It's Criminal

  Spoiler warning – there will be some spoilers here, so read on with caution if you have not seen all the episodes. Destroying Angel is my choice from this series. The plot is standard in this one, but what makes this one a favourite is the strength of the characters and the talent of the actors who bring them to life.  We have the excellent Samantha Bond playing Suzanna Chambers, who doesn't even bother to hide how insignificant she'd considered her husband. Samantha excels in playing morally bankrupt and emotionally cold characters, but I have seen her handle warmer and more sensitive characters just as well.  Samantha is one of several recurring actors and, to date, has appeared in three Midsomer Murders episodes. Jonathan Coy (Kenneth Gooders) and Abigail McKern (Julia Gooders) are a rather macabre comedy duo who should not be married. Justice is dealt to all three of them, along with Tristan (played by Tom Ward), by a killer hell-bent on avenging the death of two pe...

  When I started compiling the list for this, I could not stop at 10.  This is an entry that will probably have a few episodes of its own.  Here's the first 10 performers who should have played Columbo villains. 1. Jeremy Irons. He's the right mix of charming and chilling. He can play hard without being nasty. He'd turn on the charm with Columbo (as Louis Jordan did in Murder Under Glass).   2. Billie Whitelaw. Her steely gaze would have turned Medusa into stone. However, she could also play more vulnerable characters. She would have had Columbo second guessing himself.  3. Alexander Siddig. An actor capable of presenting a benign exterior with a very sinister edge. He would have brought a calmer, colder villain.  4. Anton Diffring. When I watch the episodes with Jack Cassidy in them, Anton is the actor that he reminds me of. They both have an icy charm that hides the fire of evil that's brewing beneath it.  5. Angela Pleasence. She's every bit as...

S poiler warning -  there will be some spoilers here, so read on with caution if you have not seen all the episodes. There are also two contenders: Judgement Day and Beyond the Grave. I like Beyond the Grave a lot as it has a slightly different quirky feel, and Troy gets a sidekick (albeit temporarily in the form of Nico, Cully's boyfriend). However, when it comes to an episode I return to repeatedly, it must be Judgement Day.  For those of you who are also Agatha Christie fans, there is a slight nod to one of her most famous stories in this episode.  The underbelly of this perfect village is a little more on show thanks to womaniser and total bad 'un Peter Drinkwater. This was an early role for Orlando Bloom but one he fulfilled very well for the short time he was on the screen.  John Nettles also steals a scene with one of the episode's best lines upon discovering Peter's body. He is not happy that his chance to nick the little scrote for a series of burglaries bec...