member in the form of delectable pisshead, Abby. The misfits are a four-piece again.

Misfits: Episode Five

Finn: "You can't kill me. I'm your brother... half brother.”

If last week's episode was enough to set your lower lip wobbling, tonight's story hit a similar emotional high, but for completely different reasons. It wasn't so much that Finn's dad died, it was more the realism of the situation, Finn's struggle to adapt, and Grace's all too familiar grief. For once, someone on the show died a natural, non-murderous death. What a gyp it that had to be Finn's dad -- and just hours after them first meeting.

Misfits: Episode Four

Curtis: 'There ain't no happy endings. It's zombie noir, innit?'

It seems ironic that, just 7 days after complaining that Curtis never seems to get a decent storyline, he was finally gifted a pearler—only for it to be his last. I did not see that coming. In fact, even after he'd become infected, I still entertained the idea he'd either be cured, or simply continue as a zombie. This is Misfits, right? Why couldn't we have a zombie Curtis? Alas, it was not to be. He's dead. Demised. Passed on. He's run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. Clearly, Howard Overman has failed to read the rule book—again!

Misfits: Episode Three

Greg: "The magic word is potato."

A very different episode of Misfits this week, and exactly what the show needed -- an episode which made us love Jess. Finn may have provided the chortles, but it was the knowledge of Danny's betrayal and Jess' attempted suicide which brought gravitas to the proceedings. It also explained why Jess reacted so strongly to Finn's non-step-mum faux pas. Aside for having the minor hots for him, she isn't a fan of liars. Poor, pathetic, incredibly jammy Finn. I wish Nadine Lewington were my non-step-mum.

Misfits: Episode Two

Rudy: 'Let me put it like this: what would Bob Geldof do?'

Now that was more like it. Rudy was firing on all four disgusting cylinders, we got some nice back story for Finn, and probation worker, Greg, is just begging to be interred beneath the underpass. He may think he's God, but if Nietzsche was right, then he's surely destined to join Him. What a nightmarish personality. He makes Shawn look like Mother Teresa. I can't see it being long before Lola replaces him—unless, of course, she ends up in the ground as well. Either way, it looks as though Curtis is about to get screwed: both literally and metaphorically.

Misfits: Episode One

Rudy: "It's the storm. It's always the storm."

This time last year, I opened my review by saying that 2011 would be a make or break year for Misfits. If I'd known then what I know now. Last season I was convinced that losing Robert Sheehan would spell disaster for the show. It didn't. It was different, but it was still embarrassingly funny, occasionally brilliant, and excruciatingly vulgar. And then, seemingly inexplicably, three major characters left at once, leaving Curtis (the most boring character of all), and new recruit Rudy, to pick up the pieces. Can any show survive such character upheaval?

Being Human: The War Child

Annie: “Hal isn’t a living thing.”

It’s official: Being Human has been renewed for a fifth season. Despite a slight dip in ratings (compared with season three), fans appear to have taken to the new line-up like a duck to l'orange. Season five will be a shorter season – six episodes instead of eight – but that may not be such a handicap. In the past, extra minutes have translated into filler. Thankfully, tonight's episode was mostly useful, and saw the departure of Annie, our last surviving original character. Can a show survive with none of its original cast members? If this season's proved anything (apart from disco's not dead), the answer is probably yes.

Being Human: Making History

Cutler: “Softly softly, massacre monkey.”

It seems strange that after six weeks of theorising over Cutler’s plans and motivations, it all comes down to Hal. Since 1950, he's been a malign influence in Cutler's life. (Despite being presumed dead for most of it.) In fact, this whole season’s been about Cutler trying to live up to his sire’s expectations. As well as conditional immortality, he wants historic immortality too. He wants statues erected in his honour. He wants Brazil. He wants the world to know that the defeat and mass conversion of humankind was all his idea. In short, he's disappeared up his own megalomaniacal arse -- and it's all Hal's fault.

Being Human: Puppy Love

Emrys: “When your time comes, remember: it might not be a good thing you have to do.”

Now there’s a tantalising piece of dialogue. Whether we’re supposed to interpret it as a piece of general advice, or as a portent of things to come, I’m not altogether sure. Annie offing Kirby two weeks ago does seem to have changed her attitude towards killing. But didn’t Annie get rid of her unfinished business when she solved her own death back in season one? I was under the impression her continued existence on earth was more to do with free choice than it was her being stuck here. I hope this isn't a hint Annie will be leaving the show at the end of the season.

Being Human: Hold the Front Page

Adam: “We’re both trapped. We should be trapped together.”

This felt like the episode where Being Human finally reclaimed its mojo. The first half of the season has been guilty of pushing the tomfoolery way beyond what is acceptable. Tonight the humour was played to perfection. Tom Grieves did a splendid job of adding some much needed depth to Adam’s previously one-dimensional character. In fact, by the end of the episode, I actually found myself liking him. And then being disgusted by him. And then liking him again. Add an unlikely love story, a new supernatural, and some great character development, and this was my favourite episode of the season so far.

