It's been too long since I saw the first series and I'm getting completely confused as to who some of the characters are and especially how some of them relate to last night's prequel. I have nearly all of the last series on DVD with the ad breaks edited out, but I lent my player to my dad. I refuse to be forced to sit through the ad breaks on 4OD.
Was "Philomena Cunk" in the first series? That's what was getting me confused - I recognised here face but wondered where she fitted in.
When it's all over I'll have to lock myself in a darkened room for a couple of days and watch the whole lot back to back.
That Daily Mail so-called TV critic, who was obviously ordered what to say, is going to feel pretty stupid when the awards season arrives. This series is stunning in every possible way. It is an absolute feast for both eyes and mind.
A pulsating episode. Arby was the standout character, followed closely by Jessica. Arby taking out a whole SWAT team was just badarse. I'm glad he's one of the good guys now and on the path of redemption. Even though he's committed some heinous crimes (the worst being the murder of the school kids), I can't help but feel sorry for him as he had no control over his traumatic childhood that led to him becoming a hitman, especially after watching last night's flashback episode.
I hope this means Jessica and Arby will eventually team up to defeat The Network. They'll be pretty formidable together. Milner better watch out!
Dang, didn't know this thread was back alive, I've been posting in the Sci-fi thread!
Gatehouse, looking forward to reading more of your intriguing theories, mate :cool:. We just need jende back and the old gang from Series 1 will be back .
It's been too long since I saw the first series and I'm getting completely confused as to who some of the characters are and especially how some of them relate to last night's prequel. I have nearly all of the last series on DVD with the ad breaks edited out, but I lent my player to my dad. I refuse to be forced to sit through the ad breaks on 4OD.
Was "Philomena Cunk" in the first series? That's what was getting me confused - I recognised here face but wondered where she fitted in..
No I don't think she was in the first series-if the character was, then she was played by another actress.
I don't think the prequel really revealed much that we didn't already know, it just played out the back-story that Season 1 told us about and added in some colour and detail. As far as this and the next episode is concerned, the last series and how it ended is more pertinent.
All the same, a rough idiot's guide to the characters that were in both S2 Ep1 and Ep2:
Baby boy who killed rabbit/Carvill's son-Arby or Petrie as he is now known, his real name. No longer the unthinking numb tool of The Network, his voyage of self-discovery has given him some moral compass and purpose, but not lessened his cold-blooded killing skills (yay!).
Little girl aged 4, Carvill's daughter-Jessica "Hyde" (or Carvill as it is really), AKA woman being tortured.
Red haired woman in the prequel who "fell in love with Carvill's brain" on her mission to "save a species"-Milner/grey haired woman in charge of the torture who apologised for what she'd done to Jessica at the end and is orchestrating government (and global) roll-out of the Russian Flu vaccine, IE the virus that sterilises, as there isn't really any Russian Flu.
I think that's the lot. Assistant (James Fox) in S1 isn't in S2, as he was killed in S1 by Grant-but he was the fair-haired guy in the prequel.
Of course, there might be another; the shabby rambling Deals expert that Kevin Eldon's character Tony was using to write his book on Deals. Tony said that he doesn't speak English, but the clip of Ep3 shows that he does. He could be Carvill, or at least someone else who worked on Janus.
The other character's would take too long to go into much detail, but essentially:
Ian and Grant: lost Becky at the end of S1, Ian's gone back to work (somewhat unrealistically seamlessly) and Grant is in hiding as he's still wanted for the school murder's that he was framed for. They've gone looking for Becky and found her. Becky is initially frosty but will melt in Ep3. Grant's grown up a bit and swears even more now.
Becky: not much revealed about what she's been up to since she ran out on Ian at the train station. If you recall, she'd had a fit caused by the Deals conditions and didn't want to be in a relationship where she could be a burden and maybe die at any time. Needs medication to fight her condition, which is why she agreed to meet Donaldson. He seemingly just wanted to use her as eye candy to seduce Tony. She'll reveal to Ian next week why she ran off, that it was a mistake and what she's been up to I expect.
