Poldark
Presumed to have been killed in the war, Ross Poldark wasn't greeted with the hero's welcome he'd expected when he returned to Cornwall. His father had died, leaving the family's copper mines in ruins and his beautiful fiance Elizabeth was now engaged to his cousin. Not one for sitting around brooding (though if the series had been entirely comprised of shots of Aidan Turner striding around and looking wistfully into the middle distance I don't think anyone would've minded) Ross set to work rebuilding the family business, finding himself on the wrong side of merciless bankers the Warleggans and turning himself into some sort of white knight for the poor mineworkers of Illogan. It wasn't all toil though, as Ross found himself falling for the charms of the strong willed but oh so loveable Demelza. Elinor Tomlinson and Aidan Turner played out one of the most compelling romances I've seen on screen for a while, she was his servant girl, he still pined for Elizabeth but when Demelza put on that forbidden dress and couldn't get it off again, sparks flew! Soon they were married, but their relationship wasn't always plain sailing. Ross was reckless, Demelza was secretive and their story took a horrifically sad turn in the final episode. Elinor Tomlinson deserves more attention for her performance in those last harrowing scenes. Though the cast was gorgeous, the rugged Cornish countryside was even better and I never tired of the copious shots of sunsets and horses tearing across the cliffs. Poldark was without doubt, the best costume drama of 2015.
Rob Smedley of CultBox did a fantastic set of episode reviews for series one that are well worth a read. Episode 2, in which Ross's cousin Verity meets the charming Captain Blamey is particularly funny.
Doctor Foster
2014 was a great year for female characters in Drama with Sarah Lancashire in Happy Valley, Gillian Anderson in The Fall and Olivia Colman in Broadchurch all giving hugely compelling performances. In 2015 it was the turn of Suranne Jones as Doctor Gemma Foster. Gemma was a successful practice manager with a beautiful home, a son and a seemingly happy marriage. In the opening minutes of the first episode, she found a single blonde hair on her husband's scarf and her perfect world unravelled from there. At first she just seemed paranoid, convincing herself of a full blown affair from such insignificant evidence. She followed him, she checked his phone, she questioned his secretary and was proved wrong every time, with us screaming at the screen not to jeopardise her marriage, until, in the last few seconds she made a startling discovery. It was such a brilliant twist that I think most of us decided then and there to block out our diaries for the next four Wednesdays. This was more than just an affair, it would affect every aspect of her life, her friends, her finances, her sanity. With her trust irrevocably destroyed and her husband still lying to her face about his indiscretion, Gemma instigated one of the greatest take downs I've ever seen. The explosive finale took place at a dinner party, with her husband, his mistress and her unknowing parents all sat round the table. A hush fell over the entire country as we waited for Gemma to drop her bombshell. She waited, determined to cause maximum impact, then boom, detonated her grenade. The scene erupted in slow motion as Gemma, smiled, picked up her coat and walked out. Spectacular. Suranne Jones exuded power and rage but always made sure we knew that her scheming was fuelled by heart break, hers is the standout performance of the year.
Unforgotten
Yet another show with a powerful female lead! This time, the brilliant-in-everything Nicola Walker, who seemed to be everywhere in 2015! There was nothing groundbreaking about Unforgotten, it was just a seriously well told story. DCI Cassie Stewart (Walker) and her team were tasked with finding a murderer who'd carried out his crime forty years earlier. A long buried skeleton was found in the ruins of what was once a youth hostel and its elderly ex-tenants were dragged into the investigation. After the slightly too convenient discovery of an old address book in episode one, Cassie had a list of suspects laid out for her, but catching the right one would prove to be difficult as they all had secrets to hide. It was fantastic to see some of Britain's best veteran actors back on screen. Top of the list was the sublime Tom Courtenay, backed up by Gemma Jones, fresh from her best supporting actress win at the BAFTAs, who played a married couple with imperfect memories. Gripping and emotional, I'm glad to see Unforgotten's been given a second run.
The Game
I'm not even going to attempt to sum up the plot of this show, I barely understood it at the time, much less now, but though it may have been confusing, this spy thriller was seriously watchable. The 70s art direction was classy as hell but it was the ensemble cast that were the real gems. Tom Hughes was magnetic as vengeful spy Joe Lambe, Victoria Hamilton was the ridiculously cool Sarah Montag, the only female spy in the Circus, who could run rings around her male colleagues. Then there was her husband, loveable bugger (I'm not being rude, he bugged stuff) Alan played by Sherlock's Jonathan Aris and Brian Cox (actor, not professor) as head of MI5 'Daddy', who looked sure to be usurped by one of his team. My favourites though were Chloe Pirrie as 'more than just a secretary' Wendy and Paul Ritter as slimy mummy's boy Bobby Waterhouse. Their odd little coupling was in equal parts frustrating and heart warming. Like I said before, the story was confusing at times, but all you really needed to know was that, reminiscent of Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy - one of the characters I've just mentioned was a Russian mole and no one was to be trusted. Everything geared up for the big reveal at the end, who was it to be? The answer was a two-pronged shocker.
