User Reviews

The episode is perfect i don't think I can give it any criticism. Even when humanity has made something that people consider amazing or perfect there are still very very very slight flaws every time that you can turn a blind eye to and refer to the thing as perfect. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this episode and everything is done in absolutely stunningly gorgeous perfection.

The aspect ratio allows the episode to feel that it is era appropriate using the same ratio as tv shows would use back in the 70s. The color pallet of the show always stands out as a strange choice that fits the show so well but this episode uses the color at its best and it fits the episode so perfectly. The scene where Carvel abandons Arby is so gorgeous its hard to describe. The setting of the nuclear power plants while using the amazing color pallet that the show uses gives the scenes an otherworldly vibe so difficult to find anywhere else.

The slow corruption of Milner from an MI5 agent to an evil woman who wants to save the world from overpopulation but will kill anyone who stands in her way is paced perfectly.

All the actors are perfect and fit the characters that they are playing amazingly. The actors who play Carvel and the tourturer don't have an epic fight where they both are very skilled at combat they instead end up just pushing each other and Carvel stabs the tourturer because that is realistic and the show is grounded in realism unlike other shows.

People who say that this episode wasn't needed are sort of right, yes the show could've gone on and continued the same way but they added in this episode which gives amazing character/story building and does it better than anything else. And yes I obviously love the show and not just this episode but without this episode the show would've lost a big part of it that no other episode could've replaced.

To conclude my review the episode is actually perfect and the entire episode is in gorgeous artistic perfection.

Easily a 10/10.

Ouch. This episode hurts. Moreso if you fell in love with Season 1. I did a review of the entire series for IMDb and said exceptionally nice things about Season 1, all of them deserved.

The phrase "lightening in a bottle" comes to mind. I mean, if it was THAT easy to produce superb entertainment, then everyone would do it, wouldn't they? The first season was insane. Half the time I had no idea what was happening but I was smitten with the oddball characters and the strange regional accents. There is something engaging about the way human nature invariably becomes more important than any story, even a story about a plot to wipe out humanity. And Season 1 drove that home.

So perhaps the producers should have more hesitant than they actually were to devote an entire episode to backstory, especially for a series that had managed so well to this point without one...? Bottom line, if not for the unfettered joy of the first season and the expectation that eventually the producers will regain their sanity, this episode alone would have put me off. The square "framing" to indicate flashbacks was annoying. If I never see that technique again it would be too soon. And as for lightening in a bottle, there was little. The last 10 minutes had some spark but overall this instalment was more than boring, it was actually irritating.

For fans only.

After almost a year and a half it is time to return to the strange world of 'Utopia' Don't worry if you haven't seen the first series as this episode is set decades earlier; it is 1979 and project Janus is about to start. Scientist Philip Carvel is unimpressed with those worrying about malaria… he sees it as a good thing; the real threat to humanity is the exploding population and something must be done to reduce the population drastically. His opinion is shared by Milner; a woman who works for the Security Services and is also part of The Network; a shadowy international organisation. Carvel is soon working on Janus; the project that will selectively render most of the world's population sterile. Obviously such a project must be run in absolute secrecy so anybody outside who learns of it or those inside who are no longer essential must be eliminated.

This episode nicely explained the early days of Project Janus; bringing new details for old viewers and also bringing new viewers up to speed so they can hopefully enjoy the rest of the series. As before the episode doesn't shy away from violence; some of it sudden and shocking; some may be just off screen but we can still hear what is going on and that can be disturbing. The feel of the late seventies is nicely evoked by having the picture framed like an old television rather than being full screen; other reminders of the time include much news footage of real events where the details have been changed to fit the story line… while the latter works well in context of the story some viewers might find it in somewhat poor taste to use real tragedies as part of a work of fiction in this way; personally I'm unsure. Overall though I thought this was a gripping episode and I'm now looking forward to watching the rest of the series.