Donaldson: the wonderfully entertaining corrupt scientist who once worked on Deal's and for The Network (loosely, in a mercenary sense). Still only really looking out for himself, don't let the change of actor confuse you on this one! Is wanted by The Network but Arby dispatched the SWAT team sent to take him out without breaking sweat Isn't a "good" guy, but as he is now hunted by The Network (he doesn't know why, but I'd assume for knowing too much), he's suddenly aligned to the gang. I love how this heartless git remains one of my favourite character's despite a change of actor, but that is credit to both of them that have portrayed him and the script.
Geoff: The murdering Minister (for Health?). Has been forced to buy Corvac for the government after they went into administration as they make the "vaccine"; the administration obviously being faked to smoothly bring the company under more direct government control. He's given Michael a job fronting up the operation.
Michael: the Civil Servant from the Health department who was blackmailed throughout S1 by The Network to make him be a good boy, which he wasn't, and looks to be being blackmailed still-although Geoff seems to think that they're buddies now . Still a force for good, but they still kinda have his ball's in a vice. He's essentially in the job-and the chair-that Stephen Rea's character used to sit in. Which doesn't bear well seeing as Geoff strangled his predecessor to death under Assistant's orders in that room at the end of S1. But he didn't take it lying down, making his feelings clear to Geoff in a tirade worthy of Jamie from The Thick of It, another sweary character that Paul Higgins played with aplomb. Much more to come from this character when the story gets onto the roll-out of the vaccine, as he's at the heart of it and capable of doing their plan some real damage.
Lee: Arby's former Network hit-man partner from S1 and eye torturer extraordinaire. We all thought that Wilson Wilson had shot him dead, but it turns out that he's still alive, despite Arby thinking he wasn't. Classic case of a writer realising just how popular a deceased character was and bringing him back to life! He's back to work, although not moving smoothly still, off the **** and on e-****, and has been sent by The Network to re-enlist Arby, who's forsaken his former employers for an honest life as a plumber. Arby isn't buying it. This will leave Lee to head up the Network Gangster Wing hunting down our group who are back on the run, alongside unlikely partner...
Wilson Wilson: seems to have thrown his lot in with The Network, as many people predicted at the end of S1. Maybe he genuinely does believe in it, and his first job was to stand next to a presentation about the "vaccine" and make "huh? See, good, innit?" type facial expressions. Is probably feeling that the lives lost (including his father) need some justification that the Network plan gives him, but is a fragile character who is going to have to cope with the mental scars of working for the people who killed his dad with the guy who gouged his eye out as a partner: I can see him flip-flopping back to the other side, especially if he's in a position where his friends from S1 are threatened. Which of course they will be, with him in close attendance...
Gatehouse, looking forward to reading more of your intriguing theories, mate :cool:. We just need jende back and the old gang from Series 1 will be back .
Ha ha, before I'd had a chance to read your post, I was at it again! Yes looking forwards to seeing how things develop from here now we're back into the swing of the series propper and knocking our theories about, just v.annoyed that it's only 6 episodes long and we've only got 4 left now. I would love an American-sized season of this show.
A pulsating episode. Arby was the standout character, followed closely by Jessica. Arby taking out a whole SWAT team was just badarse. I'm glad he's one of the good guys now and on the path of redemption. Even though he's committed some heinous crimes (the worst being the murder of the school kids), I can't help but feel sorry for him as he had no control over his traumatic childhood that led to him becoming a hitman, especially after watching last night's flashback episode.
I hope this means Jessica and Arby will eventually team up to defeat The Network. They'll be pretty formidable together. Milner better watch out!
Agreed with all of that. The most valuable part of the prequel was, for me, showing us the brutalising of that poor child. Although I'd have cheered him on regardless, just from knowing what we knew, actually seeing it gives him much more moral weight. That is important to emphasise given the heinous acts that we saw him commit in S1. Not a justification for what he's done, but yes, some sort of redemption is perhaps what's he's seeking.
What's for sure is that now he knows his story, he doesn't want to work for these people any more. Now Lee's made it clear that you "don't/can't just quit", he's in a "well if I'm going to have to do this crap, it's against them, not for them" mind. And judging by his actions at the end of Ep2 and his words in Ep3 in the trailer, he wants to help people-starting with our gang. He doesn't need them like they need him, but sought them out and saved them; he's basically in the exact same role of protecting them and fighting The Network that Jessica had in S1! Neat.
