Michael Hogan
- Reviewer
Press clippings Page 20
Jonathan Creek, review
A creaky return for Alan Davies's amateur sleuth in the spooky seasonal thriller.
Michael Hogan, The Telegraph, 28th December 2016Damned: could have packed a bigger punch
Damned was originally commissioned as a one-off by Sky Arts, who declined to order a full series, enabling Channel 4 to snatch it. Sky won't be kicking themselves just yet. Damned was warm and well-observed but it should have been scabrously funny. Like most sitcoms, it will surely improve over its six-episode run as characters grow and the script loosens up. Until then, its case notes read "promising but more jokes required".
Michael Hogan, The Telegraph, 27th September 2016Cold Feet - revival favoured poignancy over nostalgia
It's been 13 years since Cold Feet's credits last rolled, during which time the thirtysomethings had turned into fiftysomethings. Their cute toddlers were now hormonal teenagers. Could the old magic be recaptured with this heavily hyped comeback? Largely, yes. Cue sighs of relief from fans who feared their memories would be tarnished (for many of us, the BBC's dreadful 10th anniversary of Nineties hit drama This Life still lingers).
Michael Hogan, The Telegraph, 5th September 2016Wasted, review
Wasted was by no means perfect - a scattergun approach meant some gags fell flat and the surreal set pieces occasionally smacked of studenty self-indulgence - but it had a riotous energy and a cheekily irreverent approach to its headline-stealing cameo. Cool Beans.
Michael Hogan, The Telegraph, 26th July 2016Why Goodnight Sweetheart is the most subversive sitcom
There aren't many sitcoms about a grown man pretending to be a spy who wrote The Beatles' back catalogue. Who also befriends Noel Coward, saves Clement Attlee's life, and meets George VI, the Kray twins and Winston Churchill. Then again, time-travelling oddity Goodnight Sweetheart was no ordinary sitcom.
Michael Hogan, The Telegraph, 8th July 2016Caroline Aherne bestrode Nineties TV like a colossus
It has already been a tragic year for TV comedy, with the deaths of Ronnie Corbett, Carla Lane and Victoria Wood. Now 2016 has grown darker still with news of the sad passing of Caroline Aherne, the funniest woman of her generation, aged just 52.
Michael Hogan, The Telegraph, 2nd July 2016Butterflies review - Carla Lane's masterpiece
Just as Carla Lane was one of the few women to crack the male-dominated world of 70s comedy, so Butterflies gave rare subversive voice to a mature suburban woman.
Michael Hogan, The Guardian, 2nd June 2016Cunk on Shakespeare was gloriously funny
It takes intelligence to act this stupid. The script was stuffed with malapropisms and witty wordplay. Cunk's implacable idiocy was thrillingly iconoclastic. Mainly, though, it was very silly and gloriously funny.
Michael Hogan, The Telegraph, 12th May 2016Raised By Wolves series 2 episode 1: 'fizzingly funny'
Raised By Wolves packs more ideas and invention into one episode than lesser comedies do in an entire series. Besides, any programme where the favoured insult is "wazzock" is fine by me.
Michael Hogan, The Telegraph, 2nd March 2016Alan Partridge's Mid-Morning Matters review
"Jesus Christ. Margaret Thatcher. Denis Thatcher. Carol Thatcher. And... hmmm... Mark Thatcher." Yes, Alan Partridge was back and listing his dream dinner party guests. Less of an eclectic line-up, more of a family kitchen supper with a couple of gatecrashers.
Michael Hogan, The Telegraph, 16th February 2016