Parenting show should grow up
@sarawallis
THERE’S nothing like a disturbing, dystopian drama to chill the bones in these scary times.
And Snowpiercer on Netflix on Mondays is certainly not one for the faint of heart.
The world has become a frozen wasteland and the only way to survive is on the gigantic Snowpiercer train that endlessly circles the globe.
If that wasn’t bad enough, class wars on the post-apocalyptic transport mean the tension is about ready to boil over into an uprising.
Jennifer Connelly is effortlessly inscrutable as the Voice of the Train, while Daveed Diggs captivates as the ex-cop, lower class passenger with a murder to solve. A scary thrill-ride worth boarding.
ONE of the defining elements of parenting that you won’t read about in any book is the “judging other parents” part.
This is the self-preservation mechanism that allows every set of parents to turn to each other, roll their eyes and say confidently: “Our way is the best, isn’t it? We would NEVER allow TV before breakfast.”
Then, when you inevitably find yourself watching PJ Masks at 6.45am, you ditch that. After all, it’s not often – and you’d still never feed your child chocolate for breakfast. Well, not every day…
My point is, having an actual parenting contest is a terrible idea because, of course, everyone thinks their way is the best, even when they get it wrong. But also because there surely is no “best” way?
So I’m not entirely sure what C4 is thinking with its Britain’s Best Parent? competition. Is it meant to be tongue in cheek? Will there be a shiny, engraved trophy for the winner? Something to wave in the faces of friends who allow their kids more screen time and Nandos for tea?
In this bizarre series, Anita Rani skilfully flits between three sets of parents, provoking debate until it gets to the point where she has to stop everything boiling over into gladiator-level warfare.
Boundaries
Joana promoted her gender-fluid parenting to five-year-old Willow, while Robin and Rin plugged an Eastern influenced approach and Kevin and Kerry showcased their “lazy parenting” style.
Each had the other’s kids for a play date, then returned to the studio to criticise.
“We allow them to pretty much do what they want,” said Kerry. Her “Let’s have a laugh” attitude means her boys could eat a packet of chocolate biscuits for dinner and play computer games all day long and she wouldn’t bat an eyelid. The other parents were suitably horrified.
Elsewhere, long-haired Willow – in his pink unicorn outfit – had to explain he was a boy, leaving Kerry mortified for assuming he was a girl.
Over at Robin and Rin’s, it was all chess, martial arts, boundaries, structure, rules and no elbows on the table.
But back in the viper den, Robin was branded domineering, Joana was scolded for pushing an agenda and Kerry was quizzed over her lack of boundaries.
Hot issues like discipline, junk food and playing with toy guns came up, but were only addressed fleetingly.
There was no depth – only a keen judgy audience ready to push their buttons as if voting on The Greatest Dancer.
There were pros and cons to be taken from each style and debate was certainly triggered – but, in the end, no one learned anything from each other. They were all too busy being right.
SPACE Force launched on Netflix on Friday – a glossy, no-expensespared comedy with a stellar cast.
The premise is barely relevant with Steve Carell, Lisa Kudrow, John Malkovich and Jane Lynch on board.
But the plot, following Carell’s General Mark Naird as he’s tasked with running Space Force, is a funny one – and is great at sending up Trump’s actual Space Force.
“Boots on the moon by
THE First
★Team
on BBC2 Thursday was a neat on rich,
at the lifestyle of dig with young pro footballers,
sports cars, huge houses, shiny
too much over-inflated egos,
and macho Fifa on Playstation
This locker room banter.
comedy Inbetweeners-style
has with Will Arnett
big potential, but the laughs are yet to
kick off.
2024!” demands the President, who we never see but is prone to tweeting.
Carell is wonderfully uptight as a man always on the edge and the storylines are out-of-this-world bonkers.
Naird being ruthlessly mocked in the White House Chief of Staff’s Gold Room by the other US Armed Forces bosses was TV gold, with Space Force branded a bit of a joke.
This may need a couple of episodes to really take off, but it’s a space satire that’s aiming for the stars.