Obliterated; Being Kae Tempest; Shetland

“Call off the search: the worst show of 2023 is here. That is, unless you’re a 13-year-old boy, in which case Obliterated is your dream product. Guns! Naked breasts! A lead character who is a government operative but also looks smokin’ hot in a red bikini! And that’s before we get to the script, in which a foreign baddie plots to nuke Las Vegas. Remember how the boys in Weird Science came up with their ideal woman? Obliterated is what would happen if they were teenagers now and decided to invent an eight-part Netflix series.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“The comedy ranges from dick jokes to drug jokes all the way back to dick jokes again, but you can only distinguish them as gags based on context clues. The writers rely on the audience simply finding the existence of human genitals and drug consumption inherently hilarious. It’s a disquieting experience to endure, and feels like being stuck in a lift with Jay from The Inbetweeners desperately trying to convince you how sexy and tough he is.”
Leila Latif, The Guardian

“As a documentary, it felt like a journey from darkness to light, with poetry driving the vehicle. There were many clips of the performances, but it was the personal voyage that was the most compelling.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“We are treated to a pacy potted history of their early trajectory (so pacy, in fact, that it neglects to mention their stint at the prestigious Brit School for performing arts in London). It’s quite the story, but all this excitement is wrapped up within the first 15 minutes. The rest of the programme consists of snippets of Tempest’s live shows and music videos alongside a glacially paced and generally non-scintillating chronicle of the musician’s daily life.”
Rachel Aroesti, The Guardian

“Pre-existing fans of Tempest won’t have found any revelations in this film. No matter. Being Kae Tempest was a record of the first part of a truly exceptional career. Tempest may use a lot of therapy speak – they feel people’s ‘energy’, and through performing make contact with their ‘inner selves’ – but nonetheless always comes across grounded, and immensely loveable. I have suspected it for a while, but this programme makes me sure: Kae Tempest is a national hero.”
Ellen Peirson-Hagger, The i

“For what it’s worth, I think Ashley Jensen has been pretty solid as DI Ruth Calder, even though I called her DI Dour and wished she would occasionally lose the death stares. Her sullen swagger suits the role. What’s been weak about this series is the plot. Jeez, talk about dull and meandering.”
Carol Midgley, The Times