I'd been looking forward to "Cradle to Grave" since I heard it was in production. I haven't ready Danny Baker's book "Going to Sea in a Sieve" but I had heard several media interviews where Baker told some of his tales and they sounded fantastic (two of the best feature in episode 1).
The show didn't disappoint. It's fantastic looking recreating seventies London. The theme song and the score are outstanding too. Each episode has been funny, well paced, established characters quickly and told great tales.
The casting is also a triumph. Lucy Speed is tremendous as Danny's Mum, Laurie Kynaston makes an excellent Danny and Peter Kay is outstanding as Danny's Dad "Spud". I'm not a big fan of Kay himself but he is a really good character actor as proved many times and once you've got used to his cockney accent - he's brilliant in this. Without spoiling, some scenes are poignant and Kay particularly shines there.
I'm not sure this has longevity as a series but as six, maybe twelve episodes, it will really make a mark as a comedy of very high standard.
The show didn't disappoint. It's fantastic looking recreating seventies London. The theme song and the score are outstanding too. Each episode has been funny, well paced, established characters quickly and told great tales.
The casting is also a triumph. Lucy Speed is tremendous as Danny's Mum, Laurie Kynaston makes an excellent Danny and Peter Kay is outstanding as Danny's Dad "Spud". I'm not a big fan of Kay himself but he is a really good character actor as proved many times and once you've got used to his cockney accent - he's brilliant in this. Without spoiling, some scenes are poignant and Kay particularly shines there.
I'm not sure this has longevity as a series but as six, maybe twelve episodes, it will really make a mark as a comedy of very high standard.