What can I really say about Utopia. With more twists, turns and tangles than when you pull your earphones out of your back pocket. Characters that make you think feel everything and stunning visuals. It is an absolute masterpiece of a television series.
Utopia is about a group of people who happen to come together through a series of seemingly unconnected events. The group come into a possession of a manuscript. The sequel to a cult graphic novel, which both fans of the novel and a shadowy organisation known as the network want to get their hands on.
It is a near impossible task to articulate the brilliance and glory that is Utopia without ruining the plot for those who have not watched it. All I can say is that it is not often that you find yourself genuinely questioning whether or not you actually side with the “good guys” or the perceived antagonists or “bad guys”.
Everyone character is acted brilliantly. Even the children play their roles very well which is quite rare in a TV series. You feel everything that every character feels. In the opening scene in episode one when the comic book workers are killed you feel the fear that they characters are experiencing. When the first worker to be killed says “please I just want to go” you know and feel the fear that he is experiencing. The same goes for the antagonists hit man (Arby) when he starts to unravel his past you feel sorry for him, even though he has committed unspeakable crimes.
Another thing that makes this series truly a masterpiece is the visuals. everything looks so enhanced, so beautiful. Every single colour stand’s out and look’s sublime. I am not one to like or dislike something based actual visuals. As long as I can relate to characters or it really hits some sort of emotion whether it be laughter, hatred or sorrow I’m happy. But Utopia changed this for me. Everything pops, everything looks so wonderful and the colours are balanced and used so nicely.
The acting and visuals have nothing on the writing of the series. If there was to be a knighthood based on television writing then it would be given to Dennis Kelly, no questions asked. With so many twists and turns and revelations and double, triple, quadrupole crosses and bluffs it is amazing that the series even made sense. The most impressive is that you are never scratching your head trying to get your head around the revelation, it is obvious and brilliant every single time. For those who are easily distracted you do not need to keep your eyes glued to the screen taking in every minute detail which is most often the case with a plot this thick and full on turns. Which again is a credit to the writers.
What’s even better is that the series finish’s with places for more series to follow on from. Unlike some shows (Homeland) I haven’t felt cheated out of a fantastic finale for the chance to make further, poorer series. You can tell from every single episode and the finale in particular that there is much more afoot and further series will only enhance the enjoyment.
Hats off to every single person involved in creating this superb series. You can really tell that every single person involved no matter how small their job really pulled their weight and put in 110% to really make this show great. Lets hope for more to come.