Prehistoric Planet; Stranger Things; Britain’s Strictest Headmistress; Hunted

“Watching Prehistoric Planet has induced in me an existential – joy/delight? – that I don’t quite know what to do with. The beasts – large or small, parents or juveniles, flightless or soaring – created by Moving Picture Company, the special-effects experts behind the likes of The Lion King, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Blade Runner 2049, have made them look … real. I can say no more than that. You look at the screen and you see dinosaurs. It is a heady, if slightly disorientating, experience.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“Prehistoric Planet is a stunning feat of CGI. The dinosaurs look as real as any animal you see in a wildlife documentary. At times it was unclear if some of what we were seeing was conjecture – the exact way in which pterosaurs dived seawards to escape predators, for example. But never mind that. Channel your inner six-year-old and enjoy.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“It is, simply, wonderful to be back in Hawkins, Indiana, the Eighties-movie everytown where all your beloved high-school films were set, where the soundtrack is wall-to-wall synth classics and the very fabric of the place seems to be made of hotdogs and cheerleaders and Coca-Cola. Naturally, Hawkins is put in mortal danger once again but, really, the pleasure is just in being there, as the plucky young kids go over the heads of disapproving teachers and square parents and incredulous cops to save the day.”
Chris Bennion, The Telegraph

“The list of spoilers Netflix doesn’t want journalists to share with viewers before the premiere of Stranger Things 4 this Friday is… extensive. But here’s what I can tell you: it’s fantastic. After three series of fighting the same fight, Stranger Things was in danger of not only becoming stale, but also overly complicated. This refresher revitalises the entire premise, while still managing to tie into – and build upon – the enveloping world creators the Duffer brothers have made. Series four is certainly a change in tone and even genre, but it’s all the better for it.”
Emily Baker, The i

“Some shows evolve over their long runs; others clutch to what made them hits in the first place. Stranger Things’ flashy fourth season mostly does the latter, churning through Eighties pop-cultural references at a pace that makes me worry there’ll be nothing in the tank for its final, fifth chapter. If you liked Stranger Things before, you’ll like it again this time around. Formulaic TV works when the formula is this good.”
Amanda Whiting, The Independent

“Fans of the early series have nothing to worry about: Stranger Things still balances sweetness, laughs and horror like no other show — even if the scares have got jumpier.”
Alex O’Connell, The Times

“Although the pupil interviews did sometimes have the air of hostage videos, as the children said how marvellous the discipline was and how grateful they were to get detention because it made them better people, the results speak for themselves. What this film lacked was any interviews with pupils who have left and are older and might have a different view of it now.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“It looked and felt like a glossy promotional film rather than an even-handed documentary. A line in the credits noted that it was made ‘in association with Sharon Brittan’ – bankrolled, in other words. No further information was supplied, but the programme would have seemed a good deal more honest if it had declared an interest: Ms Brittan is one of the school’s governors.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“I’ve warmed to Amarinder, a dentist who has brought his mum Shoba along to help him evade capture. Amarinder is so vain, he dyes his stubbly beard with a mascara brush. He hopes his A-level in geography will prove invaluable but, when he and his fellow escapees were set loose on the Isle of Wight, he thought Cowes was the cattle market. If the others match that level of incompetence, this series promises to be great fun.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“Tonight’s episode didn’t mess about: within the first 10 minutes, all the fugitives had Hunters on their backs as they tried to find ways off the Isle of Wight and back to the mainland. It was tense stuff, and from the off, Shoba and Amarinder struggled to get going. I found myself shouting at the television when Meurig and Elinor realised they’d run out of supplies and resorted to withdrawing money from an ATM, immediately giving away their location.”
Alim Kheraj, The i