The Midwich Cuckoos

[peter]

Based on the John Wyndham novel of the same name, this series is an update on the original story but still following its broad path. In confession I must say that I haven't read the actual novel, but do understand that the above is the case from a review I have watched.

I'm about four episodes in (out of a total of six or seven) and am enjoying it if not immensely, then certainly sufficiently to keep me on board until the end. The story is tight and well scripted and the acting in the good hands of seasoned professionals, including Keeley Hawes who takes on the role of the lead protagonist. Hawes plays a psychologist who finds herself in the midst of an unsettling incident where all the females of child bearing age fall pregnant simultaneously (her own daughter included), and give birth to a strange group of children with a sort of hive-mind and supernormal powers.

I'd perhaps have preferred to see a film adaptation rather than a series, but the extend time allowance does permit for more exploration of the psychological effects of the 'miracle' on the people involved, an aspect that the famous adaptation "The Village of the Damned" simply could not go into.

The series is both haunting and intriguing in equal measure and also throws a spotlight on the application of State power in emergency situations, and just how far it reaches (as if we didn't have fresh examples of this in our minds already). All in all however, it makes for a good few hours of viewing. I don't suppose it's going to win any Oscars, but it certainly bears a watch and won't leave you disappointed.

[Avatar]

The GF finished it last night, and enjoyed it. Didn't watch myself.

--A

[peter]

I'm on the last one now. I've certainly enjoyed it but feel that it could have been 'tightened up'. I'd have trimmed it back to five or six episodes. Another thing - only small - is the number of occasions where people do things that just aren't what people would do. Like playing hide-and-seek with your grandchild in the middle of a wood. Or going into a spooky cellar system with your colleague and then splitting up. These are clunky ploys that telecast what is going to happen and should have been avoided. Lazy writing.

But a few instances of this aside, it's been a good watch. I think I'll try to get hold of the book. I'm betting it will be an equally good read.