“A pacy, assured take on a novel to which every modern mystery writer is indebted”
The Woman in White, BBC1
“This is a splendid adaptation – because it strikes its contemporary chord while hanging on to an atmosphere of gothic creepiness (sometimes proper scary). Classy BBC drama – period but fresh – for a Sunday night.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian
“Wilkie Collins’s novel isn’t the easiest to dramatise and at times this opening episode felt underpowered. It was galvanised, however, by strong performances. By the end, after a hesitant start, it was getting into its stride.”
Carol Midgley, The Times
“Like the multi-narrator novel, the adaptation sets up a beguiling sense of disorientation. It’s a pacy, assured take on a novel to which every modern mystery writer is indebted.”
Jeff Robson, The i
“It was gorgeously Gothic. It was also slightly stilted, trying too hard to stick to the structure of the book.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail
“Perhaps sensing that none of this mid-Victorian melodrama was likely to get 21st-century hearts racing, the adaptor sliced in lots of ‘after’ scenes. In terms of ramping up the tension, this device is on a par with the cop who does not want the case but does it anyway. Yawn.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express
The Durrells, ITV
“This episode was about human unhappiness, but as so often with The Durrells it still managed to be uplifting and comforting, like televisual mashed potato.”
Carol Midgley, The Times
“It was at times on the edge of fine drama. As ever, though, this Greek play does not seem to know whether it is tragedy or comedy. I sometimes wish writer Simon Nye would do two versions of each episode or half an hour of gags before the grown-up stuff.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express
Home from Home, BBC1
“Any mainstream sitcom dealing in class warfare and uneasy neighbours can hardly be immune to the odd genre trope, and Home from Home was no exception. But the cast gave it their considerable all, all against a gloriously picturesque backdrop. Ultimately, Home from Home resembled Neil Hackett in sitcom form: fundamentally good-natured, resolutely unambitious and a lively addition to a crowded field.”
Gabriel Tate, The Telegraph
No comments yet