TV Critics: The Voice; War and Peace; Jericho

“Boy George was a brilliant addition, his camp quips and lightning quick put-downs were exactly what this tired format needs. Unfortunately for George, the average age of the contestants was about 18, which did not go in his favour. No one chose him as a mentor – because no one knew who he was.”
Amy Burns, The Independent

“The former Culture Club singer stole the show with his waspishly witty one-liners. The Voice has a tendency towards worthy Beeb-esque earnestness, so Boy George added much-needed irreverence and could be just the boot up the backside the show needs.”
Michael Hogan, The Telegraph

“Paloma Faith is promising, for her Kalashnikov cackle. And for her healthy and correct views on the musical theatre genre. Boy George from the 1980s takes a while to warm up. But George is funny at least. What about the contestants? Frankly, there is no one who is screaming out to be the next Leanne Mitchell … Who? Exactly.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

“The additions of Boy George and Paloma Faith were the only glimmers of excitement in a tired old format.”
Claudia Connell, Daily Mail

“Series five’s debut on Saturday, although not exactly unentertaining, cheated on its promise that, by finding and nurturing new voices, this one talent show caressed the hem of public service. It was instead a highly restricted version of Celebrity Big Brother starring four pre-existing stars, confined, not to a house, but to four revolving seats from where they vied for camera time as much as vocal talent.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“The series has confirmed that if you want 1,000 pages of dense Russian prose condensed into six hours of television, then Andrew Davies is your man. While some of the novel’s sweep is inevitably lost, his ability to pick out and drive the central story through with winning clarity means that he’s triumphantly fulfilling what was presumably his main brief: to provide a gripping piece of TV drama.”
James Walton, The Telegraph

“There’s no way anyone can be anything other than gripped and enthralled by the BBC’s lavish production of War And Peace. It is turning out to be glorious mix of Pride And Prejudice meets Fifty Shades Of Grey.”
Claudia Connell, Daily Mail

“Almost every performance is outstanding here, but I doubt if I have seen Jim Broadbent better than as Marya and Andrei’s father. Broadbent wears Bolkonsky’s golden dressing gown like a theatre’s safety curtain, protecting all from combustion by emotion.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

“As with all good cliffhangers, you were left wanting more. Fortunately, in the case of War and Peace, there’s more. A lot more.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express

“The opening scene promised artiness. There were sweeping shots of tiny human dots in a barren landscape. But the busy script by Sherlock writer Steve Thompson had too much to get through to allow for many such flourishes. The plotlines had the faint air of steam trains you could hear chuffing round the mountain.”
Jasper Rees, The Telegraph

“The truth is there was nothing really wrong with the characters or the acting. What ruined Jericho was the jerry-built plot.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail