My Review of In The Flesh (1998)

 

Written And Directed by Ben Taylor

Philip: "Maybe you're just not my type."

Oliver: "Yeah. Yeah, I like that. Keep tellin' yourself that."

Time for another murder mystery. Last week I watched and reviewed the better known Bound and now for the gay male audience, there's this far lesser known film. 

In terms of protagonists, you've got a chain smoking semi closeted detective named Philip Kirsch (Ed Corbin). He opened the movie by busting drugs at a brothel before being assigned another undercover gig. This one being at a gay bar named The Blue Boy. This precise location would put Philip into contact with the second lead of the film.

The second lead being a hustler/student named Oliver Beck (Dane Ritter). If anything, I feel this movie delved a lot more into Oliver as a character than Philip and their dynamic certainly went through the motions of mistrust, co-dependency, lust and potentially even love as the movie progressed.

With Oliver, when he wasn't dealing with a mentally ill sister and a co-worker who was into him more than he was with her, he also had an overzealous client named Mac (Frank Roberts) to deal with. Then Oliver had to deal with Mac being stabbed and him being in the frame for his murder.

Even when Philip recklessly gave Oliver a false statement, both men sort of became social pariahs while trying to find the actual killer. It's by the end of the movie where Philip's co-worker Detective Meyer (Philip Solomon) turned out to be the killer, amid another drug subplot.

It's a hastily done resolution that's not even properly handled within the time frame itself. The "romance" between Philip and Oliver is a mixed bag. There's some chemistry between the actors but at no point does the movie have them even kiss. As characters, they're very much worlds apart with a clear age gap and seemed better suited as friends by the time the movie ended.

- Oliver gave up alcohol after getting into a car crash with a friend that resulted in the latter's death. Philip was married to a woman at one point.

- Another subplot involved Oliver being nice to a disabled man named Mickey (Michael A. Newcomer).

- Standout music: Popcycle's Breathe, which is used frequently throughout the movie.

- Chronology: Late 1990s in Atlanta, Georgia. It was filmed there too.

I'll admit that I found In The Flesh to be a bit of a mixed bag. It's not a bad movie and it's attempts to flesh out both Philip and Oliver are decent enough. Parts of it are very sluggish though and the killer reveal was very sloppily done. Saying that, it's a decent watch.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

Atlantis & In The Flesh: Does Their Cancellations Mean Something Regarding BBC?

Inspired by a thread on GallifreyBase, the cancellation of both shows was merely a week apart but it does make me wonder that aside from Doctor Who if we're in slight danger of getting less genre television from the BBC?

Atlantis seems poised to step in from where Merlin had left off and with the same crew manning the show, surely it should've been as successful as the magical series had been for five series? It seems not as last week, BBC1 announced that Atlantis wouldn't be returning for a third series, so the remaining seven episodes of Series 2 (which have yet to air) would serve as a final run for the show. I wish I could say that Atlantis's cancellation was a shock to me but if I'm being honest, I was more shocked when it got a second series in the first place. I knew it wouldn't get a third one and I think many people did and while the show has had some good moments (I quite liked the mid-series finale back in December), it just lacked the spark and instant connection that Merlin (even with it's fair share of dire episodes and characters acting like idiots for cheap laughs at times) had with viewers. It's a shame because if the writing had been better, Atlantis could've easily been as great if not better than it's predecessor. I will watch/recap/review the remaining episodes from the second series as I'm interested in the return of Medusa, arrival of Icarus and inevitable shitstorm when Jason finally learns that Pasiphae is his mother.