Being Human: A Spectre Calls

Kirby: "Evil is like travelling first class. Try it once and you can never go back."

The frustrating thing about Being Human is that no matter how good an episode is, there always seems to be something to complain about. I mostly tend to overlook its minor shortcomings. Life's too short to go mental over every detail. But tonight, some of the weaknesses (or what I perceived to be weaknesses) impacted directly on both the tension and plausibility of the narrative, and as a result, partially undermined what was probably the show's weirdest, most disturbing story to date. They didn't kill it entirely, but they certainly didn't do it any favours.

Being Human: The Graveyard Shift

Tom: “I don’t think we need this any more. I’ve got your back, mate.”

Despite offering up a few morsels of main arc development, tonight’s story took a break from the ongoing War Child saga, and focused on the private lives of our supernatural trio. Being Human's always been about the small things, so it's no surprise Jamie Mathieson managed to find some great character moments in the minutiae. Finally, Honolulu Heights is starting to feel like home again. The gang even have a new TV show to obsess over. It may not be The Real Hustle, but it's a start.

Being Human: Being Human 1955

Pearl: “Over fifty five years and I’ve never had to change my line-up.”

If last week’s episode felt like a season finale, then "Being Human 1955" felt like a season première. It introduced us to Leo, Pearl and Hal; established a strong group dynamic; explained interpersonal dependencies -- then sent two of them packing to the afterlife. Despite Leo and Pearl being relative newcomers, their deaths were surprisingly affecting; as was Hal’s almost defection to the dark side. I guess his self control isn’t as strong as we thought. With Leo and Pearl gone, will Hal be able to put the mask back on? Or does Honolulu Heights have a new loose cannon on its hands?

Being Human: Eve of the War

Woman: "I'm going to save the world. I'm going to kill that baby."

I’m not sure how I feel about tonight’s episode. On first watch, I hated it. Second time through, I actually quite liked it. Following last year's finale was always going to be a challenge. Season three was to Being Human what "Children of Earth" was to Torchwood. Mitchell's death was always going to leave a void, but to give Toby Whithouse his due, he threw virtually everything at this episode to fill it. He gave us a vampire apocalypse, supernaturals galore, glimpses of a dystopian future, and a mysterious war child prophecy written on nipply parchment. On the downside, he gave Arthur Weasley a job, killed off half the cast, and replaced them with suspiciously familiar surrogates.

Doctor Who: The End of Time (2)

Doctor: “I don't want to go.”

I'm not sure what I was expecting from this episode. A humongous battle between the Doctor and the Time Lords, perhaps? An alliance between the Doctor and The Master, eventually culminating in the defeat of Rassilon? What I wasn't expecting was the Doctor dying such an intimate, low-key death. In the end it wasn't the Master or Rassilon who destroyed the Doctor, it was Wilf. And of course, despite the absolute certainty of irreparable radiation damage, the Doctor went to his aid.

Doctor Who: The End of Time (1)

The Narrator: 'This was the day the Time Lords returned. For Gallifrey! For victory! For the end of time itself!'

With the exception of 2005's 'The Christmas Invasion', Yuletide episodes have never been the show's strong suit. After season three's 'The Last of the Time Lords', I had visions of this year's offering being another gag-laden, testosterone-fueled, face-off between the Doctor and the Master—high on festive cheer, but distinctly lacking in satisfying storytelling. How wrong I was. I was pleasantly surprised by this episode. It wasn't perfect, but the flaws were minor and the storytelling epic. I even enjoyed the Master's return! How's that for a Christmas miracle?

Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead

Carmen: "No, but you be careful, because your song is ending, Sir. It's returning. It's returning through the dark and then Doctor, oh, but then. He will knock four times."

According to Russell T. Davies, 'Planet of the Dead' was the Doctor's last chance to have some fun. It's common knowledge now that the Doctor's just four episodes away from his end, so this was Ten's last chance to embark on one last old-fashioned romp, before the serious business of his dying begins in earnest. Something is returning. Carmen doesn't specify what, but we can be almost certain that whatever it is, it'll mean the end of the road for David Tennant.

Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars

Doctor: 'Is this it? My death? Is it time?'

This was a real landmark episode. In terms of quality, it was head and shoulders above 'Planet of the Dead,' it was beautifully plotted, featured terrifying monsters, and was thick with complex adult themes. Tonight, the Doctor attempted to change the rules of the game. Instead of being hampered by the restrictions of being a Time Lord, he tried to change an event fixed in time, and it all went Pete Tong. People died, and despite his best intentions, the tenth Doctor moved one step closer to his own destruction.