TV

The Sandbaggers
1x03 Is Your Journey Really Necessary?
Sandbaggers' surprise character deaths may not have the visceral impact of Spooks' (but then, very little beats a deep fat fryer in that respect), but they carry more than enough bleak punchiness of their own. This programme is excellent, by-the-way.

The Sarah Jane Adventures
2x03 The Day of the Clown Part One
I find it very intriguing that both SJA, Doctor Who's kid-friendly spin-off, and Torchwood, Doctor Who's adult-oriented spin-off, have done circus-related episodes. That must say something about the fear of clowns... (Both did them in their second series too, though that's not nearly as intriguing a coincidence/pattern.)

Wired
Part 1 (of 3)
The third (and final, I believe) serial in ITV's 'Monday thrillers' strand, this has a lot to live up to after the slow-paced (in a good way), intelligently written drama of both The Children and Place of Execution. The modern high-tech setting pushes it more toward Spooks territory, though it's not as whooshy (for want of a better phrase, clearly) as BBC shows of this ilk -- who'd've thought ITV would ever be less 'edgy', 'modern' and 'we need to make it appeal to people with no attention span' than the BBC? Part 1 shows potential; I hope it can maintain it.