The X-Files; The Bulger Killers; Hull’s Headscarf Heroes

“This was truly out-there television, redeemed only by how seriously Anderson and Duchovny were determined to take it. I’m not sure I want to believe.”
Chris Harvey, The Telegraph

“There’s a reveal at the very end that, if you squint hard and look with all the goodness that is in your heart, might qualify as a twist rather than just Another Goddamn Rug-Pulling, but other than that there is an overwhelming sense that the creator and his writers are just howling into the void of their own making.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“A hilarious, and very clever, sequence of doctored footage at the start of the hour revealed Mr Smoking-Man is responsible for everything from dissecting extra-terrestrials at Roswell to shooting JFK in Dallas. It’s all deliriously silly and done with panache.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“Matt Smith’s thoughtful documentary examined the arguments surrounding this case. I don’t think, by the end, the film categorically answered its own question. But, given the polarised views in this terrible case, that may be because the question is unanswerable.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“Hearing the tapes again, reliving the sense of horror, the press frenzy and public outrage, was disturbing all over again. It was a stark reminder of the case, and the huge emotions and issues at its heart… But, to my mind, this film did little to answer the question posed in its title.”
Gerard O’Donovan, The Telegraph

“It seemed too simple, patronising even, for the programme-makers to suggest that those would-be lynch mobs were just whipped into a frenzy by the media coverage. Their anger actually seemed like a natural response, measure for measure as ugly as the crime. We should be very grateful that they didn’t get their hands on the boys but we should also ask why our lumbering legal system put them in the dock instead.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express

“In Hull’s Headscarf Heroes, we got a perfect snapshot of the sneering sexism heaped on working-class women by fishing bosses. I’d like to have seen more of Michael Burton, the chairman of the Hull Vessel Owners’ Association, but this excellent documentary had much to get through.”
Carol Midgley, The Times