Colosseum; The 1970s Supermarket

“A rollicking journey through 300 years of Roman history, via the construction of the enormous monument and the bloody games within, it could not be a more appealing introduction to the subject. By the time you reach the end of it, you will have learned a lot (if young) or remembered a surprising amount of what you had forgotten (if not) about the politics and sociology of the time, the advent of Christianity, the state of ancient medicine and the tentacular reach of Rome, plus its brutalities, its civilities and its influence over just about every field of human endeavour.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“The tale of Verus and Priscus’s fight, which went on for hours and had a surprising ending, was well told and the series uses the Colosseum in a lively if sometimes queasy way to explore society and the politics of the time.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“The show was an easy exercise in nostalgia, complete with archive footage and old TV ads. Rustie Lee fried up some Spam before making her own version of Crispy Pancakes. I’m not quite sure what this Caribbean cooking queen was doing here, because she found fame in the 1980s rather than the 1970s, but nice to see her anyway – that laugh is still intact, and she barely seems to have aged.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“Narrated by actress Debbie Chazen, this jaunty three-part documentary lured us in by pretending to snigger at the food of 50 years ago, and then revealed how clever it all was — the marketing, the flavours and the production lines. Chef Rustie Lee had a go at recreating crispy pancakes in the kitchen, with a modicum of success, but her version of Spam fritters was a failure. Once a speciality of school dinner ladies everywhere, it appears the recipe has been lost in time.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail