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If you enjoyed Black Mirror you have to watch Utopia by Channel 4 in the UK. It's remarkable. Don't search for a synopsis online. It's a sci-fi conspiracy thril
by internaut 10y ago
If you enjoyed Black Mirror you have to watch Utopia by Channel 4 in the UK. It's remarkable. Don't search for a synopsis online. It's a sci-fi conspiracy thriller like none you'll have ever seen before.
This is an imdb review that echoed my sentiments:
"First of, I made an account at IMDb solely so that I could submit this review.
Utopia is exceptional. It is a masterpiece. It gets 10\10 from me.
I won't explain what Utopia is about because I don't want to give any possible hint of what is to come, so I'll describe it by comparing it to other things.
Buy the DVD or download the show and your life will get.... stranger. Its rather unsettling how Utopia gets under your skin.
There are a few television shows that share some similarity to Utopia.
For example, if you enjoyed Fringe, the X-Files, then you'll be quite at home with Utopia's paranoid wanderings.
So then you cross the weirdness of Fringe and the paranoia of the X-Files with the violence of Kill Bill and the action\suspense of the Jason Bourne series.
Now cross that already bizarre hybrid with a series of scientific TED Talks given by Joesph Mengale, yes, the Nazi who chopped countless pairs of twins to pieces for the greater good.
I'm not sure which is more bizarre. That description or that incredibly, it works.
However Utopia is much, much darker than any of those. It is the darkest TV series I have ever seen. It also as others have said, feels very real.
A note of warning. When I said Utopia was dark, I was not joking. If you suffer from excessive anxiety or you're squeamish, then do not watch Utopia. Because this TV show is nothing like you've ever seen before, it will affect you. You will be thinking about the themes in it long after you've watched it.
The violence in Utopia isn't actually that strong at all, most of it occurs off the screen. But the intense atmosphere of paranoia which accompanies it makes it brutally real.
On the other hand since the governments of the world have apparently taken a leaf out of Utopia's manuscript lately with regard to surveillance, Utopia could well seem prophetic in a few years time. This really is a TV series for 21st century of flying killer robots and universal surveillance.
The Sopranos changed the way I thought about television. I thought television was for lightweights until I watched The Sopranos. It was like thinking books were mostly about erotica and then coming across Shakespeare and entering a world full of subtle complexities on a bunch of levels.
Utopia is nothing like The Sopranos. But the way it'll change how you view television is very similar.
Just one last thing. There is an American show called "Person of Interest" or something like that which has similar themes. Watch this instead.
In a word: this is intense. "
It also has one of the strangest soundtracks you'll ever hear. Listen to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2f6MfEzhvo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2f6MfEzhvo
Warning: Do not watch if you are especially prone to paranoia, depression or anxiety.
- cm3 10y agoI wished that they had expanded further on the past as in Utopia S02E01 but they unfortunately didn't. The conclusion was satisfying, though.
- internaut 10y agoFor me Season 1 was perfection, Season 2 was close to perfection but a little rushed towards the end, and then I wished that they have developed a Season 3 (with a red/blue schema) Don't you wish you found out what happened with W.W? The characters were terrific, especially J.H. The storyline was the very best. There was so much world left to explore and and I wish we'd seen a Utopia derivative/side story from David Fincher's version of it. I think it would have been a perfect fit for the director of Fight Club and still a tall ask for him to live up to. Like the author of that imdb review I felt it was very real for some reason despite the decor.
- cm3 10y agoThere's enough unexplored for a season 3 story-wise. I heard they will make a US version. If it's like Shameless US, I'm all for it, but usually US remakes tend to make a bad copy that also stretches out for no reason. I really like the British and Australian format of a few dense episodes rather than 12 or 22 US episodes where it's 60% filler material. However, if it isn't story driven, then making 22 episodes is ok. After the bad US copy of Rake tanked, the Australian original got a 3rd season, and it's likely to get a 4th one, so sometimes studio heads make sound decisions.
- internaut 10y ago> . I really like the British and Australian format of a few dense episodes rather than 12 or 22 US episodes where it's 60% filler material. Agreed. I bought both seasons on DVD and the original soundtrack for both seasons, then sent all my friends a copy of the DVD/Bluray for Christmas. I wish there was a better way to support projects you like though. In particular microtransactions on the Net are total fucking shit, it needs to be built-in to OS or Browser as a universal standard and simple. > I heard they will make a US version. I'm afraid not. That was David Fincher/HBO and it's not going ahead.