Years and Years — Series 1— Episode 1.6 — A Review

16th July, 2019.

Yes: non-surprised is the word, I think.

I had an interview: Friday just gone, in fact.

And got told I’d hear whether I’d got the job, yesterday.

Did I hear … ?



Did I hear a thing?

Good, bad or indifferent, did I get a call, one way or the other?

No.

Not a blessed thing.

I’m … 



Well, non-surprised … and unimpressed.

~≈†≈~

At any rate … 

I have time on my hands.

And plenty of time to worry, as well, after a recent CT scan at Basildon Hospital.

Worrying ones, so you know.

But not ones I can do anything about, until the results come in.

Until then … ?



A TV box set is just the thing, I think.

Yes, you’re right.

I have just bought the last episode of Year and Years.

~≈†≈~

Episode 1.6 opens in 2029: opening with the traditional Lyons family dinner at Muriel’s (Ann Reid).

Muriel?   Is blaming the world and its ills on both herself … and her family.

And encourages them to “do something.”

Little does Muriel know it?

But her family has ideas.

Rosie (Ruth Madeley)?   Rosie, incensed by another curfew that sees her estate on lockdown, rams the gates.

Edith (Jessica Hynes)?   Edith orchestrates the freeing of refugees in the Erstwhile camps: including Viktor (Maxim Baldry.)

Stephen (Rory Kinnear)?   Stephen has managed to get Celeste (T’Nia Miller) employed at his company: shooting his boss in the process.


All three surviving members of the family?

Have contributed to the downfall of Viv Rook (Emma Thomson).

On charges of murder.

Now all that’s needed … ?

To to see Edith uploaded to the cloud … as she dies … 

~≈†≈~

Now … 

Have I enjoyed Years and Years?   Is it good?   Have Russell T. Davies and company made a crackingly good series?

Last question first: yes they have.

OK: Years and Years may feature a couple of Russell T. Davies favourite tropes: concentration camps, corrupt politicians, dying people uploaded to a computer.



Oh, and conflicted families.

Yes, we’ve seen those before: in Torchwood, and Queer as Folk.

But, once again, he’s weaved them into a beautifully written miniseries.



And into a series that’s wonderfully directed — the first four episode directed by Simon Cellen Jones, the last two by Lisa Mulcahy — and acted.

It’s … 

Frankly?

Frankly, Years and Years is a very good watch: one that kept me glued to my seat.

And?

And it’s a very welcome return to our screens for Russell T. Davies.