Then there was BBC3's In The Flesh, whose cancellation was announced a week prior to Atlantis's and not as surprising but personally, one I found a lot more disappointing. Mainly because we'll never have the cliffhanger regarding Amy resolved (unless the show is lucky and someone like NetFlix steps in) but also because unlike Atlantis, at least In The Flesh was doing something different within it's genre. It wasn't simply coasting on the successes of other zombie led dramas such as The Walking Dead and Les Revenants/The Returned, it had it's own unique take and storylines and let's be honest, not only was it one of BBC3's better programmes (far superior to it's increasing low brow comedies and utterly dreadful entertainment documentary shows) but it was a show that actually gave audiences a prominent LGBT lead character with Kieren Walker (Luke Newberry). Personally, despite the low ratings for the show, I really do think BBC3 could've at least commissioned a special or something to tie up loose ends but with both In The Flesh and Atlantis getting cancelled and Wizards Vs. Aliens being put on some kind of hiatus, could it mean less genre television on the BBC?

Perhaps not. The reason why both Atlantis and In The Flesh were cancelled were down to ratings and the BBC speak of wanting space for newer dramas (which would make sense if either show had run longer than two series) and there's a slight chance at some point that Wizards Vs. Aliens could return for a fourth run (even if it wasn't entirely a rating juggernaut for CBBC) but with the exception of Doctor Who, Wolfblood and the upcoming series, Tatau for BBC3, I do wonder if we're getting a slight cooling off period of genre television on BBC and it's other channels or if perhaps, I'm just overlooking things and within the next few months/years, more genre shows will emerge. It's certainly time for a female led supernatural show or even a female hero centred show as well, either with a historical figure or a brand new character altogether. ITV2 got close enough with Switch back in 2012, but the show only lasted one series and their upcoming Jekyll & Hyde will probably be more male centred than female as well.

Come on, BBC. There's only so many costume dramas, one-offs, detective and procedural dramas that audiences can take. Don't let the cancellations of of In The Flesh, Wizards Vs. Aliens and Atlantis be the start of a death knell for genre television on your channels. Test out some new writers, adapt other less known genre material and generally step out of your comfort zones. Shows like Doctor Who, Merlin and Being Human have proved beyond doubt if the material is good, audiences will embrace it and watch for multiple series. You just need to pull your finger out here.

And if we're going to compare to US television, you could try your own version of American Horror Story. Now British television in general needs to try and produce a show with a similar level of whimsy and crazy like that one.

In The Flesh - Series 2 Review

It's been nearly a month since BBC3 finished up airing the second series of Dominic Mitchell's successful zombie drama, In The Flesh and it was certainly an interesting second run of episodes for the show. As a slew of new characters arrived on the show, some familiar ones died and other developed in some rather surprising ways too.

Episode 1: Set several months after the events of the first series, the episode opened with the death of a local character before introducing the always lovable Amy back into the mix as she reunited with her moregeous dead BFF Kieren (who was planning to go to France). Of course, Amy wasn't alone as newcomer Simon (Emmett Scanlan) arrived, putting a spin on the liberation of the undead/redeemed as he challenged Kieren's own views on their current predicament. Also introduced in this episode was local MP, Maxine Martin (Wunmi Mosaku) who shared the opposite view and an appalled attitude towards the fragile peace between the partially deceased and the living.

Episode 2: Basically the one where Kieren's hopes of going to France were shattered as Maxine set up a scheme to have the partially deceased do manual labour while she did some investigating about the second rising and a school boy who had a crush on Jem ended up being killed (even further) by her during the episode's end. The undead rave was pretty interesting to look at, though it wasn't onscreen for long and Philip's visiting of an undead brothel was certainly amusing too but I did like the scenes with Kieren and Simon in this one.

Episode 3: This one focused on a love triangle with some of the recurring/guest characters which ended up with the partially deceased member of the triangle going rabid and an uneasy alliance forged between Kieren and Gaz while Jem's guilt saw her coming clean as well. The connection with Kieren and Simon got nicely explored as well in this one with a fan pleasing moment at the end of the episode.

