“Over-formatted tosh.” Read on for the verdict on the weekend’s TV.
The Marriage Ref, ITV1
“It’s gentler than Jerry Springer – a lot gentler. So we’re not talking things such as: it turns out my wife isn’t just a man but my father. This is more like: my husband’s pickles take up too much space in the cupboards, but actually I don’t really mind.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian
“The idea is that bickering couples bring their disputes for resolution to a panel of celebrities, though since there’s absolutely nothing at stake for anyone involved and the disputes are cutely trivial anyway (a husband’s obsession with pickles, a wife’s addiction to to-do lists), it’s really just an excuse for yet another comedy panel show.”
Tom Sutcliffe, The Independent
“Dermot O’Leary, repeatedly thumps his left palm or his right fist, perhaps to distract him from the pain of presiding over this over-formatted tosh.”
Andrew Billen, The Times
Fake or Fortune, BBC1
“It’s not just a scandal, but also incredibly interesting, with enough of the CSI to keep even a philistine engaged. So much better, too, for being about just one case in which you can become totally involved, instead of flitting between three, which is what so many documentaries seem to do.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian
“It was full of cliffhanger tension and thrilling moments of discovery. But I couldn’t entirely shift the suspicion that some of it was just a little too good to be true.”
Tom Sutcliffe, The Independent
“Bruce’s new show could put “fake” in its title with confidence, however, for it was clearly the real thing.”
Andrew Billen, The Times
Growing Up As A Kennedy – The Home Movies, BBC2
“The footage, which captured bare-chested politicians cavorting in the waves or dandling future drug addicts on their knees, had an eerie quality. It’s always eerie to think of people being happy and enjoying themselves before some tragedy hits them but the voiceover made it especially hard to watch.”
Matt Baylis, The Express
Case Histories, BBC1
“It always begins with Jackson Brodie (Jason Isaacs) investigating some dull as ditchwater case involving a cheating wife or missing pooch before stumbling on something far more exciting.”
Matt Baylis, The Express
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