Oktober

I didn't realise that this mini-series of three episodes was only 5 years old! I remember seeing the first episode and thought it was amazing drama. The final scenes were nothing short of breath-taking; although some of it was predictable.

Nonetheless, I'm surprised that the producers never thought of releasing this to the public on DVD or VHS. It would certainly give some people something entertaining to watch on a Sunday night.

I think at the time when Oktober came out, there was a lot of promising British TV, but unfortunately most of them were either canned or really dumbed-down for the audience. I can remember seeing "Crime Traveller" and thought that was fun, although nothing new.

There was also "Cracker", which came out a little earlier, I think. "Cracker" was controversial at the time because, if I recall, there was a sex scene that came just seconds after the watershed and provoked outcry by those members of the UK society who obviously had nothing better to do.

Anyway, catch Oktober if you can. Not sure where you'll get it. But it's fun, albeit in a dark sense!

A naive schoolteacher goes to a drug demonstration to meet a student's sister. He mistakenly went to a room closed off to the public. He saw dogs were being experimented and the teacher got knockout. While he was unconscious he was shot by a needle. Unknownly he is now part of a experiment called Oktober. I remember this mini-series playing on my local public television station last year during fund rising drive. I do not know if it is on video tape, but it worth to see it.

Oktober isn't for everyone but if you like this kind of offbeat, twilight-zoney drama the chances are that you'll like it a lot. Tompkinson is a revelation and gives the performance of his career to date. Producers keep casting him in comedies but this proves that his true strength is as a dark and haunted leading man. Id have liked some clearer explanation of how the drug is supposed to work but other than that I think its best the way we are shown what's happening and allowed to figure it out for ourselves. The merry-go-round with the dead Russians on it ranks with the scariest things I've ever seen in a TV drama. Deserves to take its place amongst the classics of British cult TV.