[Locke.]

Stars Justin Theroux (Mulholland Drive), Amy Brenneman (Heat), Carrie Coon, Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who), Ann Dowd (Compliance), Liv Tyler (LOTR), Amanda Warren (Seven Psychopaths), Michael Gaston (Inception),

The premise: three years ago, 140 million people disappeared around the world, for which neither science nor major religion can offer any explanation. Many lost a family member, but everyone knows someone who vanished, or who cracked in the aftermath. Children miss their "departed" parents; parents of missing children are left devastated, struggling to move on. The blunt, intimate style of director Peter Berg makes the overwhelming sense of loss that permeates The Leftovers feel personal. Berg has created something between a post-apocalyptic horror movie and a Raymond Carver short story, which works, even if it's not always very fun to watch.

Fun isn't really The Leftovers' goal; like The Sopranos, it can feel unrelentingly bleak. Adapted from the eponymous novel by Tom Perrotta, it mostly takes place in the fictional town of Mapleton, New York, where conflict brews between the townies and the cultists, who lurk around chain-smoking and wear pristine white clothes. The townies do things like go to high school parties at "Dorfmann's house" and act moody around nice restaurants and coffee machines. To spice the suburban ennui, there's enough mystical mystery wafting around to intrigue fans of Lost, whose co-creator, Damon Lindelof, is also the showrunner here.

There are some recognizable tropes, like the town's troubled sheriff (Justin Theroux) and his angsty teenage kids, and a handful of much more interesting characters: a pastor on a quest (Christopher Eccleston), a cultist (Amy Brenneman) and her mentor (Ann Dowd), and a woman who lost her whole family, and has her own secrets, yet is easily the sharpest wit on the show (Carrie Coon). These four characters are well acted and for the most part well written. An episode devoted to Eccleston's character manages to be captivating, moving and inevitable all at once, and is a fantastic sign for what the series could be.

But like Lost, for every good character and plot there's another provoking more worry than hope: a cult leader (different cult) who heals with hugs (Paterson Joseph in a role weirdly similar to his part on Peep Show), a bald, possibly imaginary man who shoots feral dogs and dispenses country wisdom (Michael Gaston), and Liv Tyler, whispering lines as an angry, jaded suburban woman. The early episodes plod until a crime sets the gears of a murder-mystery into motion and the characters start brooding less and doing more.

Youtube video

The Pilot aired in the US this week, it will be on Sky Atlantic in the UK sometime this autumn.

[JTM45]

I've been waiting for this show for ages and i have to say that i was really disappointed with the first episode. Totally underwhelmed sadly!

I'm hoping it will pick up but if it carries on like it started..........