My favourite scene's in S1 was when Jessica and Arby were working together: what a kick-ass combo that has the potential for! And in purely lovey-dovey terms, is there anything more these two messed up kids deserve other than their brother and sister? They've got a massive amount in common, after all, and neither has anyone else. I think Jessica is a long way off being soft enough to think like that, but that could change...
I didn't particularly enjoy the first episode, although it helped to fill in some blank pages, maybe because there was no humour. This episode was much better and full of humour. I just love Arby/Pietre and his shuffling walk and I'm glad he's come over from the dark side now.
Becky: not much revealed about what she's been up to since she ran out on Ian at the train station. If you recall, she'd had a fit caused by the Deals conditions and didn't want to be in a relationship where she could be a burden and maybe die at any time. Needs medication to fight her condition, which is why she agreed to meet Donaldson. He seemingly just wanted to use her as eye candy to seduce Tony. She'll reveal to Ian next week why she ran off, that it was a mistake and what she's been up to I expect.
Thanks for all that - I'll have to print it out as a crib sheet
I's the above section I've forgotten about. I couldn't remember anything at all about Becky's condition and why she needs the medication to live. Must get my DVD player back so I can watch the last two episodes of the first series again.
I really enjoyed last night's (and Monday's) episodes but they were essentially just catch-up episodes and getting us re-familiarised with the characters. I was a little worried at first when I saw all the characters seperated and showing us what they were up to now. I thought it might go the same way of the last season of The Walking Dead where we would have endless episodes showing the characters individually until they inevitably all meet up again at the end off-topic I know but blimey that was the worst season TWD yet). Thankfully that wasn't the case and the old gang was back together again by the end of the episode.
Nice touch having two exactly the same style of torture bag but in different colours. Again, I have to highlight the brilliant music used in the episode, little flourishes of the last series's score but with new twists and classical touches. Is Christobal Tapia De Veer the new Jon Hopkins?
417k watched last night - A loss of 139k. Channel 4 must be sick to their stomachs. Is it any wonder they churn out cheap reality shit the rest of the time?
In some ways some of the ending of series 1 seemed pointless. why disband them to have them come back together when not under threat. In a way apart from being heavily involved in it their story appeared to be over. So it's interesting to see where they go with it.
I loved Milner and her ideology of for the greater good she truly believes in what she is doing and seemingly cares for Carvel and by extension Jessica. Love her character really complex and the prequel explaining it brilliantly.
Also the Spring whats she gonna do with it.
Plus at some point Wilson will become a double agent or serve the needs of the group I don't think he has gone badass just yet.
at first I was really disappointed because they'd re-cast Arby , but when I checked the cast I was wrong , I know he had a beard but it just didn't look like Neil Maskell .
my only problem with it is that it's just too unbelievable at times - Wilson teaming up with the guys who tortured him and ripped his eye out and killed his dad .
my only problem with it is that it's just too unbelievable at times - Wilson teaming up with the guys who tortured him and ripped his eye out and killed his dad .
417k watched last night - A loss of 139k. Channel 4 must be sick to their stomachs. Is it any wonder they churn out cheap reality shit the rest of the time?
I don't know. We're moving into the age of flexible TV viewing, more people are not watching episodes instantly as they are aired.
Live viewing figures are gradually becoming less and less relevant. It could be, when adding up all the thousands who watched it on catch-up, the overall figures of people who saw that episode could actually be quite healthy.
It is a quirky, unusual show and subject matter to be fair.
Some recent survey showed that the overwhelming majority of viewing is still done as it airs or on +1 and on TV in preference to any other device.
For regular shows to a certain extent. But for the more quirky stuff with a much smaller potential audience, I think it's a bit different. It gets spread out a bit more.
For regular shows to a certain extent. But for the more quirky stuff with a much smaller potential audience, I think it's a bit different. It gets spread out a bit more.
It`d be nice to think that but I doubt it has any appreciable impact.
Was the bit from the trailer in which Lee says to Wilson 'we make a good team you and me' in last nights episode? Cause i watched it on catchup and maybe missed it, but it looked like the same scene.
