Death Valley; Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius; Walking with Dinosaurs

“The oddball crime-cracking duo is obviously a well-worn trope but it is clearly one that suits British tastes. This is jolly, gentle, pre-watershed nourishment offering, effectively, Timothy Spall as a comfort cardie.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“It’s Midsomer Murders –with jokes. It’s Rosemary and Thyme – but good. Or a pastoral Old Dogs New Tricks, if you prefer. Take your pick. It’s also witty and fun and bounces along with enough verve to get you past any footling objections you have to either form or content before they can make their way from brain to mouth.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“One of the golden rules of television is that small towns in far-flung places are hotbeds of quirkiness. That cliché is revived enthusiastically in Death Valley, a fun cosy crime series from comedy writer Paul Doolan, set in rural Wales and constantly in danger of being too zany for its own good”
Ed Power, The i

“Death Valley is undoubtedly another cosy sleuther, one cut from familiar cloth, but it is at least a very good one. Rather than pretend that any of this is new, Death Valley is sensible enough to acknowledge all of the clichés and work with them. Paul Doolan’s script is pin-sharp throughout.”
Benji Wilson, The Telegraph

“Timothy Spall is watchable in anything and Gwyneth Keyworth is effervescent and funny. The performers make the most of what they’ve got and, accordingly, it goes down easy. But in the context of the crime drama canon, Death Valley is the equivalent of one of those Downton Abbey-style costume dramas that have all the aesthetic trappings of a Jane Austen or a George Eliot creation but none of the subtlety or literary heft. You’ll have forgotten all about Death Valley within 20 minutes of the end credits.”
Phil Harrison, The Independent

“It’s a title that doesn’t mess around and neither does the programme, a prestigiously-bound triple-decker narrated by Juliet Stevenson that takes us through Austen’s birth, background, personal life, creative imagination, publishing history, private and professional setbacks and successes, with all the care and close attention a fan could wish for.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“This is a perky, informative three-parter, even if I’m not keen on those dramatised reconstructions in which the actors don’t speak. Given Austen’s mastery of words it feels ironic that she is muted, but then this is the style of the Rise of a Genius brand. They did the same with Shakespeare.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“Austen’s compact canon and wide fan base make her a neat fit for a three-part treatment. It’s fun and mainly illuminating to hear from writers, notably Helen Fielding, who still extract inspiration from Austen. Meanwhile, with furrowed brows, the scholars line up to explain how the life links to the work.”
Jasper Rees, The Telegraph

“The recreated scenes in this documentary, supplemented with excerpts from film adaptations of the books, give us plenty of soft-focus Georgian romance. Jane, portrayed by Hungarian actress Emoke Zsigmond, is forever musing at her desk or whispering sly asides to Cassandra. It’s just picturesque enough to make relaxing TV, and just informative enough to hold your attention.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“Even if it’s not wholly revelatory for die-hard fans, this history of the author herself is a necessary companion to this year’s many celebrations of her works. Not only will it have you itching to re-read them, but the context of Austen’s real life reinforces her genius all over again.”
Rachel Sigee, The i

“Reviving the Walking with Dinosaurs brand suggests that we are about to take another ground-shaking leap forward. But, it would be surprising if the increasingly extinct-smelling BBC of 2025 were able to perform the same feat it did in 1999 – and it hasn’t. The new Walking is a decent dino documentary and nothing more: it’s fine but compared with the competition, it feels cheap and tired.”
Jack Seale, The Guardian

“Special-effects wizardry has advanced enormously since the first series was shown in 1999 and, as you would expect, this sequel looks slicker and sharper than the original. Though it must be said there is still a simple, ‘retroish’ feel to it, by which I mean that the dinosaurs can still occasionally look a bit ‘Toys R Us’. This doesn’t mean it isn’t dreamily mesmerising. It just doesn’t quite have the wow factor of, say, Apple TV+’s Prehistoric Planet from 2022.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

”While the up-to-the minute visuals are hugely impressive, immersing you in a world it’s hard to imagine as extraordinary creatures wander vast landscapes, giving us visions of our unpolluted planet before humans were let loose on it, the stories woven around them, straight from the Disney playbook, feel suspiciously manipulative.”
Keith Watson, The Telegraph

“The real problem is one of empathy: the whole Clover scenario is fictional and therefore at one remove. While Attenborough’s documentaries may also often focus on, say, an orphaned lioness, their plights are real and therefore genuinely involving.”
Gerard Gilbert, The i