8 Aug '11

“Corbett didn’t address the decline of the sitcom and the relative rise of sketch shows, nor did he ask why so many comedies these days centre on flocks of people, rather than families, and what that says about our society. But he did remind us that contemporary British comedy is full of great talent, a useful corrective to the nostalgic defeatism of most televisual trips down memory lane.”
Amol Rajan, The Independent

“The show could easily have degenerated into a bunch of comedians telling another comedian how much they admired him –showbiz types do have a certain reputation for that sort of thing after all – but Corbett refused to let that happen.”
Matt Baylis, The Express

“It was not a bad programme, partly because these comedians, out of affection for Corbett, properly delivered, partly because he gained an audience with his old mate John Cleese, and partly because the producers took a bit of trouble with the whole thing.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“There was a dual narrative between Evans and a chap called Simon Watt, who was off speaking to experts about all things whale. Richard Dawkins had a walk-on part too, narrating a few diagrammatic asides. At times, it felt like two shows were being forced into one, but that could be forgiven because of how beautifully directed the beach scenes were.”
Amol Rajan, The Independent

“A big whale is washed up dead on a Kent beach. That’s pretty much the best thing that could possibly happen for TV leviathan dissectors Mark Evans and Joy Reidenberg and their team. There’s a lot of stuff inside a dead whale, so a special edition of the series, got an extra half an hour. And it was worth it.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

“This programme taught me rather more about British holidaymakers than hard-up Mexicans.”
Matt Baylis, The Express

“Fergal Keane’s timely This World on the killing of civilians by the Thai Army last year was all the more powerful for being through.”
Andrew Billen, The Times