Round the Twist

Round the Twist has the loose, strange energy of children’s television that is happy to be weird without becoming hard to follow. By our assessment, its strength is that it treats absurd situations as normal, which gives the show a playful, slightly off-kilter feel instead of polished sweetness. The downside is that this kind of series can be hit-or-miss, because the oddness that makes it memorable can also make it uneven. In practice it feels fast, comic, and a little unruly, with stories that aim more for invention than tidy realism. Round the Twist sits well above ordinary kids’ filler and is one of the more distinctive children’s shows of its type, especially for viewers who like their childhood TV with a crooked edge.