Coming soon!
Cast:
Riz Ahmed as Riq
Liz May Brice as Alex
Warren Brown as Marky
Shelley Conn as Claire
Beth Cordingly as Veronica
Adam Deacon as Space
Kevin Eldon as Joplin
Kathleen McDermott as Pippa
Andy Nyman as Patrick
Jaime Winstone as Kelly
Directed by Charlie Brooker
Review:
Since the rest of the episodes of this series are 30 minutes long individually, I am going to just write the review for episodes two through three as one big review and write the review for the final episode on itâs own to sum up the series.
The second part picks up nanoseconds after the closing scene from the night before. The dread and horror is still in the air, but the 30 minute running time for each subsequent episode kind of takes away some of that suspense and replaces it with frustration. However, that frustration at wanting to know what happens next keeps you coming back each night to see how the protagonists will get out of their latest predicament. The second installment to most people’s eyes might seem slow and uneventful, but it displays the houseguests’ realization of the predicament that they are in, as one of their own is lying on the ground dying and, unbeknownst to the houseguests, slowly turning to a zombie. The show has its comic relief in the self-serving producer Patrick, who eats, pisses, and craps in the room with Pippa, the evicted houseguest, having to endure his torture. But while many people will say that Pippa’s dimwitted nature is enough torture for anyone, Patrick is the UK’s answer to Night of the Living Dead‘s Tom Cooper and will sacrifice anyone to get what he wants at the other person’s own expense.
The second episode ends with Kelly, Marky and Space venturing out to the supermarket for medical supplies and food, while Joplin, Veronica, and Grayson watch over Angel and try to keep her alive. Meanwhile, Kelly’s boyfriend Riq is rescued from being zombie lunch by a gun-toting female named Alex. When the show ends, they find refuge in a big country house and spend the night. Not to spoil anything, but episode two has no body count.
The third installment delivers four deaths and two zombifications and ramps up the situation as Riq finds out, through the live Big Brother feeds (the only thing still on TV), that Kelly is alive. Kelly, Space, and Marky find guns courtesy of two cops, which helps later and Patrick continues to torture Pippa with his bodily fluids, while zombie Davina keeps patrol outside their room.
The fourth installment raises the suspense with Riq and Alex attempting to reach the Big Brother house and Kelly and Space make a go at trying to rescue Patrick and Pippa. This episode raises questions, in my opinion, of the amorality of Patrick’s escape plan and also give an amusing, yet thought provoking, reason as to why the zombie outbreak has occurred in the first place. The night ends with a big cliffhanger and I for one can’t wait for the finale after seeing this penultimate episode.
In conclusion, the show is still must see TV to me and I am sure the finale will either piss off people who have invested their entire week into it or it will be a satisfying ending. The problem is that to do the latter they might, and I stress might, need more than 30 minutes to achieve that. But if not I really hope they leave it open for a second season.
This show has potential to be an on-going series and at the rate that Dead Set is going, I see a promising future for it if it continues past tonight.
