With two more seasons of the show seemingly given the greenlight, I'll put this review here. Hmm.... I have mixed feelings about the series. Performances are good, plot is . . . Less so - but it's an unfinished story. We'll see.
Lucy (Jessica Raine) inexplicably wakes up at 3:33 every night from a nightmare she can't avoid. Her son, Isaac (Benjamin Chivers) has emotional issues and is almost unreachably distant, as if in a different world. DI Dhillon (Nikesh Patel) is investigating a murder and comes to believe the killer is looking for Lucy. In flashforwards, we see his suspect, Gideon Shepherd (Peter Capaldi) in custody, only willing to speak to Lucy and with a fantastical explanation for her, and her son's conditions.
Again, the performances here are really good. Capaldi is a legend and brings an instant gravitas to the occasionally hokey nonsense that the plot requires him to explain. Jessica Raine is great, presenting both a plausibility in her exasperation at her situation, but also willing to bring the occasional moment of levity, singing to the radio or doing anything to try and forge a connection with Isaac.
The plot is the shows' weakest part. I don't write reviews with spoilers so, suffice it to say that if you're familiar with science fiction concepts, you'll probably cotton on to the right ballpark of what's happening pretty quickly. There are some reasonably scary elements in those first couple of episodes, but again you'll put that aside as you get closer to the idea. It suffers a bit by not slowly explaining any of its elements but rather giving all its information in a packed final episode. This first season ends at what would be a very disappointing climax was there not more to come.
Whilst I didn't particularly like this series that much, I'm hoping that this has done the leg work for the next two elements to tell a proper story. I guess we'll find out.