Comments
http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/jul/15/utopia-recap-series-two-episode-two
tuesday's is pretty sewn up with weirdness .....
hannibal THEN utopia!
utterly gorgeous to look at
mesmerising in it's acting
and sumptious in it's story
LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT
Was "Philomena Cunk" in the first series? That's what was getting me confused - I recognised here face but wondered where she fitted in.
When it's all over I'll have to lock myself in a darkened room for a couple of days and watch the whole lot back to back.
That Daily Mail so-called TV critic, who was obviously ordered what to say, is going to feel pretty stupid when the awards season arrives. This series is stunning in every possible way. It is an absolute feast for both eyes and mind.
I hope this means Jessica and Arby will eventually team up to defeat The Network. They'll be pretty formidable together. Milner better watch out!
Gatehouse, looking forward to reading more of your intriguing theories, mate :cool:. We just need jende back and the old gang from Series 1 will be back
No I don't think she was in the first series-if the character was, then she was played by another actress.
I don't think the prequel really revealed much that we didn't already know, it just played out the back-story that Season 1 told us about and added in some colour and detail. As far as this and the next episode is concerned, the last series and how it ended is more pertinent.
All the same, a rough idiot's guide to the characters that were in both S2 Ep1 and Ep2:
Baby boy who killed rabbit/Carvill's son-Arby or Petrie as he is now known, his real name. No longer the unthinking numb tool of The Network, his voyage of self-discovery has given him some moral compass and purpose, but not lessened his cold-blooded killing skills (yay!).
Little girl aged 4, Carvill's daughter-Jessica "Hyde" (or Carvill as it is really), AKA woman being tortured.
Red haired woman in the prequel who "fell in love with Carvill's brain" on her mission to "save a species"-Milner/grey haired woman in charge of the torture who apologised for what she'd done to Jessica at the end and is orchestrating government (and global) roll-out of the Russian Flu vaccine, IE the virus that sterilises, as there isn't really any Russian Flu.
I think that's the lot. Assistant (James Fox) in S1 isn't in S2, as he was killed in S1 by Grant-but he was the fair-haired guy in the prequel.
Of course, there might be another; the shabby rambling Deals expert that Kevin Eldon's character Tony was using to write his book on Deals. Tony said that he doesn't speak English, but the clip of Ep3 shows that he does. He could be Carvill, or at least someone else who worked on Janus.
The other character's would take too long to go into much detail, but essentially:
Ian and Grant: lost Becky at the end of S1, Ian's gone back to work (somewhat unrealistically seamlessly) and Grant is in hiding as he's still wanted for the school murder's that he was framed for. They've gone looking for Becky and found her. Becky is initially frosty but will melt in Ep3. Grant's grown up a bit and swears even more now.
Becky: not much revealed about what she's been up to since she ran out on Ian at the train station. If you recall, she'd had a fit caused by the Deals conditions and didn't want to be in a relationship where she could be a burden and maybe die at any time. Needs medication to fight her condition, which is why she agreed to meet Donaldson. He seemingly just wanted to use her as eye candy to seduce Tony. She'll reveal to Ian next week why she ran off, that it was a mistake and what she's been up to I expect.
Donaldson: the wonderfully entertaining corrupt scientist who once worked on Deal's and for The Network (loosely, in a mercenary sense). Still only really looking out for himself, don't let the change of actor confuse you on this one! Is wanted by The Network but Arby dispatched the SWAT team sent to take him out without breaking sweat
Geoff: The murdering Minister (for Health?). Has been forced to buy Corvac for the government after they went into administration as they make the "vaccine"; the administration obviously being faked to smoothly bring the company under more direct government control. He's given Michael a job fronting up the operation.
Michael: the Civil Servant from the Health department who was blackmailed throughout S1 by The Network to make him be a good boy, which he wasn't, and looks to be being blackmailed still-although Geoff seems to think that they're buddies now
Lee: Arby's former Network hit-man partner from S1 and eye torturer extraordinaire. We all thought that Wilson Wilson had shot him dead, but it turns out that he's still alive, despite Arby thinking he wasn't. Classic case of a writer realising just how popular a deceased character was and bringing him back to life! He's back to work, although not moving smoothly still, off the **** and on e-****, and has been sent by The Network to re-enlist Arby, who's forsaken his former employers for an honest life as a plumber. Arby isn't buying it. This will leave Lee to head up the Network Gangster Wing hunting down our group who are back on the run, alongside unlikely partner...
