Utopia

IdleRich

IdleRich
Anyone else been watching this Channel 4 series? The gist of it seems to be that a graphic novel called The Utopia Experiment has correctly predicted a load of events such as BSE and the rise of a new genetic disease called Deals Syndrome or something. It turns out that there is a second part to the novel and a lot of scary people are trying to get their hands on it. Some innocentish comic enthusiasts are mixed up in this and being chased by some very unpleasant psychopaths who are also busily infiltrating the British government along with everything else. Fairly standard stuff in some ways I guess but the atmosphere is very good and it always goes that little bit further than you expect in unsettling you - just that bit darker than you might expect from a series on Channel 4 really.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Unpleasant psychopaths infiltrating the British government? How on earth would you tell?

Does sound like an interesting premise for a series.

Edit: there's been some dark stuff on Channel 4 before now, hasn't there? Nathan Barley? Monkey Dust?
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
I guess, I never really watch tv normally so I can't speak that authoritatively. Trailer here although I haven't watched it

 

slim jenkins

El Hombre Invisible
Watched a couple of episodes...not exactly hooked. That assassin dressed like a retired football hooligan must be mind-controlled, he acts like such a dope. Might catch up with it though...something to watch at Work.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
I think that the implication he's been either genetically or chemically altered to be a totally remorseless if slow-witted killer.
 

crackerjack

Well-known member
Wish I'd read this summary before I started watching, half-heartedly, then deciding I didn't have a clue what was going on and deleting all the other eps.
 

rubberdingyrapids

Well-known member
ive watched the first 3. i like it. its bloody violent (this has to be one of the most violent things ive seen on tv, which is saying something as even MOR crime series seem to be pretty graphic these days). not sure i know wtf is going on exactly or why (or if i even care that much tbh, which is kind of why ive stopped watching) but yeah, it has a good atmosphere and there is something kind of fresh about it despite the nods to things like the matrix and so on (i also think of 12 monkeys though not sure why) - i found the stuff about the killer being emotionally dead but not understanding himself almost corny but it managed to avoid it.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Agreed, the violence has been nasty enough times to make you worry every time it looks like it might happen again. The torture scene was a case in point where you kept thinking something would interrupt it before he actually rubbed bleach in his eyes... but nothing did. For me though, the darkest scene was the first one in the shop when they told the witnesses that they were just giving them knock-out gas but they kinda suspected that they would die if they breathed it in and yet they did it anyway - I think there is some kind of truth in that. It's almost easier to lie to yourself and die than to actually resist.
 

rubberdingyrapids

Well-known member
honestly if it wasnt for the sensory violence i dont know if this would have that much of an impact (which makes me feel a bit sad for modern audiences as is this the only way to keep us riveted/feel something?), cos the story, though interesting, isnt fascinating. not yet anyway. its on about the same level as looper. sort of clever but kind of familiar.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Like I said though, there is something more horrible about the way people submit than the violence itself so I don't totally agree with what you're saying there. Also, after the first episode it's not so nasty and the story has got me engaged... I know it won't be unbelievably revelatory but I do really want to know what's going to happen.
 

rubberdingyrapids

Well-known member
theres plenty worse after the first one! though as far as killings, i did find the gas leak kills cleverer/crueller in some ways than the murders that follow - it gets nastier but also less inventively horrific when it starts to revolve around the zombiefied drone with a gun guy.
 

sufi

lala
i like the colourisation a lot and the cinematography is well done (nicely composed shots, plenty of depth of field), i wonder what kit it's made with

the ultraviolence works ok, there's definitely a point being made about the banality of it, but i'm also liking the zeitgeistyness of it being about chat rooms and graphic novels and big pharma too.
also black mirror has many of these qualities, so i'm quite liking that too

Geraldine James was lodger at my mates house when i was about 8, he used to boast about her at school, so it's pleasant to see her popping up again
 
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