TV & Radio Crime Log: Banshee, Blood, Farran

Come with me into the lower depths of your EPG. Follow me. We’re looking for crimey morsels. Keep pressing that down button and you’ll find…

Banshee starts its second season tonight on Sky Atlantic.

Banshee, you say, never heard of it!

Well, that’s what we’re here for, you see. It’s a quirky little small town noir in which a thief takes on the identity of a Pennsylvanian town’s Sheriff. Lucas Hood is on the run from the ruthless Ukrainian gangster he stole from many years back. There he bumps into an old flame and makes lots of new enemies. Cue lots of gleeful fisticuffs and bone-crunching violence.

It’s a bugnuts show which is - yes - in its second series. It has some expertly choreographed fight scenes – which can apparently take a whole day to film – and, as long as you let your braincells glow at a lower wattage than the little red light on your remote, it’s a lot of fun.

The first episode of the new season begins at the pointedly awkward time of 10.10pm tonight.

Banshee – it’s the name of the town if you’re scratching your head – is executive produced by Alan Ball, who was the showrunner of the early seasons of True Blood.

A few years ago True Blood’s steamy combination of nudge nudge horror and ladies in Daisy Dukes - and little else - was quite the thing, but I think it’s safe to say that the show’s best days are long behind it. The completists among you may decide that there’s little point in bailing after all these years. I understand that the first episode features the apparent death of a major character, for those of you who are tempted.

True Blood is on tonight on Fox at 9pm.

If you find the thought of all that nudity and violence inappropriate, and television somewhat beneath you, you may prefer perhaps to listen to the radio. I’m guessing BBC Radio 4 is your thing, madam, rather than Talksport. Let’s see what we can find for you there.

Ah, yes. Thursday’s Afternoon Drama is Farran At Bay - written by Hugh Costello - which is a thriller based upon a scandal that blighted the final days of Britain’s 30-year control of the Holy Land.

Here’s the blurb:

Jerusalem 1947. A Jewish teenager is spotted handing out anti-British propaganda. Witnesses report him being bundled into a car by armed men speaking English. He is never seen again.

Within hours, a senior British police officer, a decorated war hero and SAS pioneer have stolen a car and driven across the Syrian frontier. The disappearance of Alexander Rubowitz and the flight of Major Roy Farran is soon being reported in the Jewish and American press. Britain’s precarious post-war control of Palestine depends upon Inspector Bellamy’s investigation into the case. But how can he achieve justice for young Alexander without threatening the Empire?

That’s on Thursday at 2.15pm. I return you to your life, with my very best wishes.