Where to find it: NowTV
Length: Eight 45-minute episodes
Synopsis: Sci-fi time spies? Time flies!
Recommendation rating: 3/5
What I like about it: well-written – sometimes shockingly so, good acting and VFX
What I don’t like about it: plot can be hard to follow, cheesy at first and at times
Review:
It has taken Sky 30 years to make a good TV show but at last, perhaps thanks to new ownership by NBC-Universal, this latest offering meets the high bar of “watchable”. The first couple of episodes are difficult to connect with as they set up the premise: a secret military-intelligence team, headquartered in Britain, has the power to turn back time as needed in the event of World War 3, that most unwanted of sequels. If WW3 doesn’t occur in a given year, they “save” the timeline – like a video game when you beat the boss on the fiftieth attempt – on a date referred to as The Checkpoint. Most people are unaware of this happening and believe the world has just scraped by in a tense and increasingly chaotic Mexican standoff since 1952 (some of them may be found rocking and humming and writing reviews at the thought) and before we become aware of it too, we’re introduced to George, who remembers his life through the resets and is recruited by the aforementioned time cops to aid in their world-saving heroics.
Now I’ve spoiled a little of the mystery of the first two episodes there but there’s plenty more to be found in the coming episodes as things don’t go quite according to plan for George and the Lazarus team, and I was very pleasantly surprised about where they went from there as it starts to connect on some fascinating themes, primarily the cost of order in an inherently chaotic universe, without ever losing the kind of mainstream action appeal that will win the show success beyond armchair academics like myself. It’s very well-informed about the world (though its Asian and Eurasian targets are predictable) and also dances on the tonal tightrope with general ease, using comedic elements and science fiction without undermining the dramatic weight that builds as it goes. Everything else comes together well, including brilliant and sparingly-used (though justifiably repeated) visual effects, but for me the writing stole the show.
Content notes (may contain spoilers): WW3, WMDs, GTNW (it happens, on screen, a lot, much like in my nightmares, thanks), loss/grief/death, pregnancy and childbirth, military/spook/cop shit, violence, racism