This Life +10, probably a six out of ten

In this time-shifted world, I’m always a little way behind with TV viewing. This Life’s ten year reunion has just ended.

• Milly and Egg are still living together. Egg’s written his first novel (whose characters uncomfortably mirror his old housemates). Milly has given up law, and is now a full time Mum for adorable little Oscar.
• Clare is making a documentary about Egg, and suggests a reunion of his housemates to allow them to feedback on their view of the book. And thus Amy Jenkins, the screenwriter of This Life +10, found a way to squeeze the five lead characters back into a single house again.
• Unfortunately all the other stalwarts are missing. There’s no Ferdy—though his coffin does appear in the opening scene. No Joe and Kira (though I don’t they’re still together). No one from chambers, not even catty Rachel.

But there are some constants across the intervening years. Miles and Anna still love one another, but she can’t face settling down. Instead Warren’s her choice to co-father her child and have alternate weekend visiting rights. Yet Warren’s head is still messed up, a life coach with a plastic bag full of pills to reach the parts that Yoga can’t touch.

Of the five, the female house mates are still the strongest. Milly has doubts about Egg, but unfortunately overcomes them. Anna knows her strengths and weaknesses, and tries to avoid falling into traps. (And she’s the only one still practicing law.)

Overall, it was pedestrian. But then thirty-somethings are that bit older and slower than twenty-somethings (certainly I am). And looking back, there was never a great deal of storyline in any of the episodes in the original two series! But I’m glad they did it, particularly because they re-ran the original two series before Christmas, and glad that This Life can be put to bed.

Unlike The Vicar of Dibley which will be pop out for ten minutes at the next Comic Relief for a post-marriage update. And Richard Curtis speculated on Simon Mayo’s Five Live programme that he might eventually consider a reprisal if there was a new King, or he could come up with a good plot for Geraldine becoming bishop!

And a little known fact (picked up from Wikipedia):

Ricky Gervais, partner of producer Jane Fallon, was credited as "Music Advisor" for the series, and it was he who commissioned the theme tune, written by The Way Out.