One summoner's tale

I'm not one of those critics who thrives on tearing something to pieces. And I'm especially sensitive to other writers, as I know how difficult and pressurised it is to write for TV, and the compromises you have to make in that job. But I cannot pretend that ITV1′s five-nighter The Jury, which I review this week in my Guardian Telly Addict round-up, didn't horribly disappoint me. I prefer to celebrate the best telly, rather than prod the worst, and indeed, give the stuff I wouldn't normally watch a fair and objective chance … I trust, if you've been watching, that you would agree with this general assessment of what I do. But because The Jury, a high-profile piece of TV real estate, was written by a proven genius of populist TV drama, Peter Morgan, I feel it's only right to express my disappointment. At least I can back my feelings up with clips, which I do. You can watch Telly Addict here. I also pass armchair judgement on American Horror Story on FX and Life's Too Short on BBC2.

I'm not going to get a job reviewing telly for an actual newspaper – such as, I don't know, the Guardian – by liking everything, or giving everything a fair crack of the whip, but I never did set out to be Charlie Brooker, who does the opposite with such panache, originality and sincere bile; I set out to be me, watching telly, in my living room, and then saying what I thought of it. (Incidentally, the estimable John Crace, who reviewed Life's Too Short in the actual newspaper – and not from the bottom of a bin behind a filing cabinet down a long corridor at the back of the Guardian website – was much harder on it, and eloquent, too. His review is here. I am such a team player.)

Oh, and I'll be reviewing the excellent Rev next week.