The basic storyline (English teen Noah is during a vacation in Turkey arrested on suspicion of sexual assaulting another teen) is in itself pretty involving. Especially the first episode is well done, the sudden raid of the police in the hotel room, the fright of Noah, the shock and total bewilderment of the family, it's all very convincingly pictured.
Unfortunately in the rest of the 4 episodes several flaws took much of the potential down. First of all the tedious side-story of the sister of the mother, who got mixed up in an extra-marital affair. Not only didn't this add anything to the main story, but the extensive footage of all the sobbing details (like her kid with ADHD and her hurt husband who himself was addicted to heroin) cost so much screen-time that without it the series could easily have settled for one episode less.
Then mother Kathy (Sheridan Smith), she clearly was supposed to have our sympathy as the devastated but militant lioness who fearlessly fought for her wronged cub. But they unfortunately made her into such an irrational, shouting and boozing bully, randomly hiring and firing attorneys, and in the process castrating her kind but passive husband, that she was mainly extremely irritating. Since her character was the pivot of the story, to me this spoiled most of it.
In fact the only thing that really impressed me was young Louis Ashbourne Serkis, he did a great job as the unfortunate son Noah, who had to endure all the ordeals of imprisonment and standing on trial, outwardly composed, but the terror visible in his eyes. And it was a nice touch by the writer that the totally unexpected revelation that their son was gay only caused a passing surprise with his parents, after which it wasn't any issue with them. As it should be. In an ideal world.
Unfortunately in the rest of the 4 episodes several flaws took much of the potential down. First of all the tedious side-story of the sister of the mother, who got mixed up in an extra-marital affair. Not only didn't this add anything to the main story, but the extensive footage of all the sobbing details (like her kid with ADHD and her hurt husband who himself was addicted to heroin) cost so much screen-time that without it the series could easily have settled for one episode less.
Then mother Kathy (Sheridan Smith), she clearly was supposed to have our sympathy as the devastated but militant lioness who fearlessly fought for her wronged cub. But they unfortunately made her into such an irrational, shouting and boozing bully, randomly hiring and firing attorneys, and in the process castrating her kind but passive husband, that she was mainly extremely irritating. Since her character was the pivot of the story, to me this spoiled most of it.
In fact the only thing that really impressed me was young Louis Ashbourne Serkis, he did a great job as the unfortunate son Noah, who had to endure all the ordeals of imprisonment and standing on trial, outwardly composed, but the terror visible in his eyes. And it was a nice touch by the writer that the totally unexpected revelation that their son was gay only caused a passing surprise with his parents, after which it wasn't any issue with them. As it should be. In an ideal world.