Gangs of London; The Peripheral; Aldi’s Next Big Thing

“Gangs Of London is the bloodiest drama ever screened. Some images of evisceration would turn the stomach of Vlad the Impaler. Notable moments included a man getting impromptu brain surgery with a carving fork, a ghost dripping with gore and a central character plunging from a high balcony to explode on the pavement below. If that appeals to you, Gangs Of London is unbeatable.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“The body count of psychopathic gangsters rises faster than your energy bills. There are passages of inaction while, you’d think, minions hose down the scenery. But they all involve shifty blokes trading gangland bants so improbable that even Guy Ritchie would doubt them.”
Stuart Jeffries, The Guardian

“Honestly, couldn’t Gangs of London have squeezed in a bit more violence? I’m sure there was a three-minute stretch when someone wasn’t being skewered on a pole or being forced to swallow bullets or being strangled until their eyeball literally popped out so that we could see it bulging like a red jelly marble. It’s all personal taste, of course, but this level of gratuitous sadism and horror isn’t really my bag.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“The series’ pleasures are unchanged by the years: impeccably choreographed fight scenes, quick-twitch pacing, and clever, immersive direction that takes suspense as its watchword. But camera angles designed to ratchet up suspense can be disorienting. The show is also unflinchingly gruesome. The murderous use to which characters put everyday objects, such as a meat fork, will make you uneasy walking the rooms of your own home.”
Amanda Whiting, The Independent

“Suffice to say that it is a bravura rendition of William Gibson’s tale, told with confidence by people I suspect will keep the plotting tight and the internal logic – whatever that may be – consistent. Those who can follow it at the deeper levels will no doubt find it immensely satisfying. The rest of us can enjoy the ride, and the distraction from the decidedly untightly plotted present.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“In order for any SF to work the characters, the world and even the shady corporation who are inevitably up to no good all have to convince. Otherwise, the whole thing can become, to hijack the parlance, a bit whack. Regrettably, given its hallowed provenance, The Peripheral is indeed a bit whack. In fact it’s chock full of premium-grade whackness, from a script that clunks its way through the manual of robo-cliches to a story that just doesn’t add up.”
Benji Wilson, The Telegraph

“Although the visuals are impressive, they are also cold and clinical – preoccupied with gadgets and gizmos at the expense of a gripping story. It is ironic that a show wanting us to question reality is populated entirely by characters who feel flimsy and bloodless. Intermittently, The Peripheral might look quite cool but it’s both hard to follow and hard to care about. A bit like watching someone else play a video game.”
Rachel Sigee, The i

“This peek behind the supermarket scenes was of passing interest but little more. The production had the whiff of daytime programming, not a plum 8pm slot, while the format was wearyingly familiar. Viewers were bombarded by a barrage of statistics, often the sign of a script that’s trying too hard. It was also hard to buy into the human interest element because, with a different theme each week, we’ll never see these hopefuls again.”
Michael Hogan, The Telegraph