Gloomy French genius Victor Hugo’s grand masterpiece isn’t called Les Happychaps for a good reason.Les Miserables (BBC1) opened with an aerial shot of the carnage after the Battle of Waterloo, as ravens pecked the flesh of corpses and the thief Thenardier (Adeel Akhtar) dodged about stealing purses and gold teeth.Akhtar played it for laughs – and for the next hour, that blood-soaked battlefield was about as light-hearted as things got. Continue reading →