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Sibboleth
Jul 10, 2014

thehustler posted:

Season 1 ratings were really poor apparently, so if this season doesn't do well I don't think there'll be a third.

Channel 4 is supposed to cater to 'non-mainstream' audiences (this is literally the entire justification for its establishment and continued existence), so low ratings are not necessarily the kiss of death that they tend to be for programmes on the BBC or (especially) ITV. Utopia's ratings were low, but a high proportion were from 'demographics' that typically don't watch much TV drama.

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Sibboleth
Jul 10, 2014

Mr. Squishy posted:

It's lazy casting. Sure he does a slimy politco well, that's his bread and butter. One of the few actually good things about the show is its casting director's willingness to go beyond the obvious first choice and find an actor who will be unfamiliar to the intended audience and still deliver the goods. In a show where all the roles I know are filled by people I don't it's jarring to see him doing what he does, from New Tricks to Blackadder.

The first series featured Stephen Rea, James Fox, Geraldine James and Simon McBurny. One of the many good things about the show is the blend of very well known names, new/young talent and random (previously comparatively somewhat) obscure-ish character actors like Neil Maskell or Paul Higgins.

Sibboleth
Jul 10, 2014
Random pointless speculation before the final episode: Lee has mentioned that he is 'more important now' (a point seemingly backed up by his new yellow colour scheme and also the way in which several scenes in which he's been in have been directed and edited) but we have yet to see any sign of this in plot terms.* He was a hit man-cum-torturer in the first series and remains one now. Significant? Perhaps not, but hiding things - often in plain sight - has been a constant theme in Utopia.

*Except that he has (had) direct access to Milner now. But then with Letan dead this would presumably be unavoidable?

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