The Rapture; Boris Johnson: Into Ukraine’s Kill Zone

“In Greek mythology Cassandra was a Trojan priestess who could accurately predict the future but was cursed that nobody believed her. In The Rapture (BBC1) Bethany the teenager seems to be in a similar bind, but with the added bummer that she is in a secure psychiatric unit in south Wales for killing her mother by stabbing a screwdriver through her eye, so is not best placed to be taken seriously. India Amarteifio is impressive as Bethany, managing to combine the sneering superciliousness of an apparent matricidal psychopath with the haunted vulnerability of a possessed 17-year-old who appears to be receiving messages from the earth and knows things will happen before they do. She is able to draw these events on a sheet of A4, foreseeing terrible things coming (ie “the Rapture”). How is the drama going to explain all that? It’ll be worth watching just for this denouement.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“The Rapture has smaller-scale scenes and moments that work incredibly well. One is the first crack in Bethany’s wall of denial regarding her part in Carys’s death. Another is Gabs negotiating the new mental and physical territory that comes with her first potential relationship – with Frasier (Jack Farthing) – since she became a widow and a wheelchair (and catheter, it is unobtrusively noted) user. Yet another is journalist Dick (Iwan Rheon) drinking but trying to keep bitterness and collapse at bay. A little less all round could have made The Rapture into a lot more than it – so far – is.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“A show that brings together the climate crisis, the evil machinations of the oil industry, modern faith organisations, corrupt politicians, and the subliminal control mechanisms of Big Tech sounds more ambitious than The Rapture actually is. Its dominant ambition is to be an enjoyable, propulsive watch. Some might find its conclusions hectoring, but the journey is fun and frivolous. The show ends up feeling pleasantly disposable, the single-use plastic of the TV world.”
Nick Hilton, The Independent

“At the last census, almost half the adults in England and Wales said they regarded themselves as Christian. How damning it is, then, that the BBC — our state broadcaster, supposedly reflecting and representing our nation — seems to view Christianity as a bastion of anti-science nutjobs and fundamentalists.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“The heart sinks less than five minutes into The Rapture (BBC One). On the surface, it’s an intriguing conspiracy thriller about a clinical psychologist who believes that her patient – a teenager found guilty of murdering her mum with a screwdriver – could be innocent. But I’m afraid it’s really hammering home a message about climate change. Oh, BBC. Nobody wants a Sunday night lecture. It’s set in a Britain which looks just like the one we’re in today, but where heat is creeping up to dangerous levels. After the summer we’re having, this isn’t difficult to imagine. The daily temperature is stamped on the screen; it’s normal for Wales to be 42C. Billboards in the street warn that extreme temperatures kill. Strangely, no one has a Declan Rice case of sunburn.”
Anita Singh, Telegraph

“What Johnson seems to bring to the subject is his emphatic support of the Ukrainian cause and deep personal admiration for the Ukrainian people. As the years have crept on, he says, blame for this war is being equally shared “and it drives me mad”. The narrative that the need for “Ukrainians and Russians” to end it, as propagated by Trump, is preposterous. The Ukrainians have no choice. They “could lay down their weapons, but then their country would be engulfed and destroyed, their culture would be wiped out and Ukraine would be absorbed back into the Russian Empire.” It is a persuasive argument to those who wonder why the Ukrainians do not just surrender occupied areas in the name of peace. But how many of them are watching this documentary? And really, how much influence does Johnson really retain on the international stage?”
Sarah Carson, The Independent

“there is no clowning around or spouting Latin here. Johnson is in proper journalist mode, jotting down notes as he conducts interviews with soldiers, clergymen and charity workers. Of course, we are used to news reports about the war and the resilience of the Ukrainian people, but Johnson’s name piques interest and will bring in viewers who might otherwise have passed on a documentary about the conflict. He is good at this. He has an easy way with people, whether praising a soldier for shooting down a Russian drone (“You shot the a— off that one”) or finding common ground over parenthood.”
Anita Singh, Telegraph

“It is clear what has happened. If you’re Channel 5, and you have — no doubt — forked out a packet for a former prime minister, you obviously want to get a bit of razzle dazzle on screen, a bit of insight that maybe only ten or so people alive could offer. The problem is that somehow, remarkably, despite the access he has had to this story, both as player and as observer, Johnson doesn’t seem to have gained any. Or, if he has, he doesn’t seem to deem us worthy to hear it.”
Charlotte Ivers, Sunday Times