Hidden TV gems, No. 1: THE DAY BRITAIN STOPPED. More powerful than most movies, this pseudo-documentary dramatises a meltdown of the UK's transport network over one day. If director @gabriel_films tackled Covid or Brexit, the results would be terrifying.

Hidden TV gems, No. 2: THE FRAGILE HEART. Nigel Hawthorne won a BAFTA for his role as a cardiac surgeon in crisis in this magnificent 3-parter, which took 22 years to reach DVD. Paula Milne's script, Patrick Lau's direction and @greenawaymusic's score are all absolutely flawless.

Hidden TV gems, No. 3: FOR THE GREATER GOOD. Directed by Danny Boyle, scored by @OfficialOMD and starring Martin Shaw, Fiona Shaw & Roy Dotrice, GF Newman's hard-hitting political 3-parter was one of the best dramas of the 90s - yet I've never met anyone who's heard of it. (1/2)

(2/2)

Episodes 1 & 2 - 'Member' & 'Mandarin' - are here:



Episode 3 - 'Minister' - is nowhere (that I can find).

But here's OMD's short but great main title theme, which has stayed in my head for 29 years:

Hidden TV gems, No. 4: THE WOMAN IN BLACK. Susan Hill reportedly disliked Nigel Kneale's 1989 adaptation of her novel - though his changes were minor compared to the wrecking ball of the 2012 movie. This is tighter, subtler and far scarier - no doubt why the new Blu-ray sold out.

Hidden TV gems, No. 5: BLIND JUSTICE. Peter Flannery & Helena Kennedy's 5-parter was originally titled 'Radical Chambers' - so radical that the BBC never repeated or released it in any form. Only 1 episode seems to be viewable, the toughest one of the lot:

Hidden TV gems, No. 6: THE DEAL. Lower-profile than The Queen or The Crown, but among writer Peter Morgan's finest hours-and-a-quarter. @davemorrissey64 and @michaelsheen compel and convince as Brown and Blair, whose pact became a time-bomb for them, their party and the country.

Hidden TV gems, No. 7: THE CROW ROAD. Great cast, deft script, subtle direction, memorable score, yet this darkly funny drama of sex, death and secrets isn't as culty as the novel. Iain Banks' own verdict on the adaptation: "Annoyingly better than the book in far too many places"

Hidden TV gems, No. 8: CITIZEN X. This true Soviet serial killer story, directing debut of Mississippi Burning writer Chris Gerolmo, echoes @clmazin's #Chernobyl in its anger, compassion and realism, Stephen Rea & Donald Sutherland delivering performances of huge depth and power.