Penelope and the other Bandits are having a crisis of confidence, which only stop-offs in Georgian England and 14th century North Africa can hope to address.

Quite often, even when I appreciate a show for how funny it is, I tend to watch, musing to myself ‘oh that’s funny’ rather than actually, you know… laughing.

Not so with Apple+’s reboot of Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits. The tightness of the writing, the razor sharp delineation of the comedy ensemble, the warmth and innocence exuding from every frame has me guffawing on my sofa with no time for critically thoughtful musings.

Georgian kicks off with a brilliantly satirical sideswipe from Roger Jean Nesengiyumva’s Widgit at certain trends seen in other period dramas such as Bridgerton in recent years, before Kevin finds himself in the company of the Earl of Sandwich (Mark Gatiss on sparkling form) and a swoon-inducing Casanova (Alex Gibson-Giorgio) besotted by the Bandits’ monosyllabic Judy (Charlyne Yi).

In Mansa Musa, award winning writer Tyrell Williams turns racist tropes on their head as the Bandits find themselves to be the outsiders joining the Malian ruler’s legendary 1324 Hajj. Other shows might have balked at this subject matter, but Time Bandits handles it with intelligent, laugh-out-loud finesse. For fans of Gilliam’s original, the warm relationship Kevin strikes up with Musa (Hammed Animashaun) is reminiscent of the equivalent bond formed with Sean Connery’s Agamemnon in the movie.

Oh yes, and the whole thing looks glorious. The VFX are well crafted, but it doesn’t over-rely on CG. The set-dressing and costumes are a joy to behold. I don’t know what the budget was for this show, but my guess is that it’s all on screen.

Verdict: I’ve loved the first four, but at the series midpoint the show has gone up a gear, and I struggle to find fault with these two wonderful episodes – even if there was a debate in SFB’s penthouse office suite (think All the President’s Men with top-end flat-screens) as to whether a certain familiar gag in Georgian was a steal or an homage. I’m falling on the side of homage, which is why I am very happy to award an unequivocal… 10/10

Martin Jameson

www.ninjamarmoset.com