Years And Years (Episode 5 Review)

The jollities of new year have never been so forced as the Lyons family see in 2028. There’s blackouts, digital crashes, bomb explosions and floodings. It’s also a case of old acquaintance not being forgot for a family struggling in the aftermath of Daniel’s death. There is no resolution in sight for them.

The main wonder of Russell T Davies’ script, other than it’s warmth and humanity, is that you never know where it’s going to go next. The beats to the story are so unpredictable that it verges on disorientating and that’s probably the point. The surreal feels uncomfortably real.

It’s not just the main arcs that keep viewers on their toes, it’s in the little flourishes too. Like Muriel and Celeste’s unlikely and strange companionship, or Rosie’s hilarious run in with customer services. It must be said that Ruth Madeley is on top form here.

New Prime Minister Vivienne Rook has declared a housing emergency and anyone with two spare bedrooms has to legally house those in need. Edith is sidetracked by a search for “The Disappeared”, humans that have got lost to the state and her cynical mind won’t believe it’s a myth.

Stephen is a shadow of the man he was five episodes ago. Loss has turned his soul bitter. Loss of money, loss of marriage and in a powerful scene with Viktor, loss of empathy. His principles are in tatters as he joins his friend and Hong Sha denier Woody and chances upon Rook gloating about concentration camps and genocide like it’s a chat over the water cooler. Sending Viktor to the newly named “erstwhile” are the actions of a man gone rogue and yet Rory Kinnear plays all the rough edges so well there’s a sense the nice, moral man is still inside and redemption next week could be possible.

Bethany is coming into her own and in a closing twist could become an unlikely saviour as the living embodiment of a phone and tablet. She’s literally an all seeing eye and teams up with a poorly Edith to carry out a break in. Will we find out what was in those papers? As a superhuman with the truth about Stephen at her disposal, Bethany could prove to be a superhero in the finale. Russell T Davies probably has other ideas..

Years And Years (Episode 4 Review)

 

As time lapses further into the future of 2027, governments are changing almost as quickly as the impending sense of doom. For the first time in the UK and by hook or by crook the new Prime Minister is Vivienne Rook. That’s the country shook.

The central focus this time is the troubled relationship of Daniel and Viktor. The trouble comes from outside sources but when the outside sources threaten banishment and murder the stakes are high. Dan and Viktor are engaged but they have to flee a Spanish revolution. The socialist government has been ousted and their safe space is now dangerous. 

It is a stressful journey to get back to England, through being scammed for money and hiding in the luggage compartment of a bus. Russell Tovey and Maxim Baldry are a playing an absolute blinder here, summing up their innocent quest to love freely and the heartache when their hope keeps ebbing away. The expected doom arrives but it is still a brutal piece of television. They manage to get to a boat but it’s a distressing watch as too many panicked refugees spill onto it. Dark screens cut to an idyllic beach covered in dead bodies and one of them is Daniel Lyons. It’s reminiscent of when the writer shocked viewers with a death in Cucumber. Television can be powerful and emotional, it can make important statements.

The rest of the episode has peaks and troughs. The peaks are in little touches like the fact that Mary Nightingale has aged extremely well, those breath tests for ID and Stephen’s drug addled side affect where he keeps looking left. Even that could have been a literal political nod. 

The troughs? Rosie setting up a burger van business by borrowing £10,000 off gran when it’s not that clear what the point is. The same can be said of Celeste broadcasting Stephen’s affair with Elaine. Has he been having an affair because of the dystopian situation or just because Celeste is a horrible person? While it’s all perfectly performed by the cast it feels a little out of place and very much in the shadow of Daniel’s tragic death.

You think things are bleak now? We still have 120 minutes to go and  Rook is now in control. God help us all.

Years And Years (Episode 2 Review)

So it turns out the world hasn’t ended which is a good job because the last five episodes of dead air might have been a tough watch for even the most hardened TV obsessive. After such a dramatic finale last week the mood is naturally rather subdued but on screen this post adrenaline slump comes across too. We have moved a year forward and only a few thousand people died in the nuclear attack (phew) so Edith is positively glowing (with radiation) as she returns to England. Mood wise she’s grumpy and fed up with activism but a shortened lifespan will do that to you.

We knew of her return in a strange move a week ago when she showed up in the ‘next time’ reel, somewhat ruining the dramatic conclusion and that’s how episode two feels. It’s the difficult second episode. That’s not to say anything is particularly bad here, it just doesn’t live up to the hype it has built for itself.

