Hotel Portofino

Multiple storylines; too many, in fact. Perhaps if the characters were not cut from the same piece of cloth we might have a watchable series. The setting is gorgeous, if a little too polished and artificial, but it's not enough to makeup for tepid writing and cookie cutter characters.

If you want a really binge-worthy experience, try the Spanish series, Grand Hotel.

The Durrells meets Downton (but not quite on a par with either of those just yet) in this new Britbox series following a British family who open the Hotel Portofino on the Italian Riviera in the 1920's, starring Natascha McElhone.

It's very watchable, helped by the beautiful setting with Croatia doubling for Italy. Production values were OK and the large cast were good, everyone seemed to be 'rather attractive'. Its definitely a traditional period show pitched at an older audience but there's no harm in that, though critics will probably disagree.

I rather liked it. The opening episode had an awful lot of characters to introduce and consequently was a bit too slow moving but the pace picked up as the series developed and there were some interesting plots and themes.

Not an instant classic, but as a light drama in a beautiful setting it does what is says on the tin. A diverting watch for cold Winter evenings.

Scenery is more interesting than the script so far.

Is it just me or are the costumes and hairstyles wrong for 1926? The Anna Chancellor character dresses like it's 1918 but all the other women look more like 1936 than 1926. All that long hair and long skirts.

Otherwise, this one starts off with a thud. The son still has gaping raw wounds on his back 8 years after the war ended?

Better pick up fast or 23 skidoo.

This series didn't have a great start. After E1 I was close to dismissing it as a rather inferior cross between Downton and The Durrells. I still wasn't convinced after E2. I was finding the short snappy clips rather annoying, the dialogue sometimes excruciating.

But then it got better. Or perhaps I just got used to it. Whatever it was, by the end I was very happy with it, and I'd definitely watch S2 if it is being planned.

Natascha McElhone was outstanding as Bella. Apart from her my favourite character was Imogen King who played Melissa. A caricature, as were many of the others, but this was really amusing.

I did enjoy watching this. The scenery and production values are spectacular. The acting is variable but mostly good. But as others have noted, this is no Jullian Fellowes. The script and writing were a little wanting. The storyline fell into cliches at times. But I will watch the next season, hoping it picks up.