This Life +10

I was a great fan of 'This Life' in the '90s so I had to watch the reunion episode tonight, 'This Life +10'. Ten years later and what's happened to the characters?

Part of me was dreading it - returning to old franchises rarely works and, since the original series, we've seen the actors play different parts so we're more familiar with them (Jack Davenport is even in the glorious 'Pirates of the Caribbean' series). But this worked, once it got going, or at least it worked for me. And it took me back to the mid '90s. Of course, I'm 10 years too old really - the series was about people in London in their mid-20s and I was in my mid-30s at the time but that's hardly the point.

The character I liked most was Anna. I'm not entirely sure why, maybe it was never being without a fag in her lips (I was a heavy smoker at the time) or glass in her hand, her endless failed two-minute 'relationships' and temptation of drugs. As the website says,

"Television's most toasted crumpet has the gravitational pull of a medium-sized planet. A Soave-swigging, chain-smoking, drug-taking, long-legged sexual adventuress, she storms through life, scattering empty bottles, full ashtrays and crumpled conquests in her wake. She is a very tough cookie. But she is also a dope cookie. Anna's worst enemy is Anna. Her high intelligence is matched only by her low common sense. Every time she takes two stilettoed-steps forward she takes another one back - towards the sign saying 'completely off the rails.' "

In some ways, perhaps, she lived the life I wanted. She worked hard and played harder. I worked hard.

The series was innovative for it's time and unlike anything else on telly. The imagery, the music, the shakey camera-work, the script littered with swearing and open talk of drugs and sex, all pooled to make it something special. All the characters had something about them that was recogniseable and warming, well, except for Miles. I never really liked Miles. Egg was naive with a simple outlook at odds with the end of Thatcherism and the ending of the Tory years; Milly was the career girl with everything; Warren was confused and coming to terms with himself and his sexuality; Miles was the career man wanting everything.

I enjoyed the programme and I'm pleased I saw it. It brought back memories and makes me wonder where the years have gone. It wasn't perfect and if I was ungenerous I could comment on things like the script repeating several time that Egg was now a famous author - um, I got the message the first time. At one point Miles and Egg mused on being old - 'old?' I thought, they're just the age I was when the series was first shown! But that's not the point.

'This Life' ten years on was well worth seeing and I loved the ending, with Miles heading off to Timbuktu, Anna planning a baby with Warren ("a business relationship" of course) and Egg and Milly back together where they belong. Thanks for the memories, guys!