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BBC 3, usually looked upon as the “less cool” BBC brother is in fact bringing forth one of the best series of the fall – The Fades. The entertainment business is filled with horror stories, vampires, zombies, werewolves, ghosts, but let’s face it, an abundance of similar things is not a guarantee of quality shows.
The Fades manages to stay away from the more popular versions of this type of show with clever writing, an abundance of obscure and not so obscure references – Mork and Mindy anyone? – along with a compelling cast that will really keep you glued to your seat for each episode.
The show premiered five weeks ago and for the late risers, it means there is only one more episode to go: the grand finale that will air this Wednesday at 21:00 on BBC3. But let’s see why I’m so hyped about this show?
Paul, a seventeen year old, discovers one day that he has special powers, mainly visions of a really dark future. Plot might seem familiar to you (Fallen comes to mind), but it all similarities end there. These visions don’t make him particularly happy and he is quite tormented, rather than simply embracing them. He discovers through a dark series of events that he is actually an Angelic, a man chosen to keep The Fades – basically ghosts who were denied Ascension after death and now they are stuck on Earth and they are getting angry – away from humans.
That being said, don’t wait for something cliched and simple when going in to watch it, it’s not. With interesting characters and great writing it soon became the favourite show of a lot of people.
The show benefits from a stellar cast: Johnny Harris, Natalie Dormer and Tom Ellis to name just a few of them. For the Skins fans there is a special bonus – Joe Dempsie, Lilly Loveless and Daniel Kaluuya all have major parts to play in the show.
The main role went to Iain de Caestecker, a young actor that manages to keep the viewers interested in his story and to make a
character such as Paul a beloved one by the show’s fans. Considering his relatively unknown status – despite having appeared in shows such as Monarch of the Glenn and Lip Service – that is saying something.
All the actors manage to bring depth to their characters, you might find yourself rooting for the bad guy since his actor makes him seem like a lovable rogue, rather than a mental Fade, since Joe Dempsie does such a wonderful job at bring him to life. No pun intended.
It’s fair to mention that The Fades is quite a British show, there is no squeamishness regarding nudity or cussing, which makes it all the more believable, considering the things that go on in the show. I don’t think “gosh” and “darn” would’ve cut it in this series. That being said, it’s not gratuitously gory or vulgar, although the intro sequence is enough to fuel your nightmares for a while. There is also a fair amount of British humour, so be prepared for it.
Here’s the trailer for the show – if you’re convinced by now to give it a shot, listen to my advice, watch it with the lights on. Remember to rate and comment, I really like that.
And if you made it this far, here’s a bonus for you, the intro.
Tags: BBC3, Daniel Kaluuya, Iain de Caestecker, Joe Dempsie, Johnny Harris, Lilly Loveless, Natalie Dormer, review, Skins, The Fades, Tom Ellis
