thu 15/05/2025

tv

MH370: The Plane That Disappeared, Netflix review - a field day for conspiracy theorists

Adam Sweeting

For fans of conspiracy theories, this three-part examination of the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 is irresistible, though the continuing anguish of friends and relatives of the 239 people aboard the flight makes for some painful viewing. 

Read more...

The Great British Bake Off Musical, Noel Coward Theatre review - blue-chip cast lift daft confection

Helen Hawkins

If you are hoping for some harmless fun at The Great British Bake Off Musical, probably with a few dodgy jokes about soggy bottoms mixed in, you won’t be disappointed. But what you might not expect is that the show will liberally ladle on the innuendo and is so filthy at times that it’s like being at an adult panto. The audience on opening night certainly seemed a primed one, aahing when a contestant was sent home, booing when one resorted to sabotage. 

Read more...

Daisy Jones & The 6, Amazon Prime review - hit rock'n'roll novel doesn't make great TV

Adam Sweeting

Based on the bestselling novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Daisy Jones & The Six is the rags-to-riches-to-wreckage story of the titular Seventies rock band, supposedly somewhat based on Fleetwood Mac.

Read more...

Liaison, Apple TV+ review - tangly Franglais thriller presses some hot buttons

Adam Sweeting

Vive l’entente cordiale! “Despite Brexit” (as the BBC likes to say), Apple TV+ has successfully bridged the Channel to create this lurid Anglo-French thriller, in which Euro-skulduggery rubs shoulders with bribery, corruption and high treason.

Read more...

Fleishman Is in Trouble, Disney+ review - mid-life crises in Manhattan

Helen Hawkins

As films and television series based in New York City tend to do, Fleishman Is in Trouble opens with an aerial shot of Manhattan – except, significantly, this sequence is presented upside down.

Read more...

Drive to Survive, Season 5, Netflix review - fly-on-the wall F1 show may need a reboot

Adam Sweeting

The backstage revelations about the politics and personalities that fuel Formula One have made Drive to Survive one of Netflix’s most reliable bestsellers, but on this fifth outing there’s a lurking sense that the novelty is wearing off.

Read more...

The Gold, BBC One review - gripping dramatisation of the 1983 Brink's-Mat bullion robbery

Adam Sweeting

The raid on the Brink’s-Mat warehouse at Heathrow in November 1983 has entered the folklore of British crime and criminology. The gang of six armed robbers had expected to find £3m in cash, but instead got away with £26m worth of gold bullion. The story of what happened to the loot, the thieves and their associates remains at least partially swathed in mystery to this day.

Read more...

Fauda, Season 4, Netflix review - Israeli terrorism thriller gets darker and dirtier

Adam Sweeting

Bald, barrel-shaped and pugnacious, Doron Kavillio (Lior Raz) could have been conceived as the anti-Bond or the un-Ethan Hunt. But as action heroes go, Doron can mix it with the finest as he tracks down terrorists with his comrades in Israel’s Mista’arvim Special Forces team.

Read more...

Women at War, Netflix review - contrasting stories entwine during the chaos of World War One

Adam Sweeting

A sprawling French-made drama set in the early days of the First World War in 1914, Women at War tells the stories of a quartet of female protagonists as they struggle to make sense of the mayhem which suddenly engulfs them.

Read more...

Stewart, Sky Documentaries review - touching and insightful portrait of Scottish race ace

Adam Sweeting

“Stupid, dumb and thick” was how Jackie Stewart felt he was characterised at school in Dunbartonshire, and it wasn’t until he was 43 that he was diagnosed as being severely dyslexic. By that time he’d won the Formula One World Championship three times, become a popular sports commentator for ABC television and thrown himself into the role of globe-trotting ambassador for the Ford Motor Company.

Read more...

Pages

 

latest in today

Help to give theartsdesk a future!

It all started on 09/09/09. That memorable date, September 9 2009, marked the debut of theartsdesk.com.

It followed some...

Album: Billy Nomates – Metalhorse

Metalhorse is a concept album that uses visions of a dilapidated funfair as a metaphor for life’s various ups and downs. It especially...

The Comedy About Spies, Noel Coward Theatre review - 'G...

From the creative team that brought you The Play That Goes Wrong in 2012 (and assorted sequels) comes this spy caper. As ever...

House of Games, Hampstead Theatre review - adapted Mamet scr...

There is so much that is right about Jonathan Kent’s new production of House of Games – the casting, the staging, the...

Karim Said, Leighton House review - adventures from Byrd to...

William Byrd, Arnold Schoenberg and their respective acolytes go cheek by jowl, crash into one another, soothe, infuriate and shine in their very...

Album: MØ - Plæygirl

Danish singer MØ is a paradox. Initially she appeared to be another Scandi electro-pop princess of the bangers. The monster 2015 hit “Lean On”...

Stile Antico, Wigmore Hall review - a glorious birthday cele...

There was a wonderful festal spirit at the Wigmore Hall last night, as the vocal ensemble Stile Antico ran through a Greatest Hits selection in...

PUP, SWG3, Glasgow review - controlled chaos from Canadian p...

According to PUP lead singer Stefan Babcock, the Toronto foursome practiced together a grand total of twice before embarking on their current UK...

Zoe Lyons, Touring - midlife, without the crisis

Zoe Lyons knows her audience; as a few shoutouts confirmed, many of them are long-time fans, and have had lives with similar highs and...

The Last Musician of Auschwitz review - a haunting testament...

“It is so disgraceful, what happened there,” says Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, in a comment that is the understatement of the century. She is referring...