16 May '11

“The Spitfire secured Allied victory not by dropping bombs from thousands of feet, but by taking pictures from up there. This was the terrain of Operation Crossbow, and if there is no more British a symbol than the Spitfire, then there is no more British a story than the cerebral manner in which it defended civilisation against Teutonic barbarism.”
Amol Rajan, The Independent

“The people at RAF Medmenham ultimately saved lives and led to a swifter ending to the war and for that every nation should be thanking them.”
Matt Baylis, The Express

“The programme’s interpretations of the shots did Hick and her colleagues an injustice. To make sense of the blurry crosses that were the Nazis’ last chance to win the war, they had to use only their imaginations.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“This comedy aimed to capture the tedium of many modern working lives, and did so well.”
Amol Rajan, The Independent

“One of The Hotel’s many pleasures is deciding whether guests or staff are worse. One moment, you’re siding with the guests. For instance, a scared-looking woman came to the reception desk saying: “I can’t stay in that room.” Apparently it smelled. I don’t want to know what of. Enough to know they refunded her deposit. The next, you’re rooting for the (overwhelmingly eastern European and understandably grim-faced) staff.”
Stuart Jeffries, The Guardian

“I learned that gannets are in many ways our superiors: their eyes are set forward in their face giving them binocular vision, they have air sacs in their chests that cushion impact with water.”
Stuart Jeffries, The Guardian

“Great stories, breathtaking locations. It’s original, too, to come across police procedurals in which nature plays such a prominent role.”
Matt Baylis, The Express

“Taking my advice last week, Matt Smith produced a more nuanced performance as the Doctor and Karen Gillan, again, was superb as Amy, the companion least likely to buy into the myth of the Doctor as saviour, as propagated by Russell T. Davies.”
Andrew Billen, The Times