Episode 4: Some exploration into Simon's followers and a disastrous family lunch with Kieren's parents and Gaz were highpoints of the episode but so was Amy learning about Kieren and Simon and Philip being brave enough to deal with the fallout of being named and shamed for visiting undead brothels as well. Maxine also managed to cause more chaos between the villagers of Roarton and the partially deceased as well with her actions.

Episode 5: A fantastic episode for Simon. It was great to get an origin storyline for him as we learned how he became a member of the partially deceased as well as seeing the strained relationship he had with his father. On top of that there was a nice moral dilemma with the Second Rising/Prophet storyline and Simon's feelings for Kieren along with some lovely moments with Amy and Philip where it seemed that the former's strange symptoms all series long were actually leading to something a lot less predictable.

Episode 6: The show's flair for shocking series finale continued with this episode as well as we saw Amy getting stabbed by a rather batshit Maxine, only for two strangers to then dig her up during the closing moments of the episode. Who are they and will BBC3 give us a chance to find out by giving us a third series? They better do. Other than that, the Second Rising stuff was a bit of a bust with Maxine getting it wrong, Simon choosing love over prophecy and Kieren being able to overcome an oblivion pill.

In terms of a second run, this was certainly an interesting slew of episodes. I am hoping though with the various things set up in the finale (we still don't know who's actually leading The Undead Prophet or what those two want with Amy) will be given a chance to be realised onscreen because while BBC3's future ain't good, this show certainly has been and deserves another run more than some of their other ones do.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Dont Be Baby, I Only Sprain

And a look at some of the shows I've been recently catching up with ....

24: Live Another Day: We're halfway through this mini-series/ninth season and I have to admit while some of the most recent episodes have lagged a little compared to the impressive opening two parter, at least some progress was made though. It's nice that Audrey is aware of the fact that Jack is alive and it's also nice that Kate has proven her resourcefulness yet again. She literally has become a female version of Jack Bauer but things like Margot's ongoing machinations and Navarro's reveal aren't as impacting as they should be. Still there's at least six episodes left to rectify that.

Devious Maids: Yes, it's still Desperate Housewives 2.0 and while most of the plots are fairly predictable (Evelyn copping off with hunky Tony, Marisol's fiancee and his creepy maid being suspicious), it still makes for some fairly lightweight and enjoyable television nonetheless. The dynamics with various characters like Zoila/Genevieve continues to be a delight and when Evelyn isn't cheating on her husband, the various back and forth with Adrian is actually quite fun, along with Carmen securing other work now that Alejandro is dead. Even Rosie's plot with the new family is a lot more entertaining than last season. It's only Valentina's storyline and the general mystery with Opal and Nicholas that's a bit at sea at the moment.

Game Of Thrones: It went away for a few weeks and while I have to watch the penultimate episode to the fourth season tonight on SkyAtlantic, the previous episode wasn't exactly a walk in the park, was it? I already about the grisly details of Oberyn's demise with the Mountain but even seeing it onscreen didn't prepare me for it though. I really enjoyed Pedro Pascal's performance and it's a shame the character wasn't kept on but despite appearing in seven episodes, he made quite an impression on the show and got a very memorable exit to boot. As for the rest of the episode - Arya's reaction to Lysa's death and Sansa finally learning to play the game were the other two obvious highlights from another memorable instalment of the series.

In The Flesh: The second half of this series certainly didn't pull any punches, did it? I've really enjoyed Dominic Mitchell's rural zombie drama and the last three episodes proved the depth of storytelling he's capable of with this series. Whether it's both Simon and Maxine's misguided beliefs over the Rising, Kieren's ability to combat the Blue Oblivion pills or even Amy's transformation (was she really becoming human again and how?) and Philip's fall from public council office into a happier person, BBC3 would be utterly insane not to renew this show for a third series. Especially given that we have a mysterious duo digging up a certain grave as well. Come on, BBC3 - you know you want to commission this brilliant show for another run of episodes. We need moregeous times in Roarton.

Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD: A solid finale. Though not as spectacular as the Arrow one (I know I compare these show a lot but it's kind of hard not to at times), I do think this was a solid way of ending the first season and setting up some interesting stuff concerning Skye for the second season as well. More to the point when we didn't have Nick Fury reappear (which wasn't too shocking), there was also the glorious delight in seeing May kicking the crap out of Ward. Speaking of Ward, I'm a bit conflicted about him - can the show really sustain him as a recurring enemy or will they try to redeem him in the long run? Either option could be a bit risky though.

Orphan Black: I might be two episodes behind but this show continues to be bloody addictive. The idea of a road trip episode with Sarah and Helena clearly turned out to be the best idea the writers had this season and easily made for the best episode so far this season. Helena might be dangerous but she's also rather adorable and seeing her make a genuine connection with a bloke before a bar fight started was pretty sweet actually. The ongoing stuff with Project Leda and Rachel's family background isn't quite as compelling and Paul continues to be a lifelessly dull character to watch that scenes with Cosima/Delphine, Allison/Victor, Sarah/Siobhan and anything involving Felix and Art working together are a blessed relief. Basically in another wise fantastic series, Paul is the weak link of the bunch.

The Vampire Diaries: I might have missed this on ITV2 earlier in the year (though I did watch most of The Originals - a blog on that show will appear later in the summer), but thankfully TG4 have finally started airing the fifth season (despite the terrible timeslot). The opening episode alone seemed a bit similar to Buffy (Elena and Caroline's college antics) and Angel (Stefan's current watery whereabouts) but at the same time was still enjoyable with an interesting slew of new mysteries. Plus we had Katherine proving that she's still deadly even as a human and Silas has managed to become a far more interesting villain now than he was last season or Klaus during the previous two and a bit seasons he was on the show. That being said - the usual dynamic of the lead characters lying to each other and withholding information continues to be a downer for the series.

- Pedro Pascal will be appearing in the upcoming Netflix series, Narcos, playing the role of Mexican DEA, Javier Pena.
- Yaya DaCosta will play Whitney Houston in an upcoming biopic for Lifetime. Angela Bassett will also direct the project.
- Dominic Cooper will reprise his role as Howard Stark for Marvel's Agent Carter.
- Suraj Sharma has joined the cast of Homeland for it's upcoming fourth season, playing recurring medical student, Aayan Ibrahim.
- Jeremy Sisto is the latest addition to the US version of The Returned. He will be portraying psychiatrist.
- Penny Dreadful has been picked up for a second season.
- Rachel McAdams, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Kelsey Grammer and Lauren Graham are among the celebrities lined up for the next series of  the US version of Who Do You Think You Are? 
- Matthew Goode will remain on The Good Wife for the time being.
- Jason Ritter will appear in the sixth episode of the fourth season of Girls.
- Sonja Sohn has joined the second season of The Originals as powerful witch, Lenore.

Jack's Back

This will be a two part blog with the second part to be posted tomorrow after I've caught up with the final episode of a certain show.

24: Live Another Day: The show that was probably responsible for the boxset binge watching that most of us indulge in nowadays has returned after a four year absence and with a slightly altered format (12 episodes instead of 24 of them) and the action taking place in London, this has been something of a return to form while at the same time feeling all familiar in spite of it's new location, characters and the different shifts with familiar ones like Jack, Chloe, President Heller and Audrey. So far, it's been a fun ride and Margot has been a decent antagonist if not wholly original but on the plus side, I am glad to see the show back and that wasn't something I'd expect to feel again.

Devious Maids: Yeah this was something of a guilty pleasure series last year and while it still has that Desperate Housewives feel to it, it's still a lot of fun to watch. The opening episode for Season 2 did a time jump, set up another mystery that Marisol will be central in solving, had it's fair share of personal drama amongst the maids while at the same time showed that the Powells were still delightfully bonkers to watch and that Peri will do anything to keep her husband and Rosie apart. Overall, it's the bonkers soapy show you might not be watching because it's on TLC.

