User Reviews

Based on the graphic novel of the late Si Spencer. Star Stephen Graham only makes a brief appearance in the first episode.

A time travel murder mystery. The same dead body is found in the East End of London in 2023, 1941 and 1890. There is a bullet that went through his eye and lodged on his brain.

Only the pathologist in Victorian London cannot find the bullet.

In 2023, there is no signs of who the dead person is. There are no fingerprints and DNA of him in the police database.

Only in the wartime segment, does a mysterious woman order DS Karl Whiteman to go and collect a corpse.

Then there is a coda at the end of the episode which is set in the future, 2053.

It is certainly stylish and intriguing. Two of the police investigating the case are from marginalised groups. DS Whiteman is Jewish and suffers from antisemitic abuse from his fellow officers. DS Hasan in the present is a hijab wearing policewoman. There certainly seems to be an element of outsiders examining the murder.

Even though the first episode seemed to be mainly shot in the north of England rather than London itself. It looked stylish with producer Susie Liggat having previously worked on Doctor Who.

I'm not really going to evaluate a show where the first episode simply introduces us to the plot line and the characters (the police detectives). The premise, of course, is the treatment of a mysterious body, thought murdered and left somewhere. After watching Dark, perhaps the finest time travel/quantum theory show of all time, I noticed some parallels. Especially the physical events that take place in the surroundings that are not explained at this point: lights going out, explosions, the vilification of people who seem out of place. But, to be honest, there are way too many questions that it would be unfair to throw out a critical view of this. Instead, I will soldier on and see if this is worth the time.

Good writing, acting, cinematography, and direction, really pays off in this time travelling who-done-it, that spans over 150 years and 4 different detectives perspectives. Yes a bit of a trope theme, but it's entertaining - I love the fact they had the guts to go back a 130 years and forward another 30. That was a nice touch and leveled this show up from "historical murder mystery", to a future-forward quantum entangled one.

Yes quantum theory is all the rage - but who can resist a quantum state superposition? A system able to be in all states until measured? Perhaps a bit like the human soul, or people's inner most dialogue(s) and intentions (see what I did there?).

One caveat. I'm assuming there's an alternate universe where I didn't write this review, or in our current iteration where Quantum theory is disproved, or changed, and the show is as farcical as some that have come before, but good writing, acting, cinematography, and direction, generally lands well in any time period. IMHO.

Btw, I give things 10/10 as a show of gratitude to the work the team does to bring a production to life - it's probably an 8/10 - but is also a 10/10 too.

Split into four timelines, the story starts with a naked body found in an alley in the year 2023 by the MOST politically correct cop ever, a Muslim female who wears a veil and who's probably gay... Not only that but she's a single mother and has a loving family composed of her aging father and cute kiddo. Note that the family background is given only for her timeline, to show how maternal and loving she is.

The second timeline in the year 1941 is about a shady but discriminated Jewish cop who finds the same naked body in the same alley.

The third takes place in the year 1890 and the cop finds the same body surrounded by a whiff of - at the time illicit - gay cavorting.

The fourth is a stuck-on cliffhanger ending, taking place in the year 2053.

In the third timeline, there's the cliche introduction of a mysterious character, seen on a reflection in a photo. The autopsy doctor seems so terrified (why?) that he doesn't even want to mention the guy. Why can't they just say that the guy is someone rich and well-connected who should be left alone instead of hinting at fake mysteries? Because, who else could that guy be, other than somebody rich and well-connected?

In the first timeline, there's the even more annoying cliche of the "mother syndrome". Since the cop is female and we're shown how maternal she is, she must think she's responsible for the death of the Asian suspect, a perfect stranger who put himself in jeopardy and refused to give up. Responsible how? And why promise the sister she was going to protect him when as a cop she should know the situation was bound to slip out of control? Dumb and cliche, but after all, these are the tropes of the production. No matter in which era the story takes place, they all develop in the same way, with the same good (ethnic, female, gay) and bad characters (white males).

This kind of story, spanning over three incidents in over 130 years can't be properly presented by telling it haltingly through flashbacks timed for each advancement of the case by the police. The director makes it worse with split screens of scenes of police procedures 130+ years apart. That is an attempt to make the story intelligible to people who can't follow a simple progression.

Why should the story be spoonfed to viewers as though we are all intellectually challenged? The method reveals more about the production staff than it does of the viewers. If we needed this kind of dragged out explanation and presentation, then none of us would be capable of operating the necessary technology to view the series on a streaming service.

I'm tempted to just stop viewing this series, but the story has potential, so...