TV Critics: The Gun Shop; Conspiracy Files; Bublé at the BBC; Peter York’s Hipster Handbook

“The Gun Shop was terrific, a portrait in miniature of a society in which the freedom to bear arms was a given, a society which had been made utterly paranoid by that right. It made me very, very relieved to be living in a country that has strict gun control.”
Gerard O’Donovan, The Telegraph

“If you fancy a documentary about the triumph of paranoia and fear, The Gun Shop fits the bill. Focusing on the staff and customers of a single premises in Battle Creek, Michigan, The Gun Shop was almost entirely populated by people who believe the solution to America’s gun epidemic is way more guns.”
Tim Dowling, The Guardian

“This documentary needed no voiceover. It let the people involved speak honestly, with no traps or tricks, and left the viewers to make up their own minds.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“The documentary was strong in its early, detailed debunking of the Obama ‘birther’ movement. Thereafter the balance between bunk and debunk went a bit awry. After all, as Watergate, not to mention Julius Caesargate, proved, denying all conspiracy theories is as naive as assuming Trump believes every one of his.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“Despite its detailed voiceover, this documentary lacked the insight of The Gun Shop. It made the basic error that so many commentators have made from the start: an inability to take Trump seriously.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“One could argue that in these dark times we have great need for programming dedicated to debunking conspiracy theories, but nobody who believes the moon landings were faked is going to be swayed by anything as straightforward as evidence. We’ll have to wait until Tuesday to see if it has taken charge.”
Tim Dowling, The Guardian

“I am in two minds about this show. One tells me that the BBC should not be in the business of staging elaborate, incurious plugs for an artiste with an album. The other argues that no one could possibly have done it better.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“You couldn’t say we lived in certain times now. But did we ever? Entertaining, funny and insightful as York was, that seemed to be the main hole in his argument.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express