TV Critics: Bluestone 42; Storyville; The Storms That Stole Christmas

“It was coarse in parts, and showed no concession whatsoever to the sensitivities of ‘the enemy’, which gives the humour an authentic ring of military life. But it soared in places too with skilfully interwoven plotlines that embraced everything from pubic lice to Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.”
Gerard O’Donovan, The Telegraph

“Dad’s Army this isn’t but it is great to see real miltary humour on TV. The banter is caustic, the cameraderie is palpable and the slapstick is explosive.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“The start of season two looked more like an excuse for laddishness than an examination of youth in the shadow of the Valley of Death. The best stuff was the debunking of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. The worst? The genital crab race.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“It’s a brilliant documentary, as films in the Storyville strand so often are. Paced just right, not too fast, not too slow, it allows the story to tell itself, with no irritating narration, no interfering, no directing you how to think.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

“Sam Benstead’s transfixing Storyville dcoumentary was that rare example of a television fable recording defeat rather than victory against impossible odds. Coach Zoran’s squad practising headers with an imaginary ball must be one of the saddest sights in all sports documentaries.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“A melodramatic, panic-mongering documentary under an overhyped title. The immense destructive power of the storms that have deluged the country since November would have been more apparent if the pictures had been allowed to speak for themselves.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“At times it seemed to be more redolent of a disaster movie than a serious documentary about the British weather.”
Virginia Blackburn, Daily Express