Endeavour

Series one, episode four
The ‘gown v town’ tension that underpinned Endeavour Morse’s working life rears its head in the closing episode of this series. An eminent Oxford professor is dead – but is it simply coincidence that he was involved in a deal involving the sale of some college-owned land? Well, duh. What this scenario does, however, is reintroduce DI Thursday to some old gangland enemies – the kind of people he’s been very keen to keep his young protege away from. But can he do the job on his own?

‘Endeavour’ remains watchable without feeling particularly essential. Shaun Evans may be slightly too handsome and not sufficiently haunted to be a perfect fit as the titular cop. But if there’s a safer pair of hands in British TV than Roger Allam, we haven’t noticed; almost absent-mindedly, he carries the show.