What a Horror Show - Years & Years on HBO

[ronandannette]

Is anybody else watching this? I started late last night and binged all 4 of the episodes that have aired; there are 2 more to come. It's an absolutely bone-chilling story about normal people living in an all-too-possibly-real near future dystopian Great Britain.

We're not talking the usual zombie apocalypse and/or climate disaster schlock. This extremely well-crafted and believable story follows a regular, multi-generational family through a world of global political upheaval and economic instability, small-scale nuclear skirmishes, breath-takingly rapid social change, de facto fake news and media manipulation, technological and bio-medial over-reach and advancing environmental breakdown. All of these conditions are far, far too easy to imagine and it's evocative, thought-provoking and brilliant.

Thoughts? I'd love to talk more about this.

 

[kimblebee]

Sounds like Black Mirror a little. It doesn’t have a continuing story line, though, all the episodes are stand alone.

This is your second HBO series you’re talking about..did you just get a free trial of it and your binging it all in a month lol

 

[amberpi]

My house is clean, my laundry is entirely done, and we have no obligations. That show sounds amazing so I’ll get back to you after I binge it.

Please hold

 

[amberpi]

My house is clean, my laundry is entirely done, and we have no obligations. That show sounds amazing so I’ll get back to you after I binge it.

Please hold

So far, I’m blown away by the realism.

 

[amberpi]

So far, I’m blown away by the realism.

Wish my stupid dh hadn’t asked me to go to the square while he gets his beard done. So now I’m reading about the show while drinking a glass of wine. Ugh, I want to watch more!

 

[ronandannette]

Sounds like Black Mirror a little. It doesn’t have a continuing story line, though, all the episodes are stand alone.

This is your second HBO series you’re talking about..did you just get a free trial of it and your binging it all in a month lol

No, we've basically always had HBO...so long that there's pretty much nothing left we want to see that we haven't already. We planned to cancel the service and save a few bucks when Game of Thrones finished up but since it's only $20/month, we haven't gotten around to it. I'm thrilled with having found this little gem though. For the record, it's actually nothing like Black Mirror. Way, way more plausible and relatable, which is what makes it so freakin' scary.

 

[ronandannette]

So far, I’m blown away by the realism.

Right?!?

 

[amberpi]

No, we've basically always had HBO...so long that there's pretty much nothing left we want to see that we haven't already. We planned to cancel the service and save a few bucks when Game of Thrones finished up but since it's only $20/month, we haven't gotten around to it. I'm thrilled with having found this little gem though. For the record, it's actually nothing like Black Mirror. Way, way more plausible and relatable, which is what makes it so freakin' scary.

So far, I totally agree. If a dystopian future is ahead of us this is how it will go down. *mumbles about stupid beard upkeep and needing to go to one specialty supermarket for the week and mumbles about wanting to go home and watch more* *mumble mumble*

 

[tcufrog]

My sister's been telling me that I should watch it. Sometimes I like her recommendations and sometimes they are super far off from what I like. Since y'all recommended it, I will definitely have to check it out once I finish the latest season of Queer Eye.

 

[Mortie]

We have seen all of it, it is one of the most scary things I have watched. Wait until you hear Muriel’s monologue in the final episode. It resonates. I live in the UK and already see echos of it. Russell T Davies is a genius

 

[cinnaminny]

I'll put this on my list!! Thanks!!

 

[amberpi]

Whoa. Things are getting intense and we know it’s just heating up. It seems so real and that’s scaring the crap out of me.

 

[ronandannette]

We have seen all of it, it is one of the most scary things I have watched. Wait until you hear Muriel’s monologue in the final episode. It resonates. I live in the UK and already see echos of it. Russell T Davies is a genius

I love that this is British; it is quite difficult here in Canada to see beyond the pervasive North American preoccupations to understand the gravity of the gradual-but-steadily-shifting tides in the rest of the big, wide world.
As for Russell T. Davies and this masterful work? A genius, most certainly. A prophet? I pray not.

 

[ronandannette]

@Mortie - I don't know near as much as I should about British politics but I saw a clip from a Boris Johnson speech today. The slightly manic edge reminded me of Viv Rook...

 

[Praying Colonel]

Sounds like Black Mirror a little. It doesn’t have a continuing story line, though, all the episodes are stand alone.

This is your second HBO series you’re talking about..did you just get a free trial of it and your binging it all in a month lol

I was thinking it sounded a little like Children of Men.

That's the kind of show I'd have to watch on my own. It's way outside the Venn Diagram of what both DW and I would watch.

 

[NotUrsula]

Interesting review: https://www.bustle.com/p/is-vivienn...cter-may-feel-a-little-close-to-home-17872106

Most of the UK reviews seem to be drawing parallels to Black Mirror.

 

[luvavacation]

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I were looking for new shows to watch. I saw the recommendation for this show, so we added it to our list. Just finished it last night.

OH MY GOSH! Now there is a show that had us talking about topics long after we turned off the TV. It was intense, but it was something that crept up slowly, while a family was living their lives over the span of 15 years. We really liked that.

Is it wrong to wish this show was a required part of history classes? The way it showed how slowly change can happen, but how quickly it builds upon itself, is something that I wish everyone understood. History does repeat itself, and even though this is a show of fiction, it still feels like a very plausible future.

The only part that I could not get into was the trans-humanism and water aspect. That part of the last episode just had me trying to figure out how this was possible, and I couldn't figure it out, and I don't like not understanding how something works. I suppose it is good that it isn't real. Or are we heading there, too?

Either way, a great show that makes you consider the possibilities. Thanks all for recommending it!

 

[ronandannette]

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I were looking for new shows to watch. I saw the recommendation for this show, so we added it to our list. Just finished it last night.

OH MY GOSH! Now there is a show that had us talking about topics long after we turned off the TV. It was intense, but it was something that crept up slowly, while a family was living their lives over the span of 15 years. We really liked that.

Is it wrong to wish this show was a required part of history classes? The way it showed how slowly change can happen, but how quickly it builds upon itself, is something that I wish everyone understood. History does repeat itself, and even though this is a show of fiction, it still feels like a very plausible future.

The only part that I could not get into was the trans-humanism and water aspect. That part of the last episode just had me trying to figure out how this was possible, and I couldn't figure it out, and I don't like not understanding how something works. I suppose it is good that it isn't real. Or are we heading there, too?

Either way, a great show that makes you consider the possibilities. Thanks all for recommending it!

The last episode was a bit of a let down for me - not nearly on par with the others for being so very realistically ominous. I guess time will tell though, won’t it. I have never seen any dystopian premise presented in such a chillingly-possible fashion. God have mercy on us all.

 

[gary1955]

HBO on demand was free for the four day Thanksgiving weekend so I was able to binge watch the series.

I've seen some of the actors doing interviews about the show but of course they didn't want to get too specific so I wasn't sure what to expect. I wanted to see it because of the cast. British television is a lot different than how it is in US. the show season is short in comparison so actors are frequently on a few different shows. it is interesting to see actors in multiple rolls.

the way they cast the younger actors as they aged was amazing. you will really have to look closely to see the difference between actors. you could believe it is the same person, young child through adulthood.

I noticed that some sources categorize it as science fiction. future tech is a major theme but I didn't think that it was far enough to put it in that genre. the political/social aspect was strong enough to carry the show even if the technology shown was only what is currently available.

don't read below if you haven't seen it yet and don't want any spoilers.

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I'm sad that it doesn't look like there will be a season 2, but also ok with that. some of the predictions for the future look all too real. when they killed off one of the leading actors I got the feeling that it might be a stand alone mini-series. how could you kill off Russel Tovey in the opening season of an ongoing show?