TV Critics: Oscar Pistorius: The Interview; Messages Home: Lost Films of the British Army; Sacrifice

“Oscar Pistorius: The Interview is often uncomfortable viewing. Uncomfortable because it relives a horrible killing; because of the apparently broken man at its centre; because it puts you in the position of the judge (no juries in South Africa), makes you decide the extent of the man’s guilt and how genuine his whimpering remorse is; and because it makes you wonder why the hell he’s doing this interview with investigative reporter and former copper Mark Williams-Thomas.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

“Mark Williams-Thomas, the interviewer, wore an impassively stern expression throughout, but I expected more from the man who exposed Jimmy Savile. His technique here consisted of putting the prosecutions allegations against Pistorius for the umpteenth time and adding some others not used in court. Pistorius’s technique was to give well-rehearsed versions of his courtroom defence.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“The results 70 years on offered a touching window into a vanished black and white world when brave men were bashful… A valuable, moving memorial.”
Jasper Rees, The Telegraph

“It was hard not to feel sad now, seeing the forced jollity of these frightened young men, talking without saying anything to people they couldn’t see.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express

“Nearer Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace than The Wicker Man, this tale of ritual killing on the Shetlands was proof that there remains TV so bad that it is good.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“Sacrifice was full of shocks, mainly because so many good people had taken part in a tale of such unspeakable badness.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express