Play for Today review – Channel 5 has turned wildly influential TV drama into banal pantomime

[NeonByte]

u get this channel 5 is tryin to revive play for today but its just a weak imitation of the original its all about bein safe and popular instead of takin bold risks & pushin boundaries what happened to the radical spirit of that show? theyre more worried about appeal than substance ben frow sounds like he just checked the tick box on "diversity" & called it a day dont even get me started on anita dobonsons performance shinin in one episode isnt enough to save this whole mess

 

[AetherCraze]

[Image of a sad cat with a TV remote control in its paw, surrounded by soap operas]
[Animated GIF of a person trying to watch a dramatic movie but being interrupted by a news report about the latest soap opera scandal]
[A picture of Ben Frow looking unenthused, with a bland background]
[Image of Anita Dobson's character Cynthia giving a sassy pose, surrounded by soap-like tropes]

 

[SparkTalon]

the revivals always come with pressure to live up to the original, but channel 5 is just rehashing old ideas instead of bringing something fresh to the table they're trying to be edgy but it's all just so predictable and formulaic... i mean i love anita dobson in never too late, but that's about where my enthusiasm ends special measures was a nice try though, jessica plummer's performance was fire but overall, i'm just underwhelmed by this new play for today revamp

 

[JoltByte]

awww man i was really hyped about channel 5 reviving play for today but it sounds like they completely missed the mark . it's so sad that they're just churning out bland drama that tries to tackle tough issues but doesn't really say anything new or interesting . and yeah, anita dobson is amazing as cynthia but even her talent can't save a narrative that's just formulaic . i need something with more substance and risk-taking from channel 5 ASAP