Curfew

"But in a world where men are bound by a curfew from 7pm to 7am"...Well err no, only in the UK according to the storyline.

The whole premise of the show is predicated on making around HALF the entire population wear criminal tracking tags and submit to a curfew! HOW exactly are you going to do that without starting a civil war..?

Had they started the story in the aftermath of a civil war and a curfew was a direct result of that, it would at least be a more credible scenario.

However, this was waaay too far fetched, to imagine it being introduced and accepted by a population as a normal peacetime (completely unenforceable) law, the writers seemingly having forgotten about the UK poll tax riots of the early 90's

And no matter how I tried, sorry just couldn't suspend reality for long enough, to stop laughing my imaginary ankle tracker off at the thought...not the reaction they would be hoping for I'm sure..

This series sets out two stories that overlap:

The first being a gruesome murder. Who done it?

The second being a ludicrous idea of locking all men up from 7pm to 7am everynight whilst being monitered by an ankle tag.

Good acting and well filmed. However I do find some of the accents very harsh and grinding, whilst they murder the english language.

Obviously giving men ankle tags and locking them inside at night would not work in a democratic society such as the UK, however there are so many other reasons why this would never work and I think the series shows this.

I like programs like this that are thought provoking, before the mad politicians and fanatics come up with the idea.

One thing that I think would have been good and helpful is to highlight the abuse and murder statistics at the start of each episode. I personally have no idea.

Yes sadly there is a portion of men that need to be improsoned, monitered and watched, but I hope there are decent men walking our streets. I know a few. So in a civilised society this would not work, however this issue of violence against any innocent cannot be ignored.

Back to the drawing board!

I enjoyed curfew, near future dystopia is one of my favourite genres. I often wish they spent more time showing us the world and it's wider implications than dumping it all out in exposition and dialogue, and I felt Curfew did a decent job of world building. It also had some really gorgeous messages about masculinity that I felt were delivered sincerely.

Positives - Acting was great nice to see Mandip Gill as I liked her in Doctor Who.

Interesting way of telling the story with twists but not to hard to follow.

At first I though the show was presenting a curfew as the solution to violence against women, and by the end the message is a bit more nuanced.

Negatives - It's really hard to build to a satisfying pay off in detective shows and this one doesn't quite reach it.

The very last moments of the series seem a bit rushes.

Apart from one sentence the implication of a curfew for trans and non-binary people was not explored.

I really hope there is a second season. Women who date women would enjoy a new privilege under curfew, which I would love to see explored, as well as how women who are violent and abusive could gain more power from curfew. I would also like to explore the idea, that the show touches on, that if we only see violence as happening after dark and in the streets, do we ignore it in other areas?

The concept definitely had potential to be very interesting and for the most part it lived up to expectations.

Narratively, it could've been stronger. There were too many sub-plots established as attempts at red herrings. Credit where it's due, the ending was unexpected, but the constant red herrings made it hard for viewers to follow along and as usual, opened up a lot of plot holes.

I have no gripes with the performances from the main cast. And the main characters were all fleshed out well and consistent. It seems as though audiences are encouraged to dislike the main two women (played by Mandip Gill and Alexendra Burke) or at the very least dissaprove of their divisive actions, but simultaneously we also found ourselves rooting for them.

Overall, a good watch and would be interested in a second season.

When it comes to TV dramas with unique angles, UK productions never disappoint.

As a male, I know it is very unlikely that such a law will pass given the reality of our society but this TV series imagines a situation where it does. Where to prevent violence towards women by strangers especially at night, men are prohibited from being outside between 7pm and 7am.

If acts of violence are committed, who would have done it? Are women also capable of doing to themselves what men have done for years? Is a fair investigation without bias possible? Would the men accept this type of law? Is it capable of letting us know how women have felt and complained about for years? What would such a society be like and is it sustainable? These are some of the plot points examined in the most entertaining and suspense-filled manner on this show, Curfew.

The cast so far is great, with a few familiar faces like Sarah Parish from shows like "Bancroft" and the more recent "Industry". While the unraveling of the story has its good, bad and impossible sides, I am four episodes in and give it a 7 out of 10 for making me binge-watch it.

Ignore the rate-bombing from you know who. It is a really good show.