TV Critics: Me and My New Brain; Child Genius; Not Safe for Work

“I approached the BBC3 documentary Me and My New Brain expecting to know it all. What a treat it was to be surprised. When BBC3 moves online, as it now inevitably will, I hope it continues to produce documentaries as informative and human as this.”
Rebecca Nicholson, The Guardian

“Me and My New Brain was a little breathless in its narration and its case histories skewed to a particular income bracket. Its message, however, was unflinchingly honest.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“It was the unexpected sidelights on life that made this documentary stand out.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“The trauma went well beyond the trauma room, clearly. As the title hinted, these people weren’t so much restored to life as handed new, more difficult ones.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express

“The problem with this third series is that although the children are still brilliant, the parents are not as ghastly as the format requires. Maybe a mum will bite a judge next week, but I have my doubts.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“The contestants are paraded like freak-show animals as they demonstrate their prodigious memories and lightning calculation skills. The show pretends we are being invited to admire prodigious intellects, but actually it’s the contestants’ freakish youth, not their brains, that stand out. The producers ought to get a horse to take part — then we’d really gawp.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“From the generally bleak mood of NSFW’s first few episodes, something more substantial has emerged: a portrait of a generation of youngish professionals who stay out too late on work nights, not because the party’s still fun, but because society offers them no real incentive to sober up.”
Ellen E Jones, The Independent