TV review: fully-formed female characters, domestic stories and a British angle in Das Boot

Nazi Germany is being slowly bombed to bits. News from Russia is so bad that teenagers are happy to go to a losing war in a U-boat. And everyone, on both sides, is half-numbed by grief

Das Boot: Produced by Sky Studios & Bavaria Fiction, this 10-episode sequel follows the fortunes of a young U-boat crew as they engage in the Battle of the Atlantic, are hunted down by an obsessed Royal Navy Commander (Ray Stevenson) and are sent on a dangerous mission to the Southern Hemisphere. Together they form strong personal alliances under the command of Robert Ehrenberg (Franz Dinda).

Das Boot (Sky Atlantic and NOW TV app) is a book, a movie and a TV series for anyone who likes Second World War dramas where the German characters get to do more than shout 'Achtung Tommy' three seconds before they’re shot (by Tommy).

Now into season three, Das Boot has decided to surface, get out of the water have a bit more humanity. So there are fully-formed female characters and domestic stories and a British angle, featuring a ruthless navy commander called Jack who has dedicated his life to chasing submarines after the death of his son in a U-boat attack. He doesn’t come across as very vengeful though, because he reminds me of Captain Birdseye.