TheShiningGuy

Imagine being one of the most maligned writers to ever a helm a TV show that has run almost consistently for nearly 60 years. Imagine creating one of the most criticised and disliked season of a pop culture titan that has been contributed to by hundreds upon hundreds of writers across thousands of pieces of media. Imagine that then, after that, you decide to disregard the entire past 57 years of TV, hundreds of books and even more audio stories with no tact or sense of continuity or reason so you can brand your mediocre name onto a once perfectly written story and lore for no reason. Chibnall, why? I've been watching this show for as long as I can remember and this nearly made me give up on it, I had to go back and watch older, better episodes to reignite my passion for it. Dear god retcon this insane, sloppy, embarrassing piece of media and bring back the old lore, it was so much better. I'd take time's champion any day over this.

I watched Utopia only recently, after hearing bits and pieces around the internet about Utopia as this lost masterpiece sullied by its American remake, and so I began to look for it. I was pleased to discover it on my BritBox subscription, and so I proceeded to watch both of its two seasons, my take away? This is one of the best shows ever put to screen.

Never has a show felt more real, and raw than Utopia, exploring how your everyday person would react wrapped up in a conspiracy thriller usually populated with highly trained police officers or people knee deep in the seedy under belly of L. A., or London, or New York or wherever it takes place. These characters are the sort of person that would work two cubicles down from you in an office building, actual people with actual emotions and not just one singular trait that takes over their entire personality. Not only this, but the show's excellent use of ultra-violence, a much detested trope in these dramas which include "shock value" for no particular reason than what it says on the tin, is amazing, being extreme enough to feel chaotic and horrifying but infrequent enough to not be overwhelming.

Plus, the writing put forward by Dennis Kelly, the show's creator, rivals some of the titans of TV (e.g. Game of Thrones). As stated before, the characters are incredibly relatable and likeable, including ones that aren't. A character, who at the start of the series commits a school shooting, comes off as one of the most empathetically wrote characters ever who you will in a strange way love by the end of your viewing. Not only this, but there are multiple twists and subversion of expectations in every episode; this ranges from character you think will be one of the main leads just dying suddenly without it feeling like a copout to massive reveals that come out of the blue yet are completely believable and have been teased throughout the season if you know where to look.

Another quick note is the score put forward by composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer, which makes very single track a rememberable masterpiece unlike most TV shows, where usually only the main title is remembered.

If you like violent, twisty-turny conspiracy thrillers then this just might be the best one to ever air, although I haven't seen many great shows, so don't be annoyed if you find another one better. But still, take my advice, watch Utopia.

I watched Creep as I fancied a quick horror just after watch Sinister (2012) and saw that it was on Netflix. I had heard that it was alright so I decided to put it on and wow was I surprised.

The story follows Aaron, a freelance photographer who is hired by a dying man named Josef who wants him to film him for a day so he has something to leave behind for his unborn son, Buddy. But, the moment Josef is introduced, we know that he has some sort of ulterior motive.

The performance of Mark Duplass as Josef and director Patrick Brice as Aaron is outstanding and excel in a scene halfway through the movie, which I won't spoil but it's so incredibly disturbing that I could barely sleep that night. I really don't know why more people don't talk about this film because although it is short, it is absolutely terrifying and you would not regret watching it.