[Chiaroscuro]

Apparently, "they" could find me in 45 hours 55 minutes and 26 seconds.

I recorded this on the strength of the trailer because there was something about it that reminded me of a C4 comedy drama called Up Line from years ago (probably before many of you here were born) though if I saw Up Line now I'm sure I'd say they nothing alike.

Anywa, atched the first two episodes at weekend and thought it was great - though the torture scene with Wilson Wilson was just horrendous and it's often quite difficult to watch, but it does have some fantastic lines and for once some interesting, different female characters.

[Robin Davies]

Originally Posted by Steve35

Which one? One is Edward Fox.

James Fox actually.

[Robin Davies]

Originally Posted by spaniel-lover

When I watch this programme, I have to change my TV picture setting from 16:9 to cinema, or else there's black stripes at the top & bottom of the screen.

There should be black stripes at the top and bottom of the screen.
Otherwise you're chopping the sides off the picture.

[jcafcw]

Any show that reminds us that Coldplay are shit gets the thumbs up from me.

[spaniel-lover]

I was under the impression that Alice came from a priviliged family, yet their house was very mediocre looking.

[wrighty694]

Originally Posted by Gatehouse

Can I not interest you in my "Letts as the (sorta) good guy" angle? He might be entirely telling the truth about Carvel, in which case, he's one of the most gruesome characters of all-and why did Carvel draw the line at some point? Eugenics freaks don't tend to mellow out...


Of course, I think Sir Donald has plenty more action to do rather than just talking...I still don't know how to post spoilers, but I think it's pretty obvious what I'm talking about..pm me if you want to know what I mean

i'm happy to wait and see how it pans out tyvm i think the series is following that Homeland type 'no good guys' pattern but i have to admit i find that more believable than a straight goodies and baddies scenario, and if we can expect any moral fibre it's gonna have to be our Russian-porking civil servant and how he deals with his 'predicaments'.....i can't see how this is all gonna get resolved and even if it doesnt it all looks so damned good that i probably won't mind

[VicsMum]

Originally Posted by Barrie Williams

Christ, here we go again. Are you being told to say all this stuff?

Jessica is precise and graceful? By what standards are you judging her, that of a robot?

I'm pretty chuffed that I called Arby's emotions and childhood as being an issue after episode 2 Surely it ony took seconds to realise that there was something wrong with him?

I now definitely think that the scene in Ep2 where he walks down the grass verge just in time to see a hearse pass was him attending Lee's funeral-it was his best/only "mate", Could that not just have been the funeral of the guy who had just got splattered by a truck? And I know that the timing might not match but whoever produced this isn't playing by normal rules anyway.

The Coldplay moment was hilarious, too No it wasn't it was just a childish dig.

Milner-does anyone trust her? She rang back incredibly quickly; the skinhead bloke was already parked outside the gangs hideout-and probably had been for some time. Kinda implies that she knew they were there already. Surely she rang back quickly because she only had to press 'call back' - the skinhead bloke was probably with the bad guys etc etc.

Best "gag you only get by watching it twice" Not really it was fairly obvious the first time.

I still think that you are reading FAR too much into this series. It seem to me that this is a simple thriller which has concentrated far too much on bringing us style over substance. OK, they have a cameraman with a good eye for photographic scenes and a editor/director who likes colours but that doesn't make up for a very very slow moving story line.

Incidentally, one scene which I did like was where Jessica got down on the bed with Grant, showing that she just wanted to be normal and be someone's mum.

Are you always this happy?

[Gatehouse]

Originally Posted by barnsleykeith

When you go to post a reply, highlight the text you want to hide and then click the invisible grey ''S'' above the Smilies block. This will hide everything you don't want to post in the open.

Cheers. So a lot of people will already be thinking this I think, but:

Spoiler

Mr Rabbit is Sir Donald Letts. Grant says his name begins with an "L". When I say I expect more action from him rather than just words, it's based on the characters ability to wipe out 264 people despite being initially unarmed-and the fact that Stephen Rea so enjoyed his role in Shadow Line, that he fancies an "unlikely killing machine" reprise.

That's what I hope, anyway! The only other theory I've heard is..

Spoiler

Mr Rabbit is Lee, and he'll be back! I don't think so, that was a lethal shot by Wilson-he got him from point blank range (which is the only way he wasn't going to miss) and it went through the abdomen close to the heart and came out the other side.

[blackletterday]

I don't see Arby going to the roadside to see lee's funeral, the hearse was empty?

Jessica also seemed to be lying when she was spinning a tale to Grant I think, obvious ploy to relate to him and gain his trust.

[blackletterday]

I have a feeling we haven't met Mr Rabbit yet, I did think he could have been Jessica's Dad, but nah.

Lee would have made a crappy Mr Rabbit, seeing as he couldn't out manoeuvre a blind man.

[diary_room]

I'm all for setting up puzzles and giving the audience clues etc but literally telling us the first person of the mystery person's name is frankly lame! It starts with a L indeed.

I was a fan of this show from Ep1 but it hasn't lived up to the promise of that first episode. Just seems poorly thought out and is not half as clever as it thinks.

[junipaire]

I just had to come on here to say, I'm amazes, this is absolutely the best drama in so many years, so gripping, very intense, and it is shot so beautifully. Sure the violence part is really hard to watch at times and I kind of wished they didn't involve kids in these scenes. But it is so well acted and fresh drama, really amazed its on channel 4 too, these days I just attach channel 4 to cooking or property shows, they seemed to of lost what they stood for, creating fresh thought provoking stuff that used to be on channel four. This is certainly a step in the right direction.

