4 April '11

“Hang on, this is not just a bit like The Killing, it’s almost exactly the same, isn’t it, only in French. Le Killing. The important thing is that we have another intriguing crime thriller to get swallowed up in, with blind alleys to turn down and fascinating characters to become involved with, something to lie awake worrying about at night.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

“Spiral has spun away from reality and is all about hooking viewers’ attention in the cheapest fashion.”
Matt Baylis, The Express

“It’s got subtitles. It’s on Saturday nights. It has a female detective, comes in double episodes and mixes murder with civic politics. But that’s where the similarities between Spiral and The Killing end in my view. If you happen to be a connoisseur of the art of dummy corpses this included a nasty masterpiece, but there’s no substitute for Lund.”
Tom Sutcliffe, The Independent

“The Most Hated Family in America in 2007 was one of Theroux’s best recent documentaries, but this follow up, America’s Most Hated Family in Crisis, was better. The reason may well have been that the Phelps family, whose sincerity, at least, is not in doubt, had called him on his own.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“The ‘in Crisis’ bit of the title turned out to be a bit wishful. Yes, a couple of members had managed to escape the lunacy and appear to have survived intact. But their departure had only stiffened the resolve of the faithful.”
Tom Sutcliffe, The Independent

“Apart from a few significant departures, the members of the Westboro Baptist Church were as obstinately offensive as they were when Theroux first interviewed them in 2006. This update, however, felt even older than that.”
Matt Baylis, The Express

“The Tudors had a vulgar swagger to it, but, let’s face it, it was no Blackadder.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“There certainly isn’t anything stylish or sexy about this one. It’s impossible to become involved, or to care about anyone, because it’s all so ridiculous and unreal. It’s not thrilling, or frightening. And instead of bleak, it’s just grey and a bit damp.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian