Maggie and Andrew Prentice are entering their golden years and planning on a life of retirement leisure in the south of France when their estranged son, Graham and his wife perish in an auto accident leaving behind their three children(a girl and two boys) whom Maggie and Andrew barely know and now must care for. The series deals with how the five of them adjust to each other under exceptionally trying circumstances (They don't initially like each other very much). Believe it or not, this is a comedy! And a funny one it is despite the morbid subject matter.
Penelope Keith creates a memorable character in Maggie Prentice, an abrasive, easily irritated and self-involved woman who has the chance to make up for the years of neglect of her own son by caring for his three children. William Gaunt is also very good as the more easygoing of the two grandparents (with a tendency to drink too much) who must also make some extreme sacrifices to do the right thing by his grandchildren.
Wisely, this series has kept the more treacly moments to a minimum and so when they come they are all the more powerful as they indicate, fairly realistically, that grandparents and grandchildren are beginning to care for each other despite the conflicts that rage in the household daily. Some of the best moments: Andrew discovers that his grandson, Phillip, believes he is responsible for his parents' death and helps him cope; Georgia, the teen-aged daughter who is difficult at best, has stopped eating believing that no one likes her and it is up to Maggie to reassure her; and the last moments of the last episode of the series (shame on BBC for canceling it!) when Maggie receives a Mother's Day card from Phillip.
Bottom line: highly recommended
Penelope Keith creates a memorable character in Maggie Prentice, an abrasive, easily irritated and self-involved woman who has the chance to make up for the years of neglect of her own son by caring for his three children. William Gaunt is also very good as the more easygoing of the two grandparents (with a tendency to drink too much) who must also make some extreme sacrifices to do the right thing by his grandchildren.
Wisely, this series has kept the more treacly moments to a minimum and so when they come they are all the more powerful as they indicate, fairly realistically, that grandparents and grandchildren are beginning to care for each other despite the conflicts that rage in the household daily. Some of the best moments: Andrew discovers that his grandson, Phillip, believes he is responsible for his parents' death and helps him cope; Georgia, the teen-aged daughter who is difficult at best, has stopped eating believing that no one likes her and it is up to Maggie to reassure her; and the last moments of the last episode of the series (shame on BBC for canceling it!) when Maggie receives a Mother's Day card from Phillip.
Bottom line: highly recommended