TV Critics: School Swap – The Class Divide; Terror on Everest: Surviving the Nepal Earthquake; New Tricks

“It was all very anecdotal, thoroughly unscientific and only told half the story. Yet this was still a touching, optimistic appraisal of state education as it faces unprecedented pressures. I await the return trip with interest.”
Gabriel Tate, The Times

“This is by no means groundbreaking TV and it does little to dispel the public versus private stereotypes. But it was heartening to see the teenagers take more away from the experiment than their teachers.”
Amy Burns, The Independent

“It’s a rare documentary that can leave viewers feeling better about the state of the country. If you skipped School Swap, your homework is to watch it on catch-up.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“Throughout the hour-long episode, inequality was never seriously acknowledged…This was documentary TV so lite as to be almost pointless.”
John Crase, The Guardian

“[It] was essentially a collection of images and selfies that people took on their phones during April’s earthquake. While films of avalanches and falling buildings have a certain voyeuristic fascination, they do no more than catch a moment in time. You’d expect a documentary-maker to supply some more context, but little came.”
John Crase, The Guardian

“Even with the raw material, they couldn’t resist slathering a hyperbolic voiceover and soundtrack on top. Does an earthquake that claimed more than 9,000 lives really need a “deadly secret”, let alone an orchestral cue? Nevertheless, this was utterly compelling and, for those directly affected, visceral language felt entirely appropriate.”
Gabriel Tate, The Times

“It’s harmless, predictable fun held together by a harmless, relatively predictable cast.”
Amy Burns, The Independent

“Midsomer Murders is faced with the constant challenge of devising more outlandish killings, and Silent Witness must always seek out darker crimes, but New Tricks is timeless. All the components — bodies, suspects, detectives — are endlessly recyclable. “
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail