Babies just drops you in the middle of the ‘action’ as a young couple – Lisa (Siobhán Cullen – Bodkin) and Stephen (Paapa Essiedu – The Outrun) – go about their day: leave their flat, go to an obscenely overpriced cafe, nip to the shops, visit friends… but as they see families here and there amongst the awful plinky-plonky music in the background, Lisa realises there’s one thing missing in her life, and the clue is in the title.
Then another random couple show up – Dave (Jack Bannon – Pulse) and Amanda (Charlotte Riley – The Peripheral) – who, later, turn out to be friends.
Still, the camera just follows people about, without any sense of direction or storytelling. And do we really need to see couples randomly snogging?
It then feels difficult to get invested when reality bites for the main pair when, as the billing states, pregnancy loss is factored in to the plot.
Additionally, for some reason since 2020, even though the percentage of mixed-race couples in reality is around 10%, in TV dramas, films and adverts, it’s 95%. Plus, for reasons I can’t explain, I get the ick when I see and hear people brushing their teeth on film.
Maybe there’s a drama to be made about what is clearly a harrowing topic, but in the way it’s done here, it’s tedious as hell.
Babies begins Monday on BBC1 at 9pm.
It’s not yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD, but when it is, it will be listed on the New DVD, Blu-ray, 3D and 4K releases UK page.
I expect from day one, the entire series will be on the BBC iPlayer.
Director: Stefan Golaszewski
Producer: Kelly Duffell
Writer: Stefan Golaszewski
Cast:
Lisa: Siobhán Cullen
Stephen: Paapa Essiedu
Dave: Jack Bannon
Amanda: Charlotte Riley
Ralph: Jay Simpson
Alan: Gary Lilburn
Janice: Helen Anderson
Tina: Tracy Anne Green
Olga: Sandra Veronica Stanczyk
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.