TV Critics: Las Vegas with Trevor McDonald; London Spy; Hunting the Paedophiles

“The veteran broadcaster was, true-to-form, unfailingly polite and impassive to the point that it sometimes felt like he was narrating a nature documentary rather than getting under the skin of subjects.”
Sally Newall, The Independent

“As Sir Trev took us to America’s den of iniquity, we also heard from a former prostitute, chased a culprit who had skipped bail, threw some dice with a gambling man… but it was all done so meekly that it felt rather inconsequential.”
Alex Hardy, The Times

“Vegas, indulgent and vulgar, seems like an incongruous setting for McDonald, classy and cultured with a nice turn of phrase. He’s not here for an extravagant stag do, though, nor is Las Vegas with Trevor McDonald just another one of those annoying self-indulgent celebrity travelogues. He may be 76, but Sir T is still a journalist, and that means searching for stories. Stories in Sin City are always going to involve at least one of the seven deadly ones.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

“London Spy’s potentially great script was in desperate need of some doughty editing. Its central love story was brilliantly imagined, some of the camerawork was revelatory and [Ben] Whishaw, once again, staked a claim to be recognised as the best actor of his generation. Yet too often it was loosely plotted, and tonally haphazard too. One minute it was Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, the next it was The Bourne Identity. Either would be fine, just not both at the same time please.”
Benji Wilson, The Telegraph

“Lacking, in the end, was credibility. What started as an ambitious combination of love story and thriller, by last night’s finale, had also become a comedy as the style-to-substance ratio became truly laughable. Such were the tricks of the series that it even managed to make Rampling look like a bad actor, delivering a final line so corny that it could have been the start of a rom-com road trip. Perhaps the biggest lie told in London Spy was at the start, when it pretended to be good.”
Alex Hardy, The Times

“This worked because it showed how human agency, not just technical wizardry, was vital in solving the case. Perhaps the NCA’s greatest achievement was gaining the trust and cooperation of the Bahraini police, given that the Bahraini legal system has no legislation to cover online crime at all. The programme was deftly edited, and built to a tense denouement as the net tightened.”
Benji Wilson, The Telegraph

“The exchanges between the offenders and British school children were shocking in their simple awfulness, conveyed via on-screen messages. And the officers we heard from weren’t TV personalities, or trying to be, but their dedication and compassion was impressive. One day I hope editors will realise that some subject matters don’t need distracting, dramatic score, though.”
Sally Newall, The Independent