TV Review Hard Sun Episode One

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2017 Spoiler alerts The basic premise is a good one. If the government knew the World was going to end in five years, would they cover it up to the point of murdering anyone who finds out about it or tries to go public with the information? Two troubled London cops find out the hard way when routine investigations throw them into the heart of the crisis. There are strong action set pieces, the Kill Bill style kitchen fight opening moments between the lady cop and her murderous Autistic son, (Hard son???), where she seems rather unfazed or alarmed about him nearly burning her to death. Her casual, all the time in the World, un-panicked departure from the flat neutralizes the drama here. The characters retain a monotone, deadpan lack of facial expression for much of the drama. The flash drive shows a few fancy graphics that the characters decode into the full story in seconds. Just how long do the authorities think they can keep the extinction event a secret once the effects of the sun start manifesting themselves more visibly? Why is the heroine going to the press when release of the data to to the internet would circulate it much more widely very quickly. Various hackers get hold of the data and die quickly, in one case thrown from a high rise into a tree. MI5 are clearly the villains in this. The show seems unsure what it is about, police procedural, spooks style spy drama, Utopia (TV series) style dystopia, or end of the World wake up call. The end of the World pending should feel tense, dangerous, not routine, boring and dull with occasional random flashes of violence, and characters hiding skeletons that might come out as redemption stories for them, but as this seems like an inescapable Apocalypse the question, what’s the point? Seems more and more pertinent. A show that promises to end the World with a bang looks intent on making it whimper for five years first. Arthur Chappell