A time and a place that historians never seem to tire of is the subject of a new three-part documentary series starting this week, Berlin 1933 (BBC4, Tuesday. 9.10pm). Given the wealth of coverage so far, both in fact and fiction, you may wonder what more there is to say.

That notion is soon dispelled by the series’ source material - the diaries, letters, and accounts of people who were in the city in that fateful year. Through these, and photographs and footage of the time, the viewer is given a front row seat to history being made.

It is not just professional observers we hear from (reporters, diplomats and the like), but a wide spread of individuals, from a housewife and mother chronicling a visit to the dentist, to a doctor juggling three girlfriends.

Berlin is presented as not one city but two, a place as divided as the rest of Germany. There is the Berlin of cafes and cabaret, and the Berlin of poverty, unemployment, and mayhem. The marches and counter-demonstrations by the fascists and communists are becoming more violent, and the number of political murders soars.

With each day that passes the city becomes more of a powder keg. Hitler and his henchman Goebbels are drawing mass audiences at rallies. Some of the more chilling reports come from these, with one observer noting how the audience was “electrified” when Hitler began to speak, and that the general atmosphere in the crowd was one of “malicious glee”.

READ MORE: Scotland's Home of the Year, the finale

The situation deteriorates after the Reichstag fire, with Goebbels blaming the communists and using the blaze as an excuse for mass arrests. As election day approaches there are fears of what is to come, fears that were to prove all too justified.

It’s always the way when you hear a favourite book is to be adapted for the big screen or the small: you can only hope the makers don’t stuff it up. And they do. I bow to few former film critics in my admiration for that tiny tornado of talent, Tom Cruise, but I haven’t been able to read a Jack Reacher since seeing TC in the role.

No sooner had I replaced Lee Child with Mick Herron than his Slow Horses novels were lined up for the TV treatment. I need not have worried. As will be confirmed when Slow Horses (Apple TV+, episodes one and two from Wednesday) returns this week, the Slough House crew are safe in Apple’s hands.

As in the case of TC/Reacher, it’s the casting that makes all the difference, but this time for the good. Gary Oldman goes above and beyond as Jackson Lamb, the spy cast out in the cold never to be allowed in again. That raincoat. Those stains. The man’s a walking health hazard and a tyrant, but when it comes to sticking up for his staff of misfits, no one is more lion-hearted.

Jack Lowden was another perfect pick for River Cartwright, the one-time boy wonder who shouldn’t be in Slough House, but coming back the hard way is proving the making of him. A mention in despatches, too, for Kristin Scott Thomas as Diana Taverner, the MI5 boss who would dearly love to put Lamb and his Slow Horses out to pasture.

READ MORE The Squid Game: are you up for the challenge?

The competition among channels to see who can be the first out of the blocks with a Christmas show is well underway. Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas (Apple TV+) is doing a roaring trade in ye olde fashioned Crimbo fun, even if it is not yet December. For a slightly more left-field take on festive viewing, there is Inside No 9: The Devil of Christmas (BBC2, Friday, 10pm).

In the best traditions of Christmas telly it is of course a repeat, all the way from series 3, first shown in 2016. All eight series of Inside No 9 are lurking on BBC iPlayer if you don’t want to wait, but this particular episode is best served old school style on a Friday night.

It is Christmas, 1977, and a family from England has rented a cabin in Austria for that authentic festive experience. One local legend they do not warm to is the “Krampus”, a demonic figure known to come for ill-mannered children in the nights before Christmas and cart them off to hell. But that’s just a silly story made up by the locals. Or is it?

For more TV picks please subscribe here

Rula Lenska and Jessica Raine have a ball bringing the twisted imaginings of Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith (who also star) to life. As is often the way with Inside No 9, the Devil of Christmas is a half-hour masterclass in how telly used to be, creaky thrillers, continuity errors, missed marks and all. This one carries shades of Rosemary’s Baby by way of Acorn Antiques. Do stay for the final-final sting in the tail, and don’t have nightmares. It’s only telly after all. Isn’t it?