Helen Brown

Sprawling sluggishly over eight, hour-long episodes, Netflix’s new teen drama Forever really does feel like it goes on… well… foooor-evaaaah. This is a huge shame because, if only it were zippier, it would be precisely the kind of thoughtfully conceived and tenderly acted coming-of-age tale that our kids (and their parents) need right now: a perfect counterbalance to the worst-case scenario of Adolescence.

The lower-middle-class 80s-ness is impeccably rendered. .... The lines are peppy too. But they’re all very obviously written in the voice of the adult Carr, which means laughs comes at the expense of distinctive character credibility. And the bubbly mood sometimes sits uncomfortably atop the bigotry, like froth on a bitter cappuccino.

Visually, there’s a treat in store as the Empress of Aprica (a formidably grand Iretiola Doyle) makes a state visit and all the Crosses get their glad rags on to meet her. But the plotting gets dafter and clunkier, and the dialogue is as wooden as the Aprican sculpture in the prime minister’s home.

Episode one does just enough to cast a sly, subversive hook. But Northern Irish writer David Ireland drops enough quirky clues to suggest that things are destined to heat up between his two offbeat lovers.

Neither the plot story – nor Hart’s original dialogue – map convincingly onto 2023. ... Obsession feels like a story that’s had the stuffing knocked out of it.

Appalling.

It’s fun to see them pit old magic against new in this engaging clash of Ken Loach/Stephen King worlds.

While the gay, bisexual and trans characters in this show still struggle with bullies, their story is otherwise rather wholesome, full of fresh air and sunshine and featuring no booze, no sex and no swearing. ... My children (aged 10 and 12) absolutely loved Heartstopper. It provoked some useful conversations about trans people, consent and how to handle bullying.

Lupin's cliches are irresistibly seductive. This is a show that takes us to Paris, pours us champagne, plays us old chansons and winks as it offers us diamonds.

I didn’t notice the soundtrack much, but it was heartwarming to see footage of the socially distanced musicians of the BBC orchestra reunited – their notes mingling and embracing where their bodies could not. We all had fun working out how each of the featured species would handle the pandemic rules. ... Instead of doom, we were offered hope. We were shown how other creatures survived by working together and using their brains.