Glee: Something of a mixed bag here. I enjoyed the penultimate episode written by Chris Colfer more than the actual finale itself. Probably because the former still had Santana and seemed to make a little more sense. The finale just decided to give Rachel her own TV, while having an annoying parody of Lena Dunham shadowing Rachel for most of the episode as well as Sam being given Finn's original Lima intended plot and some minor dramas with Sam/Mercedes and Kurt/Blaine. In retrospect, while there have been some good episodes, I do think this season has been the weakest so far and it's probably a good thing that the sixth season will be the last one.

In The Flesh: If you're not watching this show on BBC3, can I just ask - why? It's probably one of the best things on television right now and like The Walking Dead and The Returned has offered something pretty interesting to the zombie genre at the moment. The first three episode alone have added more to the series with the arrivals of both Simon and Maxine and the ongoing battle between the redeemed and Victus has made for some gripping television along with Kieren's friendships with Amy and Simon and Jem being pulled back into her former hunting ways. A genuinely gripping series that certainly should be watched by more than it currently is at the moment.

Orphan Black: Having watched the second and third episodes of Season 2 for now (watching at BBC3 pace), this show has gotten that tiny bit more messed up than usual. Whether it's seeing Siobhan wield a shotgun and take some folk out or poor Helena being terrorised and forcibly married into a bizarre cult, this season has been pulling out all the stops. On top of that, there was also the introduction of Sarah's baby daddy, Rachel being a right bitch to Cosimo as well as the brief introduction of another clone and Allison losing it, this season has certainly reeled me in. It might be still a little early but I think this season could be even better than it's impressive debut year but the one thing that is abundantly clear is that Tatiana Maslany continues to impress each and every episode. The woman is a revelation. Easily the best actress on television at the moment.

- Hayley Atwell's Agent Carter will air for eight episodes between episodes of Agents Of SHIELD.
- Glee's sixth and final season will not air until early 2015.
- How I Met Your Dad was not picked up by CBS but is being shopped around.
- Adrienne C. Moore will be a regular in Season 3 of Orange Is The New Black. The second season premieres on Netflix from June 6th.
- T.R Knight and Mena Suvari will be joining Amazon pilot, Hysteria.
- John Barrowman will be a regular in the third season of Arrow.
- Marin Ireland has signed up for the fourth season of Girls.
- Heroes: Reborn will likely feature some of the original stars after all, according to NBC executive chairman Robert Greenblatt.

In The Flesh - Series 2 First Look

A few days ago, I did a review for the first series of In The Flesh and with the second series only days away from airing, here's a brief preview of what to expect.

First of all, let's meet Simon, shall we? He's going to be played by Emmett Scanlan, best known for his roles in Hollyoaks and The Fall and also due to appear in upcoming Marvel movie, Guardians Of The Galaxy. Scanlan's character will be an instrumental one in the upcoming second season as he's also one of the twelve disciples of the Undead Prophet and he soon comes into contact with Kieren (Luke Newberry) and Amy (Emily Bevan) and if you've read Scanlan's recent interview with Gay Times, you might have come across a rather interesting spoiler concerning both Simon and Kieren as well.

On the other side of the fence and for the anti-rotter group, Victus, you also have Maxine Martin (Wunmi Mosaku) - Roarton's new MP, who's also doing her bit to campaign against the recently risen as well. It seems from several interviews with cast and creator, Dominic Mitchell that both stances (the Undead Liberation Army and Victus) are going to be in conflict in the six episode second series. As for the show's future beyond a second run of episodes in light of BBC3's imminent departure - well, one can hope it is picked up for a third run of episodes as Mitchell has mentioned that some characters from his series bible will not be in the second series and that he has more stories to tell with the village of Roarton.

