‘River’ Episode 1 review: A beautiful performance by Stellan Skarsgard

BBC One’s River had a lot going for it before it aired, given that it boasted Hollywood star Stellan Skarsgard in its lead role. However, was this just stunt casting? Another example of film stars quietly commuting to television for more character-based work between big superhero movies? Or does the new six-part crime drama offer … >

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‘Utopia’ Season 2 soundtrack album review

Channel 4 really went straight for the spoon when it came to Utopia‘s fate, didn’t they? Skipping the chilli or bleach, they just scooped Dennis Kelly’s dark dystopian drama right out of the future schedules, never to be seen again. Some torturers have no finesse. So while we don’t have a third season to look … >

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‘Utopia’ Season 2 soundtrack album confirmed

An album featuring music from Utopia‘s second season will be released next month. Utopia 2: Original Television Soundtrack will be released by Silva Screen on Monday 8 December. > Order the album on Amazon. Cristobal Tapia de Veer’s soundtrack for last year’s first season was featured in Mojo Magazine’s Top Ten 2013 soundtracks at No.4 … >

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‘Utopia’ axed by Channel 4

Channel 4 has today confirmed that Utopia will not be returning for a third season. Written by Dennis Kelly, the conspiracy drama launched last year and Season 2 concluded in August. Kelly previously revealed that he had plans for two more seasons. > Here are 5 reasons why Utopia deserves a third season. A Channel … >

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5 reasons why ‘Utopia’ deserves a third season

Utopia’s second season shut up shop in deliberately ambiguous fashion, as you probably suspected it would, leaving enough dangling plot threads and questions to cats-cradle into a third season. That’s if the show gets one. Writer Dennis Kelly may have plans for a third and fourth season, but ratings for the show have been disappointing, … >

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‘Utopia’ Series 2 finale review

If recent weeks have taught us anything, Humanity’s big fear isn’t terrorism or nuclear war. It’s getting sick. Ebola is the latest spectre. Before that it was SARS, Swine Flu, Avian Flu. We’re terrified of our demise being delivered by a sneeze. We fear sickness, because we fear a lack of control. We like to … >

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‘Utopia’ Series 2 Episode 5 review

While Series 2 has lost much of the obliqueness of its predecessor – and there is no doubt that Utopia this year has used its torture spoon to feed you plot rather than push perplexities in your eye – the fact there are fewer questions has left greater space to admire performance of its talented … >

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‘Utopia’ Series 2 episode guide

Channel 4’s conspiracy thriller Utopia returns for a second six-part series. Rose Leslie, Ian McDiarmid and Tom Burke are among the new cast members, joining original cast members Fiona O’Shaughnessy (Jessica Hyde), Alexandra Roach (Becky), Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Ian), Adeel Akhtar (Wilson Wilson), Oliver Woollford (Grant), Paul Higgins (Dugdale), Neil Maskell (Arby) and Geraldine James (Milner). … >

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‘Utopia’ Series 2 Episode 4 review

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. … >

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