TV critics' verdict on programmes - including the start of BBC2’s Earth: The Power of the Planet - broadcast on 20 November 2007.

Earth: The Power of the Planet, BBC2
“The first episode of Earth: The Power of the Planet couldn’t have done a better PR job for volcanoes if Max Clifford had been involved.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express

Earth: The Power of the Planet, BBC2
“Earth: The Power of the Planet isn’t so much a science documentary as an extended adventure holiday for its presenter Dr Iain Stewart.”
Thomas Sutcliffe, The Independent

Earth: The Power of the Planet, BBC2
“Dr Iain Stewart is seeking to sex up earth-science with impressive graphics, satellite pictures; tales of oceans, atmosphere, ice, volcanoes; and the kind of slightly ruffled hair that makes the heart flutter a little. And it works.”
Anna Pickard, The Guardian

Earth: The Power of the Planet, BBC2
“Amid all the bluster and butchness, he provided a solid - and therefore mind-blowing - guide to the role of volcanoes.”
James Walton, The Daily Telegraph

Earth: The Power of the Planet, BBC2
“Earth: The Power of the Planet aims to do for geology what David Attenborough has done for biology. Dr Iain Stewart OTT is as hyper as Jamie Oliver, as macho as Richard Hammond and looks like a property show presenter.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, C4
“it's another of these new breed of "not repeated, it's revisited!" swizzumentaries, where you get to see what the future held for the sorry participants you wondered about the first time around ... but not before watching at least 45 minutes you've already seen first.”
Anna Pickard, The Guardian

Heston Blumenthal: In Search of Perfection, BBC2
“Pretending that the show is also instructional is just maddening. "Go to the webpage for the recipe!" Heston smiles. Thank you, but no. I don't need to read the recipe to know that I will never, ever, cut these items to a geometrically uniform size, boil them at exact temperatures for exact minutes, and use the five pans, 12 ingredients, food mill, fine sieve, three spatulas, piping bag and approximately three hours' preparation, cooking and cleaning-up time.
Anna Pickard, The Guardian

Imagine: How to Get On in the Art World, BBC1
“He [Alan Yentob] gave anything resembling personal scepticism his customary wide berth - and visibly enjoyed hanging out with his artist mates.”
James Walton, The Daily Telegraph

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