The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Fake humans sci-fi puts our real failings in sharper focus
HUMANS
Thursday, Channel 4
INNOCENT
Monday to Thursday, STV
ATLANTA
Saturday, BBC Two
As series three of HUMANS began, every Synthetic in the world had gained selfawareness. This was a matter of such import that only cameos from newsreaders Huw Edwards and George Alagiah could harness its gravity.
One year on from their uprising, during which 110,000 human lives were lost in London alone, most of the surviving Synths (more than 100 million of them were killed on Day Zero) have been interred in ghettos. Their dream of co-existing peacefully seems doomed in a world where anti-Synth terror attacks are a frequent occurrence.
To complicate matters some of these attacks are by militant Synths who’ve decided to wage war on their human
subjugators and the Synth appeasers. Sentient life forms always turn on each other eventually.
The near future depicted in Humans has, in the standard tradition of allegorical science-fiction, always mirrored the worst failings of society.
That’s especially apparent now, as it takes place in a world where aggressive displays of prejudice and intolerance are endemic.
Laura (Katherine Parkinson) now works as an independent lawyer defending Synth rights; acts of vandalism and abuse seem her only reward. Meanwhile, opportunistic political parties have created a climate of fear by exploiting ill-informed public opinion. Sound familiar?
Episode one did a solid job of reintroducing the central characters, expanding upon the show’s premise and furthering its core existential themes. Series two lost focus, so much so that I stopped caring, but series three already feels like it might be back on track. Its grim dystopian vision has blossomed.
I for one cautiously welcome the return of our Synthetic allies.
Despite being burdened with a bland title churned from TV’s random adjective generator, the four-part drama INNOCENT was quite absorbing.
It benefited from the excellent Lee Ingleby who delivered a tightly-wound performance as David, a man acquitted on a technicality after serving seven years of a life sentence for his wife’s murder.
He blamed his misfortune on a botched police investigation and lies by his in-laws and a so-called friend.
Now it was time to clear his name and regain custody of his two understandably wary children.
Meanwhile, the police, keen to reassure the public of their competence, ordered a new investigation. This triggered an unfortunate conflict of interests, as the officer in charge was in a relationship with the cop who led the original case. Initially convinced everything was above board, her suspicions grew as she dug deeper.
Naturally, Innocent revolved around the mystery of whether David deserved its title or not. Were his violent temper and saturnine goatee a two-headed red herring? I won’t reveal the answer in case some of you missed it; suffice to say, it wasn’t straightforward.
Two years after debuting in the US, the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning comedy-drama ATLANTA finally pitched up on our terrestrial shores with a double-bill.
Created by its star Donald Glover and written by an all-black staff, it’s a droll, eccentric, incisive piece about two African-American cousins trying to improve their fortunes via the Atlanta rap scene. But there’s more to it than that.
Glover and co-star Brian Tyree Henry are a likeable duo, and the show ambles along to its own subtle rhythm while effortlessly blending deadpan comedy and brutal commentary on the vicissitudes of the black experience with unpredictable detours into surreal dream logic. Atlanta has a unique flavour. It’s great.