You know Chekhov’s Gun, right? The dramatic principle that everything should have a purpose. Anton Chekhov explained it with a rifle – ‘If it’s not going to be fired, it shouldn’t be there’ – and Utopia loves to follow that rule. Hardly is a pistol pulled in Episode 4 without someone’s blood painting the wall. … >
Giving drama a backdrop of contemporary world events is a double-edged sword. While it lends realism and gravitas to a story that might otherwise be as fantastic as it is fantastic (as it were), it can also be like trying to use a live tiger as a sofa: there’s a real danger of it biting … >
What’s a modern conspiracy thriller without some hacking? Nothing. Since humanity first hooked its TV up to an Atari to play Pong, ‘hacking’ has been an entirely misrepresented but convenient techno-obfustication to leapfrog plot difficulties faster than the speed of typing. It’s the wi-fi Expelliarmus. A deus.exe machina. And it’s no different in Utopia, where … >
It’s probably a bit early to be reaching for True Detective-sized superlatives when discussing The Honourable Woman. Yet with each instalment surpassing the last, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to resist. Comparisons with Nic Polazzo’s acclaimed thriller are both fitting and inappropriate. The suspense that hangs over Hugo Blick’s serial like Victorian smog, making it almost … >
Twelve episodes sooner than normal, we reach the end of the latest season of 24. Live Another Day has been an experiment from the off – a twist on the formula designed to breathe new life into the show and hopefully extend the longevity of the franchise for future seasons – and as we reach … >
Making last night’s Episode 1 feel increasingly redundant, the second instalment of Utopia 2 brings us up to speed on where everyone is since we last left them aaaaaages ago, and does little else. But only in a show like this could that not really matter. Because Utopia is so abrasively bonkers it manages to … >
In 2005, a group of teenage girls from Drumchapel in Glasgow made national headline news as they spearheaded a campaign to change deportation laws in the UK, after one of their immigrant friends and her family were arrested in one of a series of dawn raids initiated by the UK Immigration Department. Glasgow Girls, a … >
Hide your bunnies and protect your eyes, the televisual mind-fuck that is Utopia is back. To celebrate, I’ve laid on a 1970s multisensory review for you. So relax on an Omkstak chair with a crème de menthe, and press play on the video below to set the mood before we continue down the rabbit hole … >
Life is rarely kind to Nessa Stein. The little girl who saw her daddy stabbed in the neck by a waiter (for being boss of an arms company rather than failing to leave a decent tip) has grown up rich and successful as a result of running the family business – but it has come … >
Rather neatly actually airing between 9pm and 10pm on Sky1 tonight, we’ve reached the penultimate episode of 24: Live Another Day and, while it’s been an entertaining ride pretty much throughout its abridged run, it’s only in the past few weeks that the bar has really been raised. It’s been the introduction of Cheng Zhi … >