In the midst of a winter war of ratings Channel 4 has thrown a grenade amidst the hoard of unimaginative bile suffocating our viewing with Utopia. Josh Taylor runs from television bakery into the arms of violent comic-book madness.

Utopia: a six-part drama series created by Dennis Kelly, focuses on the lives of five characters with a peculiar connection to a graphic novel known as ‘The Utopia Experiments’.

Originally unconnected, the group irreversibly join through an online forum when their interest in graphic novels leads to a discussion about the Utopia Experiments. They soon find themselves possessing the legendary manuscript, their lives inadvertently transforming from an ironic utopia into a chaotic new reality as they become the targets of a deadly pursuit by a covert organisation known as The Network.

We are instantly thrown into the action with the introduction of The Network’s deadly Starsky & Hutch duo, who urgently ‘work’ through their victims asking the imperative question – who is Jessica Hyde? As they seek to maintain the legendary status of The Utopia Experiments the group must learn to ‘adjust or die’.

In search of Miss Hyde, the murderous pair invent a creative mix of torture weapons: a handy spoon, a few chillies, a small amount of sand and a bottle of bleach. You’ll never see this on Blue Peter. Covering a wide range of controversial topics – blackmail, murder, kidnapping and a torture scene that would make Ofcom hit-back the whiskey before breakfast – Utopia is beautiful in both its delivery and execution. After wincing, groaning, and retrieving the flies from your dropped jaw you become aware that Jessica Hyde is of extreme importance. Her anonymity first looks set to rival Banksy’s but when she eventually explodes into our periphery (through a dramatic front door entrance), boy does she give Lara Croft a run for her money.

Utopia’s ambitious and immersive web continues, leading the viewer further into the mysterious utopian underworld as both plot and murder thicken. We learn that The Network’s origin began in The Cold War with the intention of weaponising smallpox and anthrax to combat the Soviets. As The Cold War ended though the operations of The Network did not, and the founders, geneticist Philip Carvel and “Mr Rabbit” came at loggerheads. In an attempt to opt out, Carvel is tortured in an attempt to be made ‘cooperative’, and under psychiatric care, he began to scribble The Utopian Experiments. Jessica Hyde’s connection to Carvel jumps up a level as we learn how she has become so used to fighting a company that want her so urgently.

The starting episodes of Utopia have almost been poetic. With such a variety of intricate storylines that entwine so smoothly it’d be foolish to think Utopia was aiming for anything less than a masterpiece. As