Stephen Merchant and Sheridan Smith star in the BBC’s mind-boggling story of the murders by serial killer and rapist Stephen Port … and the egregious police failures that followedWe’re getting to the point, surely, where television drama could be named…
A Ghost Story for Christmas: The Mezzotint review – a glittering half-hour nugget
You’ll be in thrall to Mark Gatiss’s smart, snappy and utterly hammy ghost story within seconds. What a creepy Christmas gift to us allOh, the warm, expansive joy to be had from a chilly, compact ghost story! And A Ghost Story for Christmas: The Mezzot…
Chucky review – the murderous doll is back (and may be behind you right now)
Is anyone safe from the knife-wielding puppet in this rebooted 80s horror classic? Certainly not people who shop at New Jersey yard salesMy editor was not born when Child’s Play came out in 1988 and so looked at me blankly when I begged and pleaded wit…
Death of England: Face to Face review – state of the nation drama is a fast, furious triumph
This amalgamation of two National Theatre monologues makes for an unflinching, highly impressive examination of race, identity and toxic masculinityDeath of England began life in 2014 as a short drama commissioned by London’s Royal Court theatre and th…
Angela Black review – domestic abuse drama teeters towards the exploitative
A tremendous performance from Joanne Froggatt saves ITV’s new six-part drama about a woman caught in a violent marriage from drifting into absurdityThe best drama about domestic violence against women I’ve ever seen was Lucy Gannon’s Trip Trap in 1996….
Hunting the Football Trolls: Jermaine Jenas review – just who are these faceless, venomous racists?
The former footballer explores the epidemic of football ‘fans’ posting hateful bile online, as he aims to confront the people hiding behind their smartphones and computer screensIt might be time to make an official collation for posterity of all docume…
The Love Triangle review – a pointless, painful hour of attempted threesomes
This agonising new dating show sees couples look for a third person to spice up their relationship, via dull quizzes and – worse still – English melancholyThe British should not be allowed anywhere near sex. We are too easily embarrassed and we’re unco…
Murder Island review – a contest to solve the killing of a young woman? Bad timing
Teams of amateur detectives compete to crack a grisly case and win £50,000. So far, this new hybrid reality show seems half-baked and unpropitiousIt’s possible that the timing is not propitious for the launch of a new entertainment series centred on th…
Ridley Road review – fascism thriller resonates in our current dark age
Based on Jo Bloom’s novel, Sarah Solemani’s drama tells the story of amateur spies infiltrating neo-Nazis in 60s London. Despite some cartoonish moments, it is highly disturbingA sunlit bedroom in a country house in Kent, 1962. An adorable moppet is he…
Foundation review – a galaxy of money can’t save Apple’s Star Dreck
With a huge budget, a starry cast including Jared Harris and explosive interplanetary plot, this new sci-fi epic wants to be taken seriously. What a shame it feels so earnest and ropeyTake one series of sci-fi books by the king of the genre Isaac Asimo…