Plan B

I have now watched all 6 episodes, weathered the numerous rows, love-making scenes and baby delivery scene (why do they always make female actors do this, it's like asking a pianist to play Rachmaninov's Third) and shouted at the TV a few times. I am glad I did.

Karine Vanasse is remarkable, her character Evelyn is rarely happy for long, she is inconsistent, dis-satisfied with what she has and triggered at the smallest things, histrionic, dismissive, doesn't take responsibility for herself or accountability for her part of the problems they face, she deflects, moves the goal-posts all the time. She is encouraged in all this by her rather typical single female side-kick, who is hostile to Evelyn being in a couple and makes her disdain for the husband quite plain. Evelyn meanwhile - in various timelines - is not short of men, if there was ever a woman for whom the saying "she's not your girl, it's just your turn" was coined, Evelyn is that woman. Less Plan B, more Cluster B.

Vanasse plays this really awful woman with such sincerity and authenticity, her striking beauty and her range of expression is captivating, for example the grieving phone-call (spoiler) and the aftermath of this traumatic event (Episode 5, spoiler), her gentleness and loving nature when she and Phillip were happy, these moments were the calm before the confusing rug-pulling and door slamming storm usually.

There are various sub-plots and intrigues, which work well. Through it all, Patrick Adams' character Phillip really does try to do the right thing for other people, he means well, but he is caught in co-dependency with his brother and his awful mother, as well as with his wife, Evelyn, and nothing seems to work out. Until, he realises the one thing he has to do, to give all of them a chance to break the cycle and have different lives.

In a sense, Plan B is all about consequences, it uses a time-machine storyline to show how things could be different if people had behaved differently, if we had acted differently. It is potentially transformative in that, if only the characters in Plan B had made better choices, been more ethical, more direct, taken responsibility for themselves, they would not need to go back and fix things. This is the hidden payload in Plan B, live life in such a way that you do not regret your actions. This, for me, makes it more than a TV show.

Ironically, Plan B is also a morning-after pharmaceutical product, you'll get the irony when you see the show.

The concept is very good even if there are some (serious) holes to be filled (like how did he pay for the service in the first place, how changing the past affect everything in the future, and so on). Apart from that, during its 6 part span, the story develops nicely, slowly but surly. The finale is well worth the wait and gives you a glimpse of what may come next.

The protagonist, Patric J. Adams, who made himself a household name with Suits, takes on a completely different character here, a much less amiable figure with a lot of dark shadows in him. That makes his Philip a more believable human being yet, obviously, less likeable. All the other actors are also fine in their roles with the female lead, Karine Vanasse, is outstanding. (Her character's brother, played by François Arnaud, and Philip's borther, acted by Joshua Close, are on spot here as well.)

The production value is up to date, the camerawork is strong and steady (no shaky home video-like BS here), the score and editing are all humble to the story.

All in all, this is a fairly good mini-series, well worth the watch.

Yikes. Where to start? First, this is maybe the dullest and most joyless time travel show in history. The main character repeatedly invokes a service that lets him travel back in time but really has zero questions about who these people are or how this is possible? Second, everything is played with a deadly seriousness that just doesn't work. Time travel shows usually involve a little humor as characters repeat scenes over again or know about things in advance to comedic effect. But not here. Instead, everything devolves into melodrama. Last, but certainly not least, all of the characters are completely insufferable. The story is written in such a way that the writers are obviously trying to present the leads as star crossed lovers we should be rooting for. But the main character isn't likable and his wife is even worse. The creators should go back in time for a do over on this whole show.

Plan B attempts to explore the "what if" of decision making. What if we had the option to go back and do it differently? It's not as easy as changing one thing to create the desirable outcome. There are many variables attached. It's an interesting premise to see various versions of the past trying to manipulate the future. The problem is the series is not that engaging. While I was interested enough to see where it would lead, I didn't care about the characters and sometimes found them annoying. As a concept, I found Plan B creative but wish they'd done something more substantial with the set-up. Still the series held my partial attention at times.

I must admit, this show was tough to watch. Not because of the acting or premise, but because of my own past experiences.

The script and acting was so intense, I was immediately drawn in to the story and felt the experiences being played out on screen. I ended up breezing through the six available episodes and was left wanting more, but we never know in this era of streaming where shows are tossed at the first sign of adversity.

If you have a few hours to spare, watch this show and don't stop until you've finished it. You won't regret it when you've reached the end. Here's hoping the show is continued!