“If Silk’s finale was better than its mid-run outings that was much to do with an injection of senior acting talent.” Read on for the verdict on last night’s TV.

Silk

Silk, BBC1

“After a bad start with a grieving widow (“You’re not helping your client by sniping at a dead man’s wife,” hisses Clive), Martha is able to turn the tables with the fact that the fingertips on the golf club were on top of the dead man’s blood.”
Tom Sutcliffe, The Independent

“Martha Costello wins the biggest case of her career, but loses her baby. In court: justice. Outside: unjust miscarriage. For which, more apologies.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

“This six-part drama series really had only one story to it and that is which of two promising barristers would earn their lucrative QC stripes, the ‘silk’ of the title, and thereby bring enough prestige to their chambers to save it from financial ruin.”
Matt Baylis, The Express

“If Silk’s finale was better than its mid-run outings that was much to do with an injection of senior acting talent.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

See You In Court, BBC1

“It looks as if future episodes will demonstrate the unfitness of our libel laws with cases in which the positions of complainant and defendant are reversed, and journalists and commentators find themselves bullied into silence by the same threat of ruination.”
Tom Sutcliffe, The Independent

“The lawyers are the real winners here, on permanent champagne honeymoon in the libel capital of the world, but in the film there’s only one villain: the press. Oh, and they should have asked Opik if he got paid, and how much, for the Hello! interview. Otherwise it’s great, an accessible way into a murky and fascinating world.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

“Overweight Louise notionally went for 36 hours without eating anything except a bag of sweets, which doesn’t really sound like the first step towards a healthy relationship with food. And when they feel the need for a really spectacular display of flab they go off to America for a freak-show insert. I ate the whole thing, but I felt like putting my finger down my throat afterwards.”
Tom Sutcliffe, The Independent

“According to recent research, dogs can feel empathy with humans. If a well-known human shows distress, the dog shows it too. It’s an ability fine-tuned, scientists think, over thousands of years of co-operation between man and canine. It showed us some of the remarkable modern uses to which this ancient relationship is being put.”
Matt Baylis, The Express

“This series achieved big ratings for BBC Three. No wonder. It left one optimistic not only about the NHS but also the next generation.”
Andrew Billen, The Times 

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