Cold Feet
ITV, 9.00PM
For those of us who grew up with Cold Feet, hanging out with Adam, Karen and co should be the perfect way to spend a Friday evening: we know their good points and bad, the ticks that make us laugh and those that fill us with frustration. We can forgive them their middleaged flaws because we remember them way back when we were both younger and less wise. That said, there are signs with this second season that the charm is wearing a little thin.
The plotting is still tight – tonight’s episode largely revolves around the fallout from Olivia’s teen pregnancy and features some smart twists and believable, nicely handled turns – but the characters seem increasingly less likeable. Was Jen (Fay Ripley) always this mardy? Pete (John Thomson) always this downtrodden? David (Robert Bathurst) always this bumbling? Karen (Hermione Norris) always this inclined to snippily ignore everyone? Adam (James Nesbitt) always this irritating? Where once those faults were a small part of a wider whole, now they appear defining, and that’s a problem. Cold Feet used to be like relaxing on a sofa with old friends. These days it’s more like plunging into a cold bath you thought would be warm. Sarah Hughes