These are all less than 20 minutes long, rather than three hours. The good news is that the Netflix versions are much shorter than the original programmes. Now for the big question: is Old Enough any good? The answer is a resounding “sort of”. Whether those shows – including Death Note, Your Turn to Kill and Life’s Punchline – will be given the same attention remains to be seen. The arrival of Old Enough was greeted with a flurry of press releases from the Japanese broadcaster Nippon, hailing a partnership with Netflix for 30 of its shows. Netflix’s aggressive stance on shoving it at the top of everyone’s homepage is harder to explain. The kids had an adventure, and they weren’t helped, and they did it. However, the big heartwarming punch that usually comes at the end is a newfound pride in their abilities. Rightly so, because walking a mile to a shop alone can be a terrifying prospect for a toddler. They’re all aged between two and six years old, and they’re almost always scared to death when they first set out. Part of the appeal, from what I can tell, is the show’s ability to instil confidence into the children. The children are chosen after a laborious selection process, the camera crew and safety team are given hiding places so the kids won’t spot them and all the local neighbours are informed of the task, so as not to freak out and call the police when they see a four-year-old wandering aimlessly through the streets. All the errand routes are inspected by parents and production staff, to check for dangerous roads or “suspicious persons”. The length between episodes can be explained by the sheer level of preparation that goes into each task.

Japanese mother son gameshow 3b part 9