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| Television's own Pax Britannica! |
Black Mirror was probably my favorite of the three. Essentially, it's an anthology series in the same vein as The Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock Presents. While only three episodes per season, each hour gives a completely new story, one that, for the most part, is quite gripping. Most of the show deals in future future situations, however the pilot, "The National Anthem" takes place during the present day. What's fantastic about Black Mirror, aside from the writing, acting, and directing, is the concepts of each episode. In episode three, humans have developed a chip in their brain wherein they can scan back through old memories, watching them like a movie. The main character of the episode believes his wife to be cheating on him and repeatedly scans through his memory files re-playing a dinner with the man he thinks she is seeing. Though a bit cringe-inducing and hard to watch, the episode delivers on all fronts. The characterization of the world is spot-on. While not too far into the future (there are no robot massacres), obviously technology has evolved. And, for the most part, the show attacks said technology. In another episode, one about a future where people are forced to be in an American Idol-esq reality lest they be forced into slavery, this same type of over-the-top technology is attacked. All told, the bleak looking future is not because humanity has gotten out of hand with war, but with ourselves. By evolving too quickly, the human race seems to have over-adapted itself. For only six too-short episodes, Black Mirror is able to raise this thesis, bring forth some nostalgia to old anthologies, and entertain to a great extent..jpg)
Next up was Luther. Starring The Wire's Idris Elba, Luther details a policeman who struggles with morality, sanity, and the code of the police. While seemingly generic, the performance by Elba and the writing to give his acting credit is what stands out. John Luther, the titular character, starts the series out by throwing a criminal off of a building instead of arresting him. Because of the police brutality charges, Elba is then suspended from the police for six months, attending a rehabilitation center. Upon his return, he sees that his ex-wife, whom he is still in love with, is now with his co-worker. Also, with a new case on his desk, he tracks a psychopath, Alice Morgan. However, he is both unable to arrest Alice and unable to win back his ex, Zoe. For the rest of the series though, as Luther battles his inner darkness and his outer life-difficulties, he begins to rely on Alice Morgan for insight into the mind of sociopaths, using her as an informant. This begins yet another interesting dynamic. Luther's relationship with Alice is a fascinating one to watch as they both know that Morgan should be put away while still acknowledging that Luther himself could easily be in her position. I have not yet finished this series, and a fourth season is set to premiere in the near future, but thus far it has been stellar.
Finally, I watched Broadchurch. It is the tale of a little boy murdered in a small coastal town and the mystery of "whodunnit." In November and December, FOX picked up a new show titled Gracepoint, starring David Tennant and Anna Gunn. It was to be an adaptation of England's Broadchurch. While fairly compelling and well acted by the leads, Gracepoint failed to be anything more than a fun murder mystery without the darkness of The Killing or the mystique of Twin Peaks. So, when I heard that Gracepoint was actually based on Broadchurch, starring David Tennant Olivia Colman (English Anna Gunn), I was skeptical to watch it. However, when I finally committed, I couldn't have been happier. With two episodes less than the American series (8 in the English version), and a different killer at the end that made a bit more sense, Broadchurch, unlike its American counterpart, delivered. The various townspeople had a certain creepiness to make the viewer suspect all of them while still maintaining their humanity, and the mystery of who murdered a little boy in the coastal town of Broadchurch lingered with viewers right down to the last episode. David Tennant, previously seen as The Doctor's tenth incarnation in Dr. Who, got to bring out his inner darkness, portraying a much more troubled and layered character than he did in his more bubbly Doctor persona. Olivia Colman was also shockingly good. After being treated to Anna Gunn, I thought for sure that the female main character would be a bit of a letdown in England. However, Colman surprisingly did a better job! Perhaps it was the writing, but whatever the case, Broadchurch was a fun ride, one that I will continue quite soon, as the second season has already begun on BBC!Labels: Anna Gunn, Archer, BBC, Black Mirror, Broadchurch, Charlie Booker, Chris Chibnall, David Tennant, Doctor Who, FOX, Gracepoint, Idris Elba, Luther, Neil Cross, Netflix, Olivia Colman, Twin Peaks