Series 2 Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_eiUP43aL8
Dominic Mitchell Interview:  http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s223/in-the-flesh/feature/a567885/in-the-flesh-dominic-mitchell-on-series-2-and-the-shows-future.html#~oD0InhnbP2P3of

In The Flesh - Series 2 airs on BBC3, Sundays 10pm from May 4th.

In The Flesh - Series 1 Review

With the imminent arrival of the second series on BBC3 of this absorbing zombie series next Sunday, I thought it was high time I actually had a look back at the first series of In The Flesh, the series created by Dominic Mitchell.

Airing back in March 2013, the week after Being Human had finished up for good on BBC3, In The Flesh's three episode series focused on a young man named Kieren Walker (Luke Newberry), a man who also came back to life as a zombie (or partially deceased syndrome/PDS sufferer or "rotters" for the less open minded of people) along with several thousand others after an event called 'The Rising'. The three episodes that formed this first series largely dealt with the aftermath of this as fictional village Roarton was the hot bed of those either welcoming their PDS loved ones back into the fold or struggling to deal with them whilst all fearing for a second Rising.

Episode 1: This episode opened up with an impressive sequence as we saw a rabid Kieren and Amy (Emily Bevan) attack a supermarket in their rabid states. This episode also demonstrated that PDS sufferers can keep their rabid tendencies at bay with some administered medication but the bigger problem was having Kieren return to his parents as well as younger sister, Jem (Harriet Cain) who's a member of a militia working against rotters/PDS sufferers, led by Bill Macey (Steve Evets).

Episode 2: This episode was significant for the introduction of soldier Ricky Macey (David Walmsley), who we learned was now a PDS sufferer (much to Bill's denial) and a former lover of Kieren's as the two of them try to reunite with each other while hunting down some rotters, but instead of killing them, Kieren wanted to hand them in. The episode also highlighted the contrasts between Kieren and Amy as the latter seemed more at peace with her fate. In fact, the scene where she joined Kieren and his family for dinner was probably one of the funniest moments for the whole mini-series.

Episode 3: Something of a gloomy finale with Rick being murdered by his own father, the exploration as to why Kieren originally killed himself and even Amy herself feeling rather defeated and leaving the village in search of The Undead Prophet while one of the villagers got their revenge on Bill Macey as well. In a lot of ways this episode certainly went to town in setting up plenty for a second season and it was a relief that BBC3 learned from their previous hastiness with The Fades and commissioned this series for a second run with six episodes.

Over the course of the three episode first series, In The Flesh proved to be a gripping series and like counterparts such as The Walking Dead and The Returned, it was the very human drama and compelling group of characters that made this show extremely watchable from start to finish. I certainly cannot wait to see where the upcoming second run of episodes will take the series.

Rating: 9 out of 10

In The Flesh - Zombies Come To BBC3

With Being Human nearing towards it's end, it's nice to see that supernatural type of television isn't going to be entirely nonexistent on BBC3 as we've got a new series coming up called In The Flesh ...

The three part series focuses on a young man named Kieren Walker (Luke Newberry), a sufferer of partially deceased syndrome or a zombie, who is then having to be reintegrated into society along with fellow sufferers such as Amy (Emily Bevan), Rick (David Walmsley) and his sister Jem (Harriet Cains). However, while their condition can be managed with certain drugs, it does seem that not everyone in the community is welcoming of zombies as a group have made it their mission to take a stand from the partially deceased.

Having watched the trailer, I have to admit that I'm quite impressed with the series. Created by first time writer, Dominic Mitchell, it does seem that In The Flesh, if it's given a chance to shine could be a worthy successor to Being Human and will hopefully avoid the same fate that befell The Fades. In terms of reviewing the series, I might just give it a go, depending on my reaction to the first episode but it will definitely get mentioned in this blog again.

Press Release: http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2012/in-the-flesh.html
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53I2_DbVUqU

In The Flesh will air Sundays at 10pm on BBC3 from March 17th.