My prejudice against remakes shows no sign of being proven
wrong. Although I was impressed with the 2020 Amazon production of
Utopia, see:
https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2020/11/utopia.html,
I was aware from the start that it was a remake of an earlier series brought
out by Channel 4. That
Utopia had the
same structure of
six fifty minute
episodes per season and came out in 2013. The difference was that it had a
second season whereas Amazon's was cancelled, see:
https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2020/12/utopia-two-cancelled.html.
The original series is far superior. Much of it is the same or similar and was
reproduced accurately by Amazon. The elementary plot is the same. Some of the
characters are almost identical, even in terms of their clothing and hairstyles,
like Arby and
Wilson, although they
are not played by the same actors. The 2013 version includes the same shocking
violence and gallows humour. Like with the 2020 remake, there is a lot of
confusion over whose side every character is on, along with the fact that each
of them has their own personal agenda as well as their affiliation to their
cause. It also accurately depicts a sense of realism, which is probably how
it's been described as being a little bit too topical for comfort. However, the
Channel 4 original is not the same in other ways. The biggest difference is
that it is set mostly in
Britain
instead of the
United States of America.
There is no central antagonist, the equivalent of a Kevin Christie. Instead a
handful of individuals play his role. The one who gives the initial reveal when
he is captured is played by Stephen Rea, who, appropriately, was also the chief
of police in
V for Vendetta. The cast
is far more upmarket than the Amazon version and it includes some very big
names like Geraldine James, Ian McDiamid and James Fox. The team of
protagonists seem to represent the kind of people Stephen King writes about;
that is, ordinary people thrust into extraordinary situations. It's interesting
how they change and adapt to their new lives. Channel 4 hit that message better
than Amazon. Jessica Hyde is very different to her depiction on Amazon. She is
somewhat older and calmer. She is less emotional than in
Sasha
Lane's performance of the same character. She is
sometimes very cold, bordering on psychopathic. However, she has the same
unusual and harrowing background, as a ward of secret government research
projects; and on occasions she exhibits the same childlike affectations that reveal
her mental trauma, and were so heart-rending in the remake. In the early
episodes, she forms a very tender and almost maternal relationship with Grant.
She also is attracted to Ian, which of course brings her into conflict with
Becky, who is played by a Welsh actress, Alexandra Roach, who speaks with an
exaggerated
Newport accent. The
original is unequivocally explicit in displaying the harshness, deceit and
cruelty of its setting. The way that government officials are in the pockets of
pharmaceutical corporations, the database state of CCTV, facial recognition
systems, internet surveillance should make the most ardent Orwell detractor tremble.
In one scene Ian tries desperately to meet up with his brother and the
electronic grid spots him despite all his attempts at concealment. We also see
staged murders with fabricated news stories to explain them away and people
framed with perfectly concocted fake crimes. The conspirators, known as "The
Network", are as ruthless and sadistic as they are deceitful. They
threaten and blackmail anybody who steps out of line, harm their loved ones and
destroy their reputation. Like with the remake, the Channel 4 original includes
scenes of violence that are taboo-breaking and extremely disturbing.
The original has a second season which includes an opening flashback
episode explaining how the conspiracy began in the 1970's. The central figure
in it is Jessica's father, a scientist called Philip Carvel who works on the
biotechnology used in the virus and vaccine. He is skilfully depicted like
Jesus on occasions, with long hair and a beard, although that was fashionable
in the '70's. However sometimes light glows behind him showing him to be the
ironic saviour god, the one willing, to quote Christie: "To do enough evil
to do good." There are references to real historical events, such as two high
profile assassinations in 1979: Richard Sykes,
UK's
Ambassador to the
Netherlands,
and Airey Neave, an MP. Both these killings were blamed on a splinter group of
the Provisional IRA, but some researchers have cast doubt on that verdict. In
the plot of
Utopia, both men are
eliminated on the orders of The Network. The storyline and script in the
original are more comprehensive. For example, this time I understood why
Wilson
decided to betray his friends, where in the Amazon version it is not properly
explained. Both
Utopias are described
as "dark humour" or "black comedy"; however they are much
too harrowing to be funny. They are cynical, unsettling and distressing. Both of
them, but the original in particular, is very vivid and resembles the real
world very strongly, which could lead people to think carefully about what is
actually going on in their own lives. I found it interesting than in many of
the outdoor settings, wind turbines can be clearly seen and are obviously
included deliberately, emphasising the environmental concerns taken to extremes
in the series. In another scene, one of The Network's accomplices berates a
young woman at a coach station simply for having a child. Perhaps this is why
Utopia 2013 was also cancelled, albeit at
least after a getting out a second season.
Utopia
2020 only managed one, see:
https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2020/12/utopia-two-cancelled.html.
Channel 4 said:
"Utopia is truly
channel-defining. Strikingly original, powered by Dennis Kelly's extraordinary
voice and brought to life in all its technicolour glory through Marc Munden's
undeniable creative flair and vision. The team at Kudos (The commissioned
producers) delivered a series which has achieved fervent cult status over two
brilliantly warped and nail-biting series. It also has the honour of ensuring
audiences will never look at a spoon in the same way again (a reference to the
scene where Wilson is interrogated). It's always painful to
say goodbye to shows we love, but it's a necessary part of being able to
commission new drama, a raft of which are launching on the channel throughout
2015." That's not really a very good explanation. If it really had
"fervent cult status" then other new fiction could surely be squeezed
in around it. As with the Amazon remake, I suspect the real reason the TV
networks have shied away from this story is that it so very closely echoes real
world affairs, which is viral pandemics and mass vaccination campaigns. Its
narrative flies in the face of the official dogma.
See here for
background: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-mind-set-podcast-programme-428.html.
And: https://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.com/2020/08/ben-emlyn-jones-live-at-truth-seekers.html.
And: https://hpanwo-radio.blogspot.com/2020/08/programme-381-podcast-nick-kollerstrom.html.
And: https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2014/06/anything-to-save-planet.html.
