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The idea is great - this test to find your perfect partner, but the plot gets lost in side-stories and back-flashes, all served up with some wooden acting that would make soap opera fans cringe.

If you excited by the first season of Bank Heist - Casa da papel - but disappointed by the strung-out second series and the way the makers milked the whole story, then you'll not be surprised that the same film makers do the same with The Pier. It has some excellent acting - not least by the ubiquitous Alvaro Morte (Professor in Bank Heist) - and the filming is superb - both the cinematography and the editing. The setting in Albufera gives the series an additional cast member, as it were. It is beautiful, wild and natural - a skillful contrast to the created world of the city of Valencia. The concept of natural vs urban is well set out in the first series. But then it gets dragged out, we are treated to 1001 variations of sex with the participants - all gorgeously filmed - and the ostensible story line gets lost. And... So does Sol! She just disappears for no apparent reason.

Not your traditional Nordic Noir, this is a dark and sometimes gruesome journey into Swedish crime. There are moments of real tenderness, such as the affection in which the learning-disabled boy is held, and there are very challenging moments, which test the edges of acceptability for a TV audience. The acting is superb, notably Jonas Karlsson as Alex Recht. The storylines are gripping and vivid, the dialogue fast - sometimes I found myself pausing the film to catch up with the translation. Photography is excellent, and I loved the technique of using the in-car camera for the dialogues between Alex and Frederika.

The effects, most of the acting, sound and sight recording are excellent. The production values are high. It looks and sounds fabulous. But the story is nonsense and some of the details very poor: numerous characters just don't look remotely 18th century: faces and hair are firmly in the 21st. The gore and violence are also excessive - from the outset. And the cliches come thick and fast: visual ones like the girl submerging in the water; character ones like the wicked uncle and the hackneyed portrayal of the African. As Ian Dury once sang : what a waste!

German series don't usually grab many headlines, with stodgy plots and dead-serious characters, but this is somewhat better: decent plot, well-acted and, once you get past the sci-fi hokum, pretty engaging. Film editing is sharp and glossy, with high production values and some good use of flash- backs. It touches on some vitally-important issues in bio-ethics, but it's not going to win prizes for insight and originality. Worth a watch.

Beautifully written, snappily edited and with razor-sharp dialogue, this is a cracking addition to the Netflix catalogue.

This is one of those series that lacks a great publicity machine and hype, but which nonetheless delivers. The acting is mostly excellent: Kristofer Hivju is brilliant as Adam and Eric; I thought that Rebekka Nystabakk had aan uncertain start, but grew into the role. The plot is somewhat unlikely, but once you buy into it, you realise that they did what seemed to be the best way out and the story shows us - rather compellingly - what that does to the characters and to the children. The scenery is spectacular and adds a real power to the story: I wonder how much the local Tourist Board subsidised the production... Anyway, well worth a watch.