3 Body Problem; The Dropout; The Truth About Vaping

“Forget dragons, this is about something far scarier: maths. And strap in, because 3 Body Problem (Netflix) is ambitious. It is ambitious in the same way that Elon Musk is ambitious – ie, occasionally you marvel at the sheer scope, the chutzpah, the vision, the money; and occasionally you sigh at the vainglorious folly, the po-faced grandeur, the childish whims, the money. While it’s hard to see this having the same cultural impact of Game of Thrones, there is no doubt this will be an enormous global success in terms of viewing figures.”
Chris Bennion, Telegraph

“There are puzzles to solve, if you are capable, but nothing and no one to root for. Even its design as a metaphor for the climate crisis and human inertia in the face of potential doom doesn’t give it enough heft – in fact, such is the way of these things, it may even serve to alienate us further from emotional engagement. It won’t be Netflix’s answer to Game of Thrones. But [David] Benioff, [DB] Weiss, and their collaborator Alexander Woo have undoubtedly proved yet again that there is no such thing as an unfilmable novel.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“It’s fast-paced, zooming through storylines and ideas at breakneck speed. Thankfully, the whole season is available to binge – I don’t think I could’ve stood to wait a week for each chapter.”
Emily Baker, The i

“The best thing by far was Amanda Seyfried as [Elizabeth] Holmes. Though she doesn’t look much like her, Seyfried’s staring blue eyes and ability to contort her mouth into a strange underbite were hypnotising. Though when she practised her deep fake voice in the mirror, I was put slightly in mind of The Exorcist. “Do you have a cold?” her main investor asked when he heard her on the phone. I would have inquired why she’d apparently turned into a Doctor Who monster.
Carol Midgley, The Times

“At Manchester Metropolitan University, he participated in one of the first studies into vaping’s long-term impact on the cardiovascular system (equally concerning). Running on a treadmill while strapped up to beeping machines, he huffed “Stacey Dooley never had to do this” in reference to the youth channel’s queen of documentary-making. North has some way to go before he inherits Dooley’s crown but this was a promising start. Sure, it lacked a little depth but that’s to be expected in a 28-minute slot. And yes, he probably should stop vaping.”
Michael Hogan, Telegraph