"Edge of heaven" is thin stuff.It is simply not enough to have two gay men,an alpha female,a feisty grannie and a family of "characters" and expect unrestrained laughter as they tackle the uninspired script with growing desperation. Set for some - as yet unclear - reason in an eighties - themed guesthouse in Margate, a town that has been in a zombie state since the last mods and rockers kicked lumps off each other half a century ago,I doubt seriously that it will do much to improve the profile of this hapless resort. Margate's boom years were in the early 50s when "Dreamland" was in its pomp and a week in Cliftonville was all most Brits could afford. Perhaps "Edge of Heaven" might have been funnier if it had been set in that time with bald dads rolling up their trousers and putting handkerchiefs on their heads before going for a paddle then sneaking a bottle of brown ale past the eagle - eyed landlady. But somehow,in 2014,the very concept of a boarding house seems anachronistic,and filling it with a determinedly diverse and 21st century family merely irritating.a device that,frankly,does not work. Weak casting does not help,there is no central role to grab your attention. The first episode opened with the prospect of a wedding that obviously was not going to happen from the very start as the none - too - bright affianced couple were wildly unsuited.A far better bet for him was her best friend who was giving him cows' eyes as soon as he walked into her salon. His gay uncle Gary has a partner called Gary (Oh how I laughed) who is a ringer for, Liam in Benidorm,a programme whose influence looms large over "Edge of Heaven" a comparison that does it absolutely no favours at all. The Garvey family are the strand that binds "Benidorm" together and there is nothing remotely as human,tragic and funny as their familial dynamic in the whole of ITV's newest sitcom. Just off the coast of Margate lie The Goodwin Sands.It might be kinder to assign the rest if the series to their treacherous quicksands and let the cast and crew put it all behind them.
Review of Edge of Heaven
