21 Up is intelligent and sensitive - and makes me crave for sex, vomit and immaturity

9 o'clock

last night, I sat down with my take-away curry, flipped

back the lid of my MacBook and went to the iPlayer website to catch

the first episode of 21 Up: New Generation, taking care to click the

button that says 'Yes, I do have a TV licence.' One small problem: 21

Up wasn't on. Not until

10.35 p.m.

, aka time for Newsnight.

Surely, I wondered, my small prawn karahi rapidly decreasing in

temperature as I hunted for something rubbish to watch on 4oD, the

latest instalment of the 21st century remake of Michael Apted's bold,

immensely flawed sociological experiment, 7 Up, deserves a prime-time

slot?

The reason why it had been denied one became apparent halfway through

the episode. This new Up series has been intelligently and sensitively

directed by Julian Farino. It has respect for its participants, and is

generally free from the leading questions and clunky hypothesising

that marred the original. The children, who were seven at the turn of

the century, and 14 when the world started plunging into

financial crisis, have become conscientious, well-adjusted,

hard-working adults, who should give us great hope for the future.

Unfortunately, a bunch of 21-year-olds talking sensibly about work,

money and relationships doesn't make for tremendously exciting

viewing. Watching computer science student Jamie from Belfast go

leafleting for the Alliance Party and Orala (a superb singer) talking

passionately about her biomedical sciences degree and Alexandra

telling us how her independent girls' school had taught her that the

world was her oyster, left me longing for the sex, vomit and

A few participants stood out for me: John, a BMX and drum 'n' bass

enthusiast, because he appeared to have Pedigree Chum cheesy bites

attached to his earlobes; Ryan, born with cerebral palsy, who has had

to deal with his dad leaving and surrogate dad (his grandfather)

dying, and is still remarkably positive and hoping to play wheelchair

rugby for Team GB; and, most striking of all, Asif, a Pakistani Muslim

from Glasgow, who's rebelling against his strict upbringing by

dressing in a western way, having non-Muslim friends, listening to

Rihanna ('Mum wouldn't be too pleased, she thinks it's "the devil's

music"') and only going to the mosque for

Friday

prayers. Referring to

the more conservative Muslims he knows, he says: 'They expect you to

act a certain way and if you don't conform they shun you. It's not the

religion, it's the culture.' It will be interesting to see how he

turns out in 28 Up.

In the meantime, I'll be counting down the years to 63 Up (of the

original series), which promises to be the one where they all start

dying.