TV Critics: Teenage Tommies; The Missing; Hotel in The Clouds

“You couldn’t look at the photographs or hear the letters of the five painfully young First World War soldiers in Teenage Tommies without feeling some personal connection or share in the loss felt, not just by their families, but by the nation as a whole.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express

“If there’s a more concise and astute summary of what the nation stopped to consider at 11 o’clock yesterday morning, I’ve yet to hear it.”
Gabriel Tate, The Times

“Did Teenage Tommies give us sufficient pause to think about the events of a 100 years ago? My partner wept from minute one to minute 60. Mission accomplished.”
Joseph Charlton, The Independent

“Dropping just enough clues to hold the interest and with a cast able to manage the viewer’s incredulity at the wilder narrative turns, the biggest mystery is why The Missing hasn’t captured the public imagination in the manner of Broadchurch. It can’t just be Olivia Colman. Perhaps the commercial break is an underestimated narrative device: sometimes we could all do with the opportunity to pause for thought.”
Gabriel Tate, The Times

“The hope, of course, is that people don’t notice the odd hole in the road if the journey is fast and full of excitement. The risk, when we’re already bewildered by being shuttled back and forth over an eight-year time frame, is that we do. That’s a shame because three episodes in, this is still a pacey, gripping and mystifying thriller. I hope nothing else stops me from believing in it.”
Matt Baylis, Daily Express

“Compared to something like Broadchurch, which became more of a whodunit with a roster of suspects, The Missing is much more multi-layered and puzzling. The writing is a lot stronger than the ITV drama, it delves deeper into the effects of bereavement over a period of time. We are witnessing two timelines playing out simultaneously. At times it is difficult to follow but that does not make it any less compelling.”
Neela Debnath, The Independent

“These sort of documentaries only really work if either the characters are brilliant, or you’re taken into an extraordinary place that you wouldn’t otherwise get to see. Ideally both. This one delivers more on B than A.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian