James R | On 13, Nov 2014

The Fall

Season 2 of The Fall starts tonight, with Gillian Anderson reprising her role as Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson, who’s continuing her increasingly desperate hunt for the serial murderer Paul Spector (Jamie Dornan). But if you missed BBC Two’s biggest drama series to launch in over 10 years, the good news is that all of Season 1 is on BBC iPlayer until Wednesday 26th November – just in time to start catching up with Season 2.

Available until: Wednesday 26th November (Season 1 – all episodes)

The Missing

Tony and Emily Hughes’ lives change forever when they five-year-old son, Oliver, goes missing on holiday. Eight years later, the divorced father continues the search. James Nesbitt stars, ensuring this potentially mawkish premise remains sincere, moving and gripping.

Available until: Thursday 27th November (Episode 1, 8 total)

Blackfish

Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s documentary about Tilikum, an orca captured and separated from his family, is a chilling, provocative film that will leave you angry at the human race – and determined never to go to a SeaWorld in your life.

Available until: Tuesday 18th November

Life Story

David Attenborough. Enough said.

Available until: Tuesday 25th November (Episode 1, 6 total)

Wallace and Gromit: A Close Shave

BBC iPlayer continues to justify its existence just with the addition of Wallace and Gromit’s films alone. A Close Shave combines Aardman’s usual slapstick and witty puns with conspiracies, wool shops and robot dogs. Worth it just for the best on-screen use of porridge since… well, maybe ever.

Available until: Sunday 30th November

Official Chart Bite

Radio 1’s new iPlayer channel is a big step on the BBC’s road to its digital future and an interesting complement to Radio 1’s YouTube presence, both of which are bringing in younger audiences to counter falling listener figures. If you’re going to check out the channel, we’d recommend Jack and Dean’s show, which unveils the UK’s top ten singles, with a bit of help from Jameela Jamil. Partly because we haven’t paid attention to what’s in the charts since Netflix launched in the UK.

Available until: Sunday 7th December (New episode every Monday)

Human Universe

Brian Cox – no, not that one – continues his signature blend of science and pretty hair with this look at the human race’s evolution from apes to astronauts. A physicist doing biology? His easygoing, well-rehearsed presenting style and a typical barrage of stunning visuals – monologues are usually delivered atop a volcano – make for consistently fascinating viewing.

Available until: Tuesday 25th November (Episode 1, 5 total)

Comedy Feeds: Flat TV

BBC Three’s Comedy Feeds are a great use of BBC iPlayer, giving emerging comedy voices a leg up. Flat TV is the best of the bunch. It sees Tom Rosenthal and Naz Osmanoglu play two flatmates failing to get through the everyday realities of life. While that might sound unoriginal, the concept is anything but: the sitcom presents its situations through spoof moments of TV, be it a news report or game show. The result is an enjoyable bout of surreal, self-aware silliness, which manages to make stock supporting characters – the hot neighbour, the annoying building manager – feel fresh and funny. A pilot based on an Internet series, this is the kind of thing that BBC Three should be commissioning, online of offline.

Available until: Tuesday 18th November

Dragons

Netflix and DreamWorks Animation are hard at work on their How to Train Your Dragon spin-off, launching next year, but CBBC have been taking to the skies above Hiccup’s Viking village for a while now in Dragons: Defenders of Berk. It’s worth a watch for both young and old viewers alike. After all, who doesn’t want a dragon?

Available until: Sunday 16th November

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