“It’s there as an end-of-the-weekend wind-down, the only problem being that it’s never quite tongue-in-cheek or over-the-top enough to make you forgive its shortcomings.” Read on for the full verdict on last night’s TV.

Hope Springs

Hope Springs, BBC1
“It’s there as an end-of-the-weekend wind-down, the only problem being that it’s never quite tongue-in-cheek or over-the-top enough to make you forgive its shortcomings.”
Tom Sutcliffe, The Independent

Hope Springs, BBC1
“As a crime caper, Hope Springs started briskly but was soon bogged in the Highland mire. As a McPastoral, it lacks Local Hero’s charm. As a study of professional women, you’d have been better off with The Apprentice final.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

Arena: TS Eliot, BBC2
“Arena’s film about T S Eliot had some modest scoops to show off.”
Tom Sutcliffe, The Independent

Arena: TS Eliot, BBC2
“Saturday night’s exquisite, touching, nosy Arena.”
Andrew Billen, The Times

Storyville: Blind Sight – Everest the Hard Way, BBC4
“As we’ve come to expect from anything in the Storyville strand, it’s a lovely and moving documentary.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian

House, Sky 1
“Hugh Laurie’s accent still grates but he does play the curmudgeonly character well.”
Andrea Mullaney, The Scotsman

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