The Last Enemy

You have to be focused/undisturbed/observant to watch this ( so far, I have viewed episode 1 only at 9pm). Up to par with all the other UK, BBC, PBS British mystery series .. etc. It re-broadcasts here in 2 hrs at 1am. So you can be sure that I will be tuned-in.

Like a good book, a second reading reveals twists, comments and turns of a phrase missed in the first reading. Looking forward to the other episodes (weekly here).

This is masterful, captivating, suspenseful and ladened with detail.

Little text is needed, the actors' expressions convey well the mood and foreboding of the events to come.

This series eclipses the violent/sadistic/illiterate/inane scripts we here are so often subjected to by the US media - British mystery remains unsurpassed; how can it fail ? It dominates.

Enjoy !

Best Regards

It isn't difficult to be paranoid about the intrusiveness of the computers, cameras and new ways of identification. The possibilities of misuse and control are immense. Ergo, comes this more than slightly disheveled and confusing TV mini series. It bombards us with gadgets and technical lingo, and unfortunately most of the time forgets about people and their motifs, what makes them tick and bleed. In this world in near future there is no way of escaping, our all existence is monitored and recorded, under the guise of anti-terrorism and state security.I do not disagree with the concerns of this TV show, for me the problem with it is that it does not manage to fully connect us or make us care for the protagonists. In the end it is like a cold video game for lonely souls not unlike most of the characters of this moderately successful endeavor.

And it is not just because I am Romanian, either. I agree, the series is a bit slow at times; things happen that cannot possibly happen at others. But it is worth watching it till the last episode, which pretty much explains away most of the inconsistencies.

Saying anything about the subject would spoil it, so I'll just say this: I have a friend who despises all corporate or governmental attempts to control the individual. If he would have seen this series, he would have paced nervously the whole time, cursing as he walks.

It is medium budget UK/Romania coproduction about the perils of personal data processing in a not too distant future. Most of the things in the series is possible even now, if they would have more powerful cameras installed and a bunch of software analyzing every bit of data in real time.

Bottom line: definitely worth watching, as one of the few quality series that are also believable, make a point and are also dark not all about how to make the audience comfy in their potato couches. And if Robert Carlyle plays in it, it is a must see.

This five-part mini-series started superbly. A dramatic first episode, full of incident, laid out the main themes and built up the tension. The next two episodes maintained the tension, developing the near-future main storyline about a surveillance society and its impact on citizens. Robert Carlyle appeared (and disappeared), as threatening as only he can be and kept the excitement level high.

But then it faded away. The plots became too convoluted, with too many themes and unresolved or unnecessary twists – notably a scene where Carlyle creeps into a house and downloads a laptop. What was that about? And the final episode was so disappointing – it was as though the writer (Peter Berry) had only enough material for half an episode. So the pace slowed down, the increasingly unconvincing love story took over, with long, lingering and time-wasting glances, and the main surveillance theme sank under the weight of biological, genetic and political extra plots that led nowhere. It could have been a gripping thriller if it had been stripped down to a feature-length film but in the end it only left the feeling that five hours had been wasted. And this is despite excellent performances, particularly by Benedict Cumberbatch, Robert Carlyle and Geraldine James - the script could not match their talents.

I went to this for Benedict in the first place, but when I finished I found that the story was more exciting. Very good plot, every things were quite confusing in the first few episodes, and I didn't understand the whole thing until the last one. There could be some improvements in the way they delivered the story to make it more clear and intense. You need to be patient to wait for 2 or 3 episodes to get an idea of what's going on because they've been laying too much clues around and not connecting them till the last sec. They also spent quite a few shots on drawing the social background. But towards the end it was irresistible to see where the characters will end up despite their struggles. And at the last few scenes I did get horrid, thrilling feelings that the story tried to create. It made me so disgusted about what's happening in that fictional world and that's why I found this series quite nice.

The cast was good. All actors/actresses were delivering fantastic performances. (And I am more than happy to see what a brilliant job that Benedict did in this).

Overall, don't expect this show will be witty or delighting or full of fun. It followed the George Orwell "1984" and in a sense, dull, but still alarming. In my view it was unnecessarily lengthy, but not intolerable. So if you are after some kind of serious drama on political conspiracies, this one worth a try.