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

I really hate giving anything with Benedict Cumberbatch in it a 6, but this time I have to.

"The Last Enemy" has a brilliant premise that practically has happened - total information about everyone at all times in the UK. A mathematician, Stephen Ezard (Cumberbatch), who has been working ivory tower style in China, returns to England for his brother's funeral. There, he meets his brother's widow Yasim (the gamine Anamaria Marinca). In her unhappiness and loneliness, she reaches out to Stephen (it's Cumberbatch, who could resist) and he falls madly in love with her.

Stephen's ex-girlfriend works for the government and recommends him to help with a new information system, TIA (Total Information Awareness), the ultimate information gatherer. With the job comes the promise of funding his work. Stephen uses his access to TIA to investigate what happened to his brother.

Okay, that's sort of plot one. Plot two is a virus that's killing people in the middle east. It is impossible to discover the etiology of the virus because a) the bodies are destroyed immediately so no one can get a blood sample; and b) bioscientists are suddenly dying left and right.

My major problem with this series is that the writer waited too long to meld these two plots. The other problem for me was Robert Carlyle, an excellent actor, but was he a good guy or a bad guy? I'm embarrassed to say I never figured it out.

Otherwise, the story is chilling because it's becoming true. And the performances - Cumberbatch is perfection as a man forced into reality and absolutely terrified. I don't think I've ever seen a male character in anything act this frightened, but it is right on. He had great chemistry with Marinca, who did a fine job as well.

Definitely worth seeing, though your attention may drift from time to time. This could have been a fantastic miniseries if it had been put together just a little better. Very thought-provoking nonetheless.

Now 2 episodes in and this show is really picking up pace. The first episode had the difficult job of setting up this complex story, but I'm glad I stuck with it. It's great to see the BBC make some drama that challenges the viewers in the way that the best American shows do. The plot is complicated but I for one want to know where it's going.

The acting in general is excellent but special praise has to go to Benedict Cumberbatch who plays the socially inept Stephen to perfection. It is also good to hear Robert Carlyle's character get to have his share of dialogue after his silent opening episode as he is such a great screen presence. This is a slow burner, but none the less gripping for that, and I can't wait to find out where it's headed.

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.

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.