This Life + 10

Incredibly good attempt to tie up up the time elapsed since the original series. Anna seems to be the only one not to have moved on, she seems just the same as 1997. Egg is now a success on the writing front but still he has issues with Millie,perhaps the addition to the family is the glue keeping them together. Miles with his shaggy hair looks more carefree these days, but I remembered him as a focused individual, who I am sure would not have got into the trouble he has at present. Warren has moved on professionally but at what cost to his private life? The documentary format works quite well and the constant sight of black and white images in the camera view finder perhaps indicates that all of the group are bearing their soles with gritty honesty. The music(especially) Portishead really does take you back ten years. A searing. marvellous piece of TV drama.

Plusses for '+10' included that the dialogue was mostly good, and informative as far as it went, with a little work on our part (replaying is a good idea).

The characters, too, are still as they were, but their histories and relationships are more dodgy. How likely is it that Egg, of all people, would be able to produce a book deep enough to analyse Anna?

The ending, with an aimless Miles just walking away from his life, was also a bit unbelievable. Anna seems still to have some unresolved, derailing baggage from the past that prevents her from being able to fully commit to a present that maybe, deep inside, she doesn't quite identify with, since in some way it's a sidetrack for her, not the way she was meant to go. The idea of total commitment terrifies her since she'll lose out on what she really identifies with, lost though it is. So she can love Miles, but her deep reservations mean she can't act on it.

How did Egg and Milly get back together? The writer of the last episode of the original series -- Richard Zajdlic? -- was obviously told to draw the kind of line under it that would make it impossible for any part of the story we'd been following to continue. He drew the firmest and thickest line I've ever seen in my life! Yet we had been asked to treat This Life as real life, and in real life, things DO continue, and they DO require an explanation. So what happened after the wedding? Did Rachel quit MSW, knowing a vengeful Milly would make her professional life unbearable? How did everyone end up having to leave the house, if that's what happened? We have a right to know!

Maybe the cast can reassemble in the relatively near future for a programme (within a programme, if it's not too complicated) about the filming of Egg's book -- which can't have finished with Miles' wedding -- and their reminiscences can correct the film's inaccuracies, so that we can have some CGI flashbacks to the house, etc. How about it, Amy?

Trying to recapture the magic the magic of This Life 10 years after its initial release was always going to be a difficult task, and so it proved to be.

One thing the writers of This Life + 10 arguably got right is that, for the most part, the character narrative arcs are largely believable, with Egg's being the one that most stretches credibility. Of all the characters, it's not a big surprise that Miles comes across worst after the 10-year break from the original series. His behaviour back then was highly questionable at times, and it's not difficult to see how he turned into such an objectionable 30-something. It's hard to disagree with Warren's assessment of Miles halfway through (which out of politeness I won't repeat here).

The grand country house setting makes it difficult to warm to the characters, which is probably the main problem with this reunion. It was much easy to relate to the cash-strapped twenty-somethings of This Life who made bad decisions, rather than the cashed-up thirty-somethings who still make bad decisions in This Life + 10.

Saying all that, this isn't a truly terrible one-off. By and large, the dialogue is decent, and the acting is fine. The story isn't great, but it's passable. However, it does leave a little sour taste in the mouth that a rare great show that didn't outstay its welcome in its original run, and which had a pretty much perfect ending first time round, spoiled things somewhat with this ill-advised reunion.

The excitement around this a appearing at Christmas 2007 was everywhere. Radio 4 was discussing it. Everyone who was a fun of this series was eager. Jekins is a great writer. The characters had received a great deal of affection. Finally the long awaited episode was aired. Finally the silence was broken after we were able to lift our jaws from the floor after watching this.

First was the direction. There didn't seem to be any. Evcveryone on screen wandered around without purpose and aimlessly. The script always a high point of this show must be as good as ever? A couple of ideas were thrown in the air then ignored by the writers to wander and ramble through the remaining screen time.

It had to get better it couldn't continue this way. The series was set in London with a group of lawyers flat sharing and the wildly moving camera work reflected the hectic pace of London and their life styles and demands. Here in the countryside at Miles's country retreat the pace was missing as there was no cut an thrust or purpose to them.

The script idea appeared to be to concentrate on their relationships between the characters and leave out all their hectic lives, sensible since they weren't all lawyers anymore. So the country setting should work. But the writing and directing ensured this ingenious conceit was a failure.

I couldn't bare watching this, a complete disaster. Devastated by every aspect of its creation. If you have enjoyed the genius of the first two series. don't bother to ruin its memory with this.