Trivial pursuits of Dublin gal pals

By FRANCES GRANT


Any Time Now (TV One, 8.30pm) is described by its makers as an Irish drama about the "lives, loves and libidos" of three women friends, set in "cosmopolitan Dublin".

In other words, it's utterly contrived chick drama - sex, relationships, shopping, lattes and cocktails, careers or lack thereof - with life's knockbacks soothed by the warm, fluffy pashmina of loyal female friendship.

Because it's women's telly lite, Any Time Now is driven by character rather than action. Don't expect any ideas, either.

"It's not issue-based but emotion-based," says Zara Turner, who plays Kate, in the show's publicity bumf.

The three friends, Nora, Kate and Stevie, are a set of complementary types. Nora's the sexy, shiftless one who's been living in New York and pretending to her mates and family that she's made it big.

But her fantasy world was rocked by the death of her dad.

Nora came home for her father's funeral, confident an inheritance awaited to solve her financial troubles, only to find she has a stepmother.

The gold-digger has her claws firmly on the will and is ensconced in the family seat.

Kate is the sensible one with a good job, nice house, devoted husband all primed for baby-making - and a bit on the side in the form of Stevie's wild boy ex-husband.

Stevie is the kooky one, separated and a solo mother living at home with her mum and no life plan.

With her wild swerves from wacky to wet she has potential for winning the title of most irritating telly female of the year.

In last week's episode, she was in a stew because she'd been to a psychic who saw no future, at all, for her.

Exercising her infallible instinct for hopeless relationships, Stevie fell for the psychic. The psychic turned out to have eyes only for her mum.

Yes, Any Time Now is firmly in the genre of the cute, whimsical Celtic drama.

It also lays it on thick with the blarney and the banter: "I don't want to look like I'm trying too hard," says Stevie sporting a strange outfit for her date with the psychic.

"At the same time you don't want to be putting them off," retorts her ex.

By last week's second episode, however, there were a few holes beginning to show in the cosy city gal pal life.

Stevie decided she wanted to get back with her ex, only to be devastated by the discovery that he's keen on somebody else. She doesn't know this is her best mate Kate. And Nora, who does know, is the meat in the sandwich.

Any Time Now has been called the Irish version of Cold Feet but it's much blander than that.

Neither is it "Sex and the City of Dublin", although with its fashionable locales (its BBC web page even offers a real-life tour of the bars and cafes where the chicks hang out) it seems to have aspirations in that direction.

It's wallpaper telly drama, fine for that mindless slump on the sofa if that's all that's called for. Think of it as telly's equivalent to a Marian Keyes novel but, if this is possible, with less plot.