tv
Come Home, BBC One review - a drama of family disintegration, divided loyaltiesWednesday, 28 March 2018![]()
A woman walks out on her husband and their three kids – two teens, one five-year-old - after 19 years of marriage. She doesn’t want custody. What could be so wrong with the man that she’s driven to such drastic action? Eleven months later, Greg (Christopher Eccleston, anguished but plucky, with a shaky Northern Irish accent) doesn’t seem to have the answer. Read more... |
Mum, BBC Two, series 2 finale review - the perfect way to goWednesday, 28 March 2018![]()
Should Mum end here? There have been only two series on BBC Two, and it closed the second with all the characters poised for the next step. A third series has been commissioned, so there will be the opportunity to see what happens next for Cathy and Michael now they’ve hugged and, for the second time, held hands. In Spain they might even get round to kissing. Read more... |
Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words, BBC One review - emotional nomad with a fragile gift for joyTuesday, 27 March 2018![]()
Ever nursed an immoderate fondness for Ingrid Bergman? In Her Own Words, a bio-documentary released in the cinema then on DVD in 2016 and shown last night on BBC One as part of the Imagine... Read more... |
The Good Fight, Series 2, More4 review - the longer they do it, the better it getsFriday, 23 March 2018![]()
The mystery remains of why they keep tucking away The Good Fight on More4, as they did with its illustrious predecessor The Good Wife. No disrespect to 4’s ancillary channel – now seemingly the designated last resting place of Grand Designs – but it’s like hanging a sign on the door saying “niche viewing, please knock quietly before entering”. Read more... |
Big Cats About the House, BBC Two review - irresistible feline-human bondingFriday, 23 March 2018![]()
There is a jaguar in the house. Aged five days, and having been rejected by her mother, Maya has arrived from the wildlife park where she was born for hand-rearing by Giles Clark at his home in Kent. The cub is going to spend her early days with his family, with round-the-clock care from Giles, obsessed as he is with the situation of big cats worldwide. Read more... |
The Durrells, Series 3, ITV review - a winter warmer from CorfuMonday, 19 March 2018![]()
When ITV scheduled this new series of The Durrells for mid-March, they probably didn’t imagine it would coincide with the return of the Beast from the East, with its blizzards and plummeting temperatures. Read more... |
13 Commandments, Channel 4 review - murder most FlemishMonday, 19 March 2018![]()
To Belgium for the latest continental instalment of murder really rather unpleasant. Read more... |
Annihilation, Netflix review - not quite a sci-fi masterpieceThursday, 15 March 2018![]()
Mild controversy hovers over the new film by Alex Garland, the novelist-turned-screenwriter-turned-director. Garland’s 2015 directing debut, Ex Machina, was a slow-burning hit which found favour with critics and film festival juries. Read more... |
Being Blacker, BBC Two review - absorbing film about family, culture and societyTuesday, 13 March 2018![]()
They don’t commission many television documentaries like Being Blacker (BBC Two) any more. That is not unconnected to the fact that Molly Dineen downed her camera a decade ago. Read more... |
Below the Surface, BBC Four review - terror in CopenhagenSunday, 11 March 2018![]()
Read Adam Sweeting's review of the Below the Surface Finale Read more... |
Pages
latest in today

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

John Wick’s simple story of a man and his dog became a bonkers, baroque franchise in record time, converting Keanu Reeves’ limited acting into Zen...

In 2022 I called caroline “perhaps the best band in the U.K” in my article about their debut, which I named my album of the year....
With WOMAD not happening this year, where could one go for a feast of...

No-one needs to be living in Trump’s USA to be aware that governments never feel that it’s in their interest to prioritise great art and music...

While the Gallagher brothers scrabble around in the dirt for their rich pickings, an altogether more...
“Do you know the name of the propaganda minister of England, or America, or even Stalin? No. But Joseph Goebbels? Everyone knows him.” The cynical...

Turnstile’s NEVER ENOUGH is a vibrant, shape-shifting album that proves the Baltimore-based band is fully committed to evolution. Since...

It’s always a risk when a production changes venue. In the curious alchemy of live performance, no-one can be sure whether a shift in surroundings...