Season 2 • Episode 13
LatestJoe is offered a place at Swindon School of Science, but receives conflicting advice on whether he should go.
Colin and Jane have decided that their marriage isn't working and that the best thing is to separate. This could be tough on their children, Joe and Emily, but their parents are civilized about the whole thing and determined to remain friends. In fact, after the split their relationship improves considerably. Jane, a nurse, embarks upon a new relationship with Roger, a single parent of three children, the terrible trio of David, Felicity and Robbie. Colin, meanwhile, has started to see Jennifer, the therapist he and Jane consulted when trying to work through their problems.
Writing
Mark Haddon's dialogue sparkles with understated British melancholy.
Acting
Child actors who actually feel like real chaotic siblings.
Production
That specific late-90s BBC aesthetic: beige, warm, slightly cramped.
Creator
Mark Haddon
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Mark Haddon later wrote 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time'; you can feel his fascination with neurodivergent perspective in David's character.
This aired between 'My So-Called Life' and 'Freaks and Geeks' but feels like it belongs to an entirely different universe of teen angst—specifically, one where angst is thoroughly repressed.
GB
