BOX SETS AND ON DEMAND

Poptimists had also been charged, in his case by an elephant. Does an elephant trump a rhino? Alas, that was not one of the questions asking contestants to connect the seemingly unconnected.

Coren was awfully kind to everyone, especially when they were wrong. “That’s very nicely constructed,” said the Mary Poppins of quiz shows, “but I can’t give you a point.” Watch and learn, Jeremy “Crotchety” Paxman, watch and learn.

100 Days to Victory (BBC2 Scotland, Tuesday, 9pm) had the difficult task of taking a well-covered subject, the First World War, and finding a new angle. A co-production between BBC Scotland, Foxtel Australia and the History Channel in Canada, 100 Days concentrated on the final offensive, when fresh thinking from “the Empire”, allied with new technology such as the tank, combined to invent modern warfare. Blending dramatised scenes with excerpts from soldiers’ diaries and contributions from historians, it rattled along in fine style. As the first part ended, the Hindenberg Line stood between the allies and victory. The toughest test was yet to come.

100 Days was a superb example of an international co-production. I would have liked to have heard some German voices in the mix, but perhaps that was a diplomatic stretch too far.

You’ve had your Bodyguard, and now you’ve had The Cry (BBC1, Sunday, 9pm). Based on the novel by Scots writer Helen Fitzgerald, this tale of a missing baby grew stronger as it went on. The final instalment took a big risk in being so slow, but all the storytelling effort paid off in a piece that called to mind one of those Hollywood melodramas where the dames had the last word. Let there be no tears spilled over this smart calling card for Scottish-made drama.