TV GUIDE: Weekend TV in Review: Fringe, Fades, Napoleon and More
Jan 13, 2012
by Matt Roush
... A SPIRITED THRILLER: "The things that scare us are the things that keep us human. Never be afraid of being scared." Words to live — or possibly die — by on BBC America's creepy new The Fades (Saturday, 9/8c), the story of a teenage misfit with the ability to see ghoulish spirits who learns he's on the front lines of a war for (what else) the survival of humanity. When it isn't being apocalyptically terrifying, The Fades is funky and funny, reflecting creator Jack Thorne's previous credits on shows including the original Skins and Shameless.
This is a find for anyone who likes their thrills and chills laced with ribald irreverence — the young hero's nightmares tend to result in soiled sheets, and you should see what happens when he indulges in a little self-pleasure. Let's just say an alternate title could be Touched By An "Angelic," that being the term for those precious few mortals who can see "fades" (ghosts trapped on earth) walking among us. Young Paul, played by the very likable Iain De Caestecker, is none too thrilled to learn he has this gift, although his best mate Mac (the hilarious Daniel Kaluuya), a relentlessly upbeat pop-culture junkie, thinks it's pretty cool. Mac's "previously on" recaps at the start of each episode are a hoot, much as the coming-of-age undercurrent of pungent adolescent comedy adds depth to the end-of-the-world horrors Paul confronts.
"Will any of this ever make sense?" he wonders. "Probably not," he's told. Ah, sweet mystery of life. And death...
No comments:
Post a Comment