What can I say about this show other than its great.
Interesting, well developed characters you really care about. An original story with compelling subplots. The mostly young, mostly unknown actors all play their parts with heart and soul. All in all a well acted, well thought out new show.
Recently I began to watch two new shows, this one and Terra Nova. Whilst I was fully aware of Terra Nova (and it was hard not to be with all the money Fox threw at advertising it) I found The Fades entirely by accident (and was already 4 episodes in). After watching the first episode of The Fades I was hooked and immediately dived into the other three. After watching the first three episodes of Terra Nova I decided not to watch anymore. These two shows highlight the current gulf in quality between American and British sci-fi/ fantasy with America starting to really fall behind (with honourable exceptions to Supernatural and The Walking Dead). Whilst Terra Nova boasts a massive budget and tons of CGI, its characters are weak, its plots are derivative and clichéd and all around is frankly uninteresting. The Fades has a tenth of its budget but manages to stand head and shoulders above it in terms of quality. American shows clearly have no respect for the intelligence of their audience and believe people are simpletons who will clap happily at expensive special effects and big explosions. Therefore, for the moment at least, I think I'm sticking with British shows like The Fades who do not feel they need to hold the hand of the viewer and prefer to rely on well crafted stories than meaningless CGI (then again American shows stopped being about storytelling long ago and these days are simply a vehicle to sell advertising).
The Fades has the potential to run for many years and puts me in mind of another BBC success that came from humble beginnings, Being Human. I can't recommend this show highly enough and if you yearn for fantasy with substance then this show is for you.
As a footnote I'd just like to make a prediction. The date today is Oct 21st 2011. I guarantee at some point in the future an American network will take note of The Fades and, as they always do, rather than simply re-showing the British version will remake it for American audiences. It'll boast a bigger budget but will end up, as every other one has, a pale imitation of a better quality original. It's about time the main American networks (and those who enjoy their p*ss poor programming) had a bit of humility and realised that their way is not automatically the best way.
