“It’s at least four times better than anything else I’ve seen in ages.”
Motherland, BBC2
“Motherland was a surprise minor-key treat – unflinching in its depiction of the tedious aspects of parenthood and with a lunchbox full of acerbic gags. It’s straight to the naughty step if the BBC declines to commission a full series.”
Ed Power, The Telegraph
“It’s at least four times better than anything else I’ve seen in ages. The difference between people like myself and good scriptwriters is they see it all and then do something brilliant with it. The result is Motherhood, show as strong on outright laughs as it is on observations.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express
“The jokes – punchlines, slapstick, blink-and-you-miss-them visual gags – whizz past from all angles. It works largely because the writers constantly resist the urge to throw in the odd ‘Oh, but we only do it for these lovable tykes’ scene to sweeten the pill.”
“The script feels as though it has been written out of frustration and some self-knowledge by Graham and Helen Linehan, the blessed Sharon Horgan, and Holly Walsh. With this, People Just Do Nothing and Fleabag, BBC situation comedy is looking quite strong to stand up to the current barrage of celebration of legendary sitcomery.”
“Writers Graham Linehan and Sharon Horgan must have suffered real maulings from the parents of their children’s schoolfriends, because Motherland includes some pin-sharp depictions of tiger mums, red in tooth and claw. It was all too episodic, almost a series of sketches, but Motherland skewered its targets. I’d love to see more.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail
Hairy Bikers: Chicken & Egg, BBC2
“The first of Chicken and Egg was a thin stew of egg puns, comedy set-ups fit for CBBC, and not particularly golden nuggets of social history. How are they hoping to get six parts out of this when part one felt so under-stuffed?”
“We get roast chicken tips, increasingly rotten egg puns, and the eggscruciating (sorry) habit for cookery shows to feature some kind of keep-calm-and-carry-on monarchist street party. Blame Bake Off for that.”
One Of Us, BBC1
“This drama deserves to be reworked as a stage play, because it’s got the atmosphere and the dialogue worthy of a West End smash. But it loses much of its power every time it leaves the glen. It’s as though the story slips out of gear: the wheels keep spinning, but the driving force has gone.”
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