Henry V: With Henry V now firmly on the throne, this drama moves on to challenge not only the robustness of his character but also Tom Hiddleston's characterisation - and I didn't really love the latter. His success in the Henry IV stories was as much to do with his evolving personable playboy persona accompanied by some solidly entertaining efforts from the likes of Simon Russell Beale and Julie Walters. Now he has the top job, the political intrigues at home and abroad take over the story, the humour deserts it and we find ourself in territory that has been frequently covered before. The gist of the plot sees the king rather manoeuvred into a battle with Charles VI (Lambert Wilson) over some claims to the French throne that derived from Edward III of England. It turns out to be the Dauphin (Edward Akrout) who is the main antagonist, but his is just one of the difficulties the new king must face asserting his authority and learning that difficult art of knowing whom to trust. What do stand out here are the battle scenes. The stunt arranging, execution and production design deliver impressively with what must have been a modest television budget and limited numbers - director Thea Sharrock does not resort to endless CGI to pad things out visually. The script adaptation is succinct and effective but somehow this is just isn't so hard hitting. Perhaps that's because the story and characters are so much better known, or perhaps just because the star here hasn't the gravitas to deliver the part compellingly? It's still a very watchable history but perhaps more of a shallow crown than an hollow one.