TV Critics: Koko; Exposure; Rescue Dog To Superdog

“I found it all a bit uncomfortable: Koko having birthday parties, and cake, and wrapped presents, and living in a trailer that doesn’t look very big or like anything a gorilla should be living in. It made me wonder if it might have been better – for Koko and Penny – if Koko had gone back to live with her own at the zoo.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

“Much of the footage was persuasive of Patterson’s case that she had taught Koko to sign 1,000 words and that Koko expressed her feelings through them. Yet, while touching on her detractors’ arguments, the director Jonathan Taylor did not ask questions I would have. These would have included the degree to which Koko’s signing is readable to anyone but Patterson.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“In the end, what insights emerged were less about communication and more about obsession. A portrait of two highly intelligent beings – one human, one gorilla – caught forever between unbridgeable worlds. It was hard to know whom to feel most sorry for.”
Gerard O’Donovan, The Telegraph

“This moving documentary didn’t reveal enough about the logistics of looking after a pet ape. But it was a touching reminder of how like us animals really are and that, when they seem to understand every word we say, it’s probably because they do.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“In its attempts to draw general lessons about the life-long impact of paedophilia, the programme ran the risk of making the equally shocking but non-celebrity child abuse of Verity Elson, now 69, look as if it was there to fill the hour. Otherwise, this sad, angry-making but unsensationalist documentary was very well judged.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“This show charms every viewer to the tip of their whiskers.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express