Civilisations is awful, says the corporation’s own arts editor

THE BBC’S new documentary series Civilisations has been criticised by the corporation’s own arts editor as “more confusing than a drunk driver negotiating Spaghetti Junction”.

Will Gompertz’s scathing two-star review said the much-hyped new show, inspired by Kenneth Clark’s Civilisation, provided viewers with “a tepid dish of the blindingly obvious”. In the piece promoted on the BBC website, Gompertz said the art with television, like cooking, is knowing when to stop.

“It turns out adding that extra ‘s’ has gone and overegged the pudding,” he wrote. “For all its faults (partial, dogmatic, occasionally dismissive), the Kenneth Clark written and presented originals had a clarity, structure, and coherent argument that made them fascinating to watch and easy to follow.

“In contrast, from the programmes I have seen, Civilisations is more confused and confusing than a drunk driver negotiating Spaghetti Junction in the rush hour.”

He criticised the show for lack of depth, noting the opening scenes in Palmyra – destroyed by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) in 2015 – do not mention either its motives or “similarly barbaric acts that have taken place over millennia”.

A lengthy look at handstencilled cave paintings by Simon Schama, the presenter, earned the reviewer’s wrath for not explaining why similar works have been found in caves worldwide and for presuming to tell the viewer the prehistoric artist’s inspiration.

The flagship series has “rambling narratives” and the “absence of an intellectual argument”, he claimed.

A BBC spokesman said: “Individual critics are entitled to their views – whether they work for the BBC or anyone else – but the majority of reviews have been incredibly positive, as have the excellent viewing figures.”