Lady Christina: Series 2

Unlike the first, this second season consists of three stories, rather than four, two of which are closely linked. Otherwise, it's similar, with the eponymous character encountering alien goings-on in exotic locations and dealing with her disreputable - if very rich - family. Although it has matured from the first season, with greater depth to some of the characters, this is still a set of stories about a glamorous aristocratic cat burglar with a flying bus, so you know you're not getting The Godfather.

The Wreck - We start in the coral reefs off Zanzibar, where Lady Christina drops in on her father and his latest, much younger, girlfriend. A hunt for buried treasure from a pirate shipwreck soon brings in the science-fiction elements although the aliens responsible remain a distant, mysterious force throughout. Instead, the story is about the effect that the encounter has on the characters and on the relationship between Christina and her father. The sunny setting and PG rating keep this from being as creepy as it would be were it being written for Torchwood but otherwise it would fit right in. There's some good characterisation not only for Lord Alfred but also for the ‘gold-digger' he is partnered with (played by Camile Coduri's daughter, Rosa), who becomes more sympathetic as the story unfolds. And the detailed nature of the threat also seems very appropriate for this particular series.

Outback - The second story is not directly connected to the other two, although it clearly takes place between them and makes reference to the first. Thematically, however, there is a strong resemblance, with Lady Christina dropping in another larcenous relative who has supposedly retired to the Outback of Western Australia. There's a mystery about possible alien abductions and something strange going on in an old meteor crater and it's not really as serious as the previous story, with one character coming across as a “comedy Australian” (the actor is of that nationality, although I suspect he's putting on a stronger accent than usual). UNIT get involved and it's all quite daft, but it fits in with the fun mood of the series.

Long Shot - It's arguably the final story that leans most into the wider premise of the series, since it's structured, and feels, a lot like a heist movie. True, the incident at the heart of it isn't a robbery but there are a lot of parallels to crime caper stories more generally. That central incident is set at Royal Ascot (albeit under another name) but most of the story consists of a series of interwoven flashback sequences explaining how we got there from the perspective of the different characters involved - Christina herself, Sam Bishop and Jacqui from UNIT, and the gormless Interpol agent from the first season. It's cleverly done and helped by the fact that it's quite a while before it's clear what Christina is even trying to do beyond the most general terms. Once again, themes of family rear their head as she struggles with the fallout from the previous two stories and tries to balance the fact that Lord Alfred has behaved quite appallingly with the fact that, at the end of the day, he is still her father.