Wilson Wilson: seems to have thrown his lot in with The Network, as many people predicted at the end of S1. Maybe he genuinely does believe in it, and his first job was to stand next to a presentation about the "vaccine" and make "huh? See, good, innit?" type facial expressions. Is probably feeling that the lives lost (including his father) need some justification that the Network plan gives him, but is a fragile character who is going to have to cope with the mental scars of working for the people who killed his dad with the guy who gouged his eye out as a partner: I can see him flip-flopping back to the other side, especially if he's in a position where his friends from S1 are threatened. Which of course they will be, with him in close attendance...
Ha ha, before I'd had a chance to read your post, I was at it again! Yes looking forwards to seeing how things develop from here now we're back into the swing of the series propper and knocking our theories about, just v.annoyed that it's only 6 episodes long and we've only got 4 left now. I would love an American-sized season of this show.
Agreed with all of that. The most valuable part of the prequel was, for me, showing us the brutalising of that poor child. Although I'd have cheered him on regardless, just from knowing what we knew, actually seeing it gives him much more moral weight. That is important to emphasise given the heinous acts that we saw him commit in S1. Not a justification for what he's done, but yes, some sort of redemption is perhaps what's he's seeking.
What's for sure is that now he knows his story, he doesn't want to work for these people any more. Now Lee's made it clear that you "don't/can't just quit", he's in a "well if I'm going to have to do this crap, it's against them, not for them" mind. And judging by his actions at the end of Ep2 and his words in Ep3 in the trailer, he wants to help people-starting with our gang. He doesn't need them like they need him, but sought them out and saved them; he's basically in the exact same role of protecting them and fighting The Network that Jessica had in S1! Neat.
My favourite scene's in S1 was when Jessica and Arby were working together: what a kick-ass combo that has the potential for! And in purely lovey-dovey terms, is there anything more these two messed up kids deserve other than their brother and sister? They've got a massive amount in common, after all, and neither has anyone else. I think Jessica is a long way off being soft enough to think like that, but that could change...
http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/jul/14/utopia-conspiracy-theories-channel-4-conspiracy-assassinations
At the end there is a bit which shows how OTT the Mail article was.
What a show this is! Incredible.
I's the above section I've forgotten about. I couldn't remember anything at all about Becky's condition and why she needs the medication to live. Must get my DVD player back so I can watch the last two episodes of the first series again.
Nice touch having two exactly the same style of torture bag but in different colours. Again, I have to highlight the brilliant music used in the episode, little flourishes of the last series's score but with new twists and classical touches. Is Christobal Tapia De Veer the new Jon Hopkins?
In some ways some of the ending of series 1 seemed pointless. why disband them to have them come back together when not under threat. In a way apart from being heavily involved in it their story appeared to be over. So it's interesting to see where they go with it.
I loved Milner and her ideology of for the greater good she truly believes in what she is doing and seemingly cares for Carvel and by extension Jessica. Love her character really complex and the prequel explaining it brilliantly.
Also the Spring whats she gonna do with it.
Plus at some point Wilson will become a double agent or serve the needs of the group I don't think he has gone badass just yet.
And Arby just brilliant.
my only problem with it is that it's just too unbelievable at times - Wilson teaming up with the guys who tortured him and ripped his eye out and killed his dad .
Who's to say he is joining them to help them?
Live viewing figures are gradually becoming less and less relevant. It could be, when adding up all the thousands who watched it on catch-up, the overall figures of people who saw that episode could actually be quite healthy.
It is a quirky, unusual show and subject matter to be fair.
Some recent survey showed that the overwhelming majority of viewing is still done as it airs or on +1 and on TV in preference to any other device.
It`d be nice to think that but I doubt it has any appreciable impact.
I'm new to this, but it must be worth watching for that review alone. Anything that gets the Daily Mail in such a lather gets my vote.
Gatehouse, always a pleasure reading your elaborate posts
Hi VicsMum, hope you're well!