Utopia 2013

 

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.