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
I'm so sad that Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell didn't capture the public's attention like it was supposed to. It was a bold move for the BBC to commission something as original as this - a fantasy drama very much made for adults. Though it felt quite Dickensian with its huge cast of characters and its nebulous plot, the storyline was more J.K. Rowling, focusing on two magicians, a sinister faerie who held parties with the dead and a prophecy about a future king. But the thing that made JS&MN truly unique was its stunning visuals. The costumes and sets were as good as the best costume dramas but the special fx were in a different league to anything I've seen on British TV before. Strange and Norrell conjured stampeding horses from sand and made statues talk. They cast spells at the top of mountains and out on the Ocean - in one episode creating a fleet of ships out of sea water. Maybe the magic would have worn off if it had gone on for another series, but a show as spectacular as this deserves to be more celebrated than it was.
Doctor Who
Though I'm not convinced it was quite as strong as the previous series (the Viking/Highwayman episodes were fairly weak, even with the addition of the brilliant Maisie Williams) but when Doctor Who is good, it's the best thing on TV. For me, series 9 really kicked off with Under the Lake/Before the Flood an incredibly claustrophobic and genuinely creepy two parter with a damn right brilliant cliff hanger at the end of the first half. Then of course, there was Heaven Sent which surely has to be up there with the best episodes ever. For the first time, the Doctor was on his own and Peter Capaldi couldn't have been more captivating. Trapped in an inescapable prison, he went to extreme lengths to free himself in a closing sequence so powerful and mind-bendingly spectacular I almost cried. I'm honestly getting giddy just writing about it. The Zygon Invasion/Inversion was something else altogether. It's been a while since Doctor Who did anything this blatantly political - it centered on a race of Aliens who had struck a deal with the humans in which they were allowed to integrate themselves and share the planet. Except, the younger generation weren't content with that. A splinter group attacked the humans and by the time the Doctor had caught up, we were on the brink of war. Cue Peter Capaldi in the standout moment of the series and certainly of his time as the Doctor so far - his pitch perfect delivery of "The War speech" (as it shall henceforth be known) written by Peter Harness and Stephen Moffat. It was spine-tingling. I'm just going to quote from it because it's so much more eloquent than anything I could ever write; "I fought in a bigger war than you will ever know. I did worse things than you could ever imagine and when I close my eyes, I hear more screams than anyone could ever be able to count. And do you know what you do with all that pain? You hold it tight, until it burns your hand and you say this: No one else will ever have to live like this. No one else will ever have to feel this pain. Not on my watch."
Of course, this was also the series in which we said goodbye to Clara and what a beautifully judged farewell it was. Jenna Coleman's performance was believable and oh so moving - I'm sad to see her go.
Oh! And how unexpectedly gorgeous was that Christmas Special? Fun and fast, with a complete change of pace at the end. The Doctor and River's relationship has matured and how wonderful it was to see their final night together.
And Then There Were None
What an unexpected pleasure this was. Just managing to make it onto this list, And Then There Were None was spread across three nights and squeezed in between Christmas and New Year. The adaptation of Agatha Christie's biggest selling murder mystery was a thrilling affair if you didn't already know who the killer was, but there was plenty to enjoy even if you did. The story goes that ten strangers are summoned to a house on a windswept island, which swiftly becomes unreachable by boat due to the rough sea. After dinner, an ominous recording plays and the first guest is killed off when it soon becomes apparent that one of them is playing a deadly game. As the body count rises, the list of suspects shortens until you end up with the final two - one killer and one last victim. It's unbelievably tense, as you might imagine, and this version is particularly atmospheric, flashing backwards to the dark deeds that have landed the guests an invitation to their deaths. Other than Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, I think this might be the most beautifully directed drama I've seen this year. At one point an old soldier is remembering his time in the war, when he looks over the island and sees his fallen comrade walking towards him in the fog as if he's back on the battlefield. The rest of the series has the same eerily beautiful quality, and the sense of unease never dropped. Gorgeous stuff.
Honourable Mentions ...
Luther which returned for a two-part special at the end of the year. As depraved and graphically violent as we've come to expect, it was still two hours of arresting drama, with Idris Elba powerful as ever as the rogue cop.
Humans raised disturbing questions about technology as a band of synthetic humans fought against the system and were hunted down.
Last Tango in Halifax toyed with our emotions even more than usual as both Caroline and Gillian got married but not everything was happy ever after.
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