Critical Condition: Doctor Foster

October 8, 2017 0 Comments

Doctor Foster | TVNZ 1, 8.30 Monday

➢ “The joy of the second series of Doctor Foster (BBC1) is that we now know it is not aiming for gritty drama and failing, but aiming for histrionic melodrama and succeeding beyond its wildest expectations … We can now run gleefully towards the waves of madness – already rushing furiously over the shores of sanity by the end of this opener – dive in and let the waters take us wherever the riptides lead.” — The Guardian.

➢ “Anyone doubting the BBC’s decision to bring back Doctor Foster for a second run was silenced as it made its return … While there were fears the story was neatly sewn up at the end of series one and there was nothing left two explore, Broadchurch series two this is not. Within its first few minutes, the episode had already set up a whole new set of mysteries that are set to unfold in the coming weeks, as Gemma and Simon Foster – played brilliantly as ever by Suranne Jones and Bertie Carvel – continue to deal with the collapse of their marriage, following his infidelity with Kate Parks (Jodie Comer).” — The Huffington Post.

➢ “After the dinner party from hell in series one, Suranne Jones’ Gemma Foster begins series two by wading into the wedding party from hell. And, just as with that unforgettable get-together in series one, she was a wolf once more. Though by the end of tonight’s visit, she appears to be very much on the back foot, dissolving her wedding ring in a tub of acid as she considers her next move in a field of limited options.” — Radio Times.

➢ “Is Doctor Foster an overheated guilty pleasure or authentic chronicling of how the borders of reality can bend and warp when life crashes in around you? Three episodes into the sweltering drama’s second season, the case can still be made both ways as full-throttle histrionics are invariably followed by scenes of genuine emotional resonance.” — The Telegraph.

➢ “There’s a deceptive skill going on here, in the look— the shifting colour palettes between Gemma’s home and Simon’s modernist mansion — and the apparent ease with which the writer, Mike Bartlett, has drawn us back into the milieu of sex and mind games, red bras and lethal blades, his great trick being to make you forget that a second series was barely necessary.” — The Times.