TV Critics: Ireland’s Wild River; Married at First Sight; The Holiday Airport

“Colin Stafford-Johnson’s background as a cameraman really shone through, with some gorgeous footage of creatures in their habitat. His local knowledge, coupled with his soft, lilting narration, made the whole thing feel as warm and satisfying as a giant bowl of mashed potato.”
Claudia Connell, Daily Mail

“It was a wonderful meditation on the pace of life, superbly filmed with the same cutting-edge camera technology used in the Hollywood blockbuster Inception. Ireland’s Wild River was a mesmeric hour of television; the mystery and wonder of its subject lingering long after the credits rolled.”
Rachel Ward, The Telegraph

“Stafford-Johnson is possessed of a contemplative nature and some really good lenses. The footage was stunning, especially the slowed-down bits of a kingfisher feeding. I was reminded of that Slow TV programme that consisted of a real-time canal journey but I loved that, and I loved this.”
Tim Dowling, The Guardian

“This wasn’t so much a documentary as a personal, filmic poem by the naturalist and cameraman Colin Stafford-Johnson. He revealed a world as thrumming with calls and colour as any jungle.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express

“This would have made for dull television – like watching two wedding videos back to back – were it not for the supremely odd fact that the brides and grooms were meeting for the first time at the altar. It was about as awkward as one could imagine, but also surprisingly sweet.”
Tim Dowling, The Guardian

“Emma married James and Kate married Jason in scenes of excruciating embarrassment — even by the standards of weddings. Now, you might, just, fall in love at first sight at the ‘altar’. You might do so over five week’s proximity. What you cannot do is be made to fall in love. Channel 4 should have stayed away.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“As high-stakes reality TV, the show is compelling, but as ‘social experiment’ it fails to delve into the science that it spins.”
Rachel Ward, The Telegraph

“Whatever charm remains in The Holiday Airport resides in the last word of its subtitle: Sun, Sea and Scousers. Everyone is a wit. That said, can we really get interested in Ron and Elaine’s car not starting or someone nearly missing their flight because they visit the loo after too much frothy coffee?”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“Listening to people telling you about their holiday when they return can be tedious enough, so why on earth would anyone think that watching strangers fly off to their destinations would be interesting? But worst of all was the voiceover from Keith Chegwin, who dumbed down every piece of information.”
Claudia Connell, Daily Mail