[junipaire]

Originally Posted by EIwood

I've seen worse in many other films. The Saw films come to mind, as does Hostel, etc. Pretty mild for a torture scene really.

That Hostel 2 movie should never of been put out in my opinion though, it was sick beyond words, but you are right this torture scene was nothing compared. Still for tv it certainly was going to shock lots for sure, maybe didn't need it to be so graphic.

[Virgil Tracy]

the violence isn't that graphic , but its the psychological tension that is unsettling plus the fact that kids are involved .

the 2 kids really help the show I think , they stop it from being smart-arse-cynical stuff .

btw - did the hitman kill the kid in the school ? we hear a gunshot but he says he didn't . But then the kid is a witness right ?

[NightFox_Dancer]

I don't normally follow drama serials, in fact the last one I watched from start to finish was 'Hit & Miss' on Sky Atlantic back in June, Utopia is something that I've become addicted to, I love the surrealism that makes it more quirky despite it being one of the most darkest series I've ever watched. The last episode was particularly harrowing but that just makes me want to watch more, the writing is brilliant and I now have a reason to look forward to Tuesday nights.

Any idea on weather this is just a mini-series or is it set to continue once this series ends in a few weeks?

[barnsleykeith]

Originally Posted by Gatehouse

Cheers. So a lot of people will already be thinking this I think, but:

Spoiler

Mr Rabbit is Sir Donald Letts. Grant says his name begins with an "L". When I say I expect more action from him rather than just words, it's based on the characters ability to wipe out 264 people despite being initially unarmed-and the fact that Stephen Rea so enjoyed his role in Shadow Line, that he fancies an "unlikely killing machine" reprise.

That's what I hope, anyway! The only other theory I've heard is..

Spoiler

Mr Rabbit is Lee, and he'll be back! I don't think so, that was a lethal shot by Wilson-he got him from point blank range (which is the only way he wasn't going to miss) and it went through the abdomen close to the heart and came out the other side.

Spoiler

I think Mr Rabbit is Letts' Assistant - played by James Fox. For me he seems to be pulling the strings. The way he gave Lett the phone to order Arby to do the school massacre was strange. The way he tossed it to his ''boss''. Arby will only take orders from Letts, that's the reason why he had to give the kill order personally. If the Assistant is Mr Rabbit it would explain why he isn't named in the credits.

[barnsleykeith]

Originally Posted by Virgil Tracy

the violence isn't that graphic , but its the psychological tension that is unsettling plus the fact that kids are involved .

the 2 kids really help the show I think , they stop it from being smart-arse-cynical stuff .

btw - did the hitman kill the kid in the school ? we hear a gunshot but he says he didn't . But then the kid is a witness right ?

Yes, I think so. Arby's conditioning was thrown off track by the raisins on the floor. He thought about his actions for a while. Then got back on mission. No survivors or else the setup wouldn't work.

Couple of things I noticed. When Jessica is talking to Grant in the house they broke into. She is sat on the floor and he is laid on the sofa. There is a little doll in a blue dress sat on a book shelf. It is looking directly at Grant. It looks like a real little girl. Very weird. Also strange is the way Jessica is sitting as she talks to the young lad. Her head and arms form a triangle and the sun is shining through the blinds. Dust floats in the bright light. It's like Jess is hypnotizing Grant into coming with her.

[StargateNerd_24]

I am going off this show now it seems to be getting too unbelieveable. How many can get killed execution style? There must have been 10 or so in just a few days.

[JonDoe]

Still loving it in our house.

Not really trying to figure out the mystery, we're just going with the flow.

[Gatehouse]

Originally Posted by barnsleykeith

Spoiler

I think Mr Rabbit is Letts' Assistant - played by James Fox. For me he seems to be pulling the strings. The way he gave Lett the phone to order Arby to do the school massacre was strange. The way he tossed it to his ''boss''. Arby will only take orders from Letts, that's the reason why he had to give the kill order personally. If the Assistant is Mr Rabbit it would explain why he isn't named in the credits.

It's an interesting theory, and does fit with his cameo appearance last week, and what he said, whereas-

Spoiler

Letts was almost reticent to "give the order" when Assistant said "it's time". And the very name "Assistant" could be to put us off the scent. I do find the "his name begins with L, I think..." a bit lame/too obvious, whilst Letts almost seemed sensitive with Arby. However I think that was an act-Rea's characters are often very good at "acting", too! I still hope he "goes Gatehouse" on us

[spaniel-lover]

Originally Posted by Robin Davies

There should be black stripes at the top and bottom of the screen.
Otherwise you're chopping the sides off the picture.

I can't watch things with those black stripes - I find it very annoying.

[Gatehouse]

I can't claim credit for this as somebody on the Guardian blog thread spotted it, but there's a great Easter Egg in Ep3: the Police hotline phone number when Grant's mother is making the appeal for any sightings of him is 08003457462. It's a real number...

[Gatehouse]

Originally Posted by spaniel-lover

I was under the impression that Alice came from a priviliged family, yet their house was very mediocre looking.

It was all yellow...I'll get me coat.

[VicsMum]

Originally Posted by Gatehouse

I can't claim credit for this as somebody on the Guardian blog thread spotted it, but there's a great Easter Egg in Ep3: the Police hotline phone number when Grant's mother is making the appeal for any sightings of him is 08003457462. It's a real number...

Jesus Christ, that's FRICKING scary!!!

[tealady]

Originally Posted by spaniel-lover

I was under the impression that Alice came from a priviliged family, yet their house was very mediocre looking.

Maybe she is on a scholarship.