Based on a series of
books by Jonathan Stroud, Lockwood & Co is being bigged up as a key
new Netflix show with one reviewer even going so far as to suggest it could be
as big as Stranger Things. That would be good though I suspect it’s just
a little too English to hit those heights but nonetheless it seems to have had
a good reception. Not that it shares much with that other series by the way except
for focussing on kids taking on evil. There’s something old fashioned about Lockwood & Co which is best manifested by some great scares, a lot of slightly
posh banter, a complete lack of smartphones and an emphasis on the importance
of very English things like breakfast and cups of tea. Although some of the production
appears to suggest modern day, it is an alternative timeline as there are still
newspapers aplenty and when a mobile phone does appear it is one of those brick sized examples complete with an aerial. After so many modern dramas amp up the
tech to appeal to younger viewers its very satisfying indeed to see something
that chooses to rely on something more inventive.
Beware - spoilers past this point..