The Spa
Thu Feb 7, 9-9.30pm, Sky Living
Thu Jan 31 2013
Time Out Ratings
<strong>Rating: </strong>2/5
Series one, episode one
We can imagine the pitch: ‘Benidorm’ meets ‘The Brittas Empire’. And if that was indeed the goal, ‘The Spa’ (created by ‘Benidorm’ mastermind Derren Litten) succeeds admirably. Rebecca Front does a professional job as the spa manager Alison, keeping the show on the road while her staff, ranging from Nadine Marshall’s tyrannical fitness instructor to Tim Healey’s well-endowed handyman, threaten to derail it at every turn.
Highlights include the dippy receptionist confusing ‘obese’ with ‘a beast’, and an extended sequence in which a cleaner threatens suicide from the roof to a soundtrack so predictable that, if nothing else, makes the art of sitcom-writing look very easy indeed. Cheerful enough, then, but very short on laughs. ‘Benidorm’ meets ‘The Brittas Empire’ it is.
Today's TV highlights
Happy Families
- Rated as: 4/5
Contesting Leo Tolstoy’s assertion that happy families are all alike, the second programme in
-
Thu Jun 20
9-10pm
ITV
Flights and Fights: Inside Low Cost Airlines
- Rated as: 4/5
The budget-airline phenomenon is a good thing. It’s opened up the world for the less well off.
-
Thu Jun 20
9-10pm
BBC2
First Dates
- Rated as: 3/5
Like ‘The Apprentice’, one of the key attractions of this restaurant-set dating series is that
-
Thu Jun 20
9-10pm
C4
Bi-Curious Me
- Rated as: 3/5
Hayley is 26, bisexual and a dating coach. She talks a lot about ‘confidence’, but we’re
-
Thu Jun 20
10-11.05pm
C4
Share your thoughts
Follow us
@TimeOutTV
Spotify
Subscribe to Time Out London on Spotify for daily playlists and recommendations from our Music team.
Comments & ratings