In a world of technology and impending political doom, Russell T. Davies is going for the emotional jugular. He’s finding the human in the inhumane. Not that there’s much humanity in Celeste but it’s difficult not to feel a modicum of sympathy for her as daughter Bethany becomes a walking phone (a literal mobile?) and gets closer to the cloud than a Ryanair flight.  Part machine and part human, Bethany is Robocop for the digital age. But without the weapons. Or armour. Or police status. So not like Robocop at all really so forget that analogy. The point is, bar an imprint on her wrist she looks normal when she is anything but. She walks among us. The insanity of it fits in comfortably into day to day life.

Daniel is now happy with Viktor after the refugee romp (registered trademark) but we know full well that such positivity was never going to last long. His bitter and still boring ex reports Viktor to the authorities for having a glamorous petrol station job and their unity is torn apart. Even this, the poignant epicentre of the sixty minutes falls flat. Daniel doesn’t seem too alarmed and Viktor has the aura of a man who’s been upgraded to a posh suite at the Ritz. Of course it is early stages and it’ll be interesting to see how the issue is handled.

Meanwhile Viv Rook is continuing her takeover of the media by staring into every single camera. Seriously, politicians don’t do that. Not in 2019 anyway. In a well observed hustings she grasps victory from the jaws of defeat. When her own policies don’t stand up to scrutiny and affective debate beats her she resorts to sloganeering and soundbites. The blink device, used to turn off everyone’s phones is a masterstroke and so too are Rosie’s conflicted attitudes towards the politician. From dismissal, to undecided, to getting a selfie. The cult of personality is winning over the tedium of policies.

Immigration, Climate change and right at the very end, banks are the main focuses. In a reference to the financial collapse of 2007 Stephen loses his money but he’s not alone. The streets are flooded with angry customers and perhaps the streets is where some of them may remain. There is plenty going on in Years and Years with copious avenues to explore but it felt like a hangover from that synthetic alcohol the Lyons experimented with. Last week was an induced high but this was the duvet day that follows.

Years And Years (Episode 1 Review)

Ambition is perhaps a word that is overused when it comes to describing art, so much so that it’s become unambitious. It’s an oxymoron worthy of Years And Years, the latest creation from the much respected Russell T Davies. This opening episode is a bold statement of intent and there is definitely the sense that he’s going for, not only a grand artistic statement but plenty of artistic licence to boot. One family, fifteen years and six episodes. 

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To begin with we cosy up in the respective living rooms of the Lyons family. Daniel (Russell Tovey) who looks set to be the moral centre of this screwed up universe is shocked by a statement from politician Vivienne Rook (Emma Thompson) on Question Time (thankfully not fronted by Fiona Bruce so this alternate reality can’t be too bad). Things get political from this very first scene and there goes on to be references to Donald Trump, Brexit and the word salad our politicians deal in today. Daniel even works at a refugee camp as part of his role as “boring housing officer”.

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Meanwhile Stephen and Celeste Lyons (Rory Kinnear and T’Nia Miller) are having issues with their daughter who, after a truly funny Snapchat filter aping scene, declares she wants to be “transhuman” which basically involves becoming disembodied and uploaded to a cloud. It’s a Classic Russell T Davies moment in the Doctor Who style element of the idea and in the line “I will go analogue if I have to!” that Celeste barks in anger.

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Rosie Lyons (Ruth Madeley) gives birth and the scene is set. The Lyon family are the backdrop for our journey into the unknown. Suddenly we rush through a few years faster than you can take a sip of your tea. Trump has been elected for a second term and in direct parallels to actual current events, Rook has set up ‘The Four Star Party’. Many viewers will class Years and Years as snowflake left-wing propaganda and perhaps it doesn’t get it’s message out in the most subtle of ways but the script and performances are powerful enough to override such directness. It does perfectly capture the rate at which technology is moving and the growing disconnect in human interaction. There’s a strange sense of unreality in a very real world. As Daniel sagely points out “our brains are devolving”

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Lastly we meet another Lyons in the pack. Edith (Jessica Hynes) who is an activist doing good deeds abroad. As the family connect over technology (of course) war sirens blare as America launches an attack on well, exactly where Edith is. From the mundane beginning to a near apocalyptic end. It’s a world where bodies are no longer physical, communication is impersonal, sex is literally robotic and Russell T Davies’ writing is at its eclectic finest.

 

TIME AND TIME AGAIN:

 

– Could Russell Tovey star in his own spin off series called ‘Ears And Ears?’. Ahem. 

 

– What is the relevance of Daniel’s soon to be doomed marriage and his affair with a Ukrainian refugee? The need for affection and not someone consumed by technology? 

 

– Will things end as bleak as they seem? Will humanity win in the end? 

 

– If everyone had a 3D Snapchat dog filter would the RSPCA be inundated with even more unwanted dogs. Doesn’t bear thinking about.

 

– Flippin’ eck. Who else thought some of the accents sounded more Yorkshire than Mancunian?