The Savoy; God’s Favorite Idiot; Between the Covers

“If you like thinly disguised adverts for something you probably can’t afford stretched out to nearly an hour, then I suppose The Savoy was entertaining enough. There wasn’t even a half-hearted effort to conceal that this was a prolonged gushing plug for the ‘grande dame of the Strand’, with all the usual lame bingo phrases — ‘unprecedented access’, ‘very special guests’, ‘well and truly on the map’ — set to jaunty trumpet music.”
Carol Midgley, The Times

“This episode illustrated the limits of applying a fly-on-the-wall format to a hotel such as this. These super-wealthy guests clearly didn’t wish to be involved in the TV show, so we never saw a glimpse of them. Instead, we had to make do with scenes of guest experience manager Sean and his underling Michael tiptoeing around outside. And the guests who were willing to be filmed were either ordinary folk celebrating anniversaries, in whom the producers had no interest, or a pair of OTT fashionistas who were clearly delighted to be on TV with their clothes-wearing chihuahua.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“Unlike the Beeb’s hotel documentaries, this doesn’t pretend to make serious observations. We’re here for the camp excesses.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“Look, it’s not going to trouble any awards panels. It’s broad-brush stuff for the most part – especially when it comes to Gene and the co-workers, who are allocated about one and a half characteristics each and not given much to do with them. But Ben Falcone and Melissa McCarthy are great to watch, and the central relationship between their alter egos gives the whole thing enough charm, warmth and heart to get by.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“McCarthy doesn’t star in the series so much as crush it. Occasionally, writers and directors have been able to tease some subtlety out of McCarthy’s performances but the creator of God’s Favorite Idiot is Ben Falcone. And Ben Falcone is married to Melissa McCarthy. So he has given her carte blanche to do her schtick of being loud, boorish and generally unbearable, in the mistaken belief that everything she says or does is hilarious. If only McCarthy dialled it down and we could concentrate on Clark, this would be a fun, lighthearted watch.”
Anita Singh, The Telegraph

“I like the unflashy simplicity of Between the Covers, a 1970s format with people just talking about books, not about their depression, nor their issues, nor what they like cooking at home.”
Carol Midgley, The Times