Ultraviolet is about a secret team who fight against the hidden menace of vampires.
The following may contain very mild spoilers, although it tries to avoid doing so. The "The Ending" section will mention if a show had a resolution or a cliffhanger (but no description of what happens).
ULTRAVIOLET
1998
Length: 6 hour long episodes.
Ending: World changing.
Think: The X-Files focusing only on vampires.
Creator: Joe Aherne
Cast:
- DS Michael Colefield - Jack Davenport
- Dr Angie March - Susannah Harker
- Father Pearse Harman - Phil Quast
- Vaughn Rice - Idris Elba
Overview:
DS Colefield is drawn into a hidden world of vampires and a secret Vatican-funded organisation when he investigates the disappearance of his partner Jack on the day before Jack's wedding.
The Run:
Each Latin-named episode is a mixture of standalone (each episode exploring an different aspect of vampirism) and serial (the ongoing exploration for the vampire's master plan). Although each episode is good in its own right, it reaches its height when the story comes together in the final two episodes.
Quality:
The show is better than its premise makes it sound. There are a lot of shallow "hidden supernatural" shows around, but this one is darker and less formula than most of those. Unlike, say, Torchwood, where the "above top secret" organisation uses their name freely and even has it on their vehicles, the organisation in Ultraviolet remains unnamed leading some reviews (and even the DVD case) to call them the CIB (after the fact that they pretended to be Scotland Yard Complaints Investigation Branch Officers in the first episode).
The Viewing:
The episodes may be too heavy for marathon watching, but certainly leave enough time to watch the last two episodes together.
Criticism:
Some of the acting and direction is a bit clunky and some of the early stories drag a little.
The Ending:
The show is open ended, revealing the vampire's master plan and leading to... well... nothing, obviously. Rather than being cancelled, it was more a planning error on creator Joe Aherne's part. Aherne wrote and directed all the episodes and left himself with no time to hire others. With no time to hire others, Aherne was left with no time to plan the sequel. He does, however, say he was happy with the ending, having told the story he wanted to tell.
... you're after supernatural underworld series that's deeper and more complex than the normal show of this sort.
- DUG.
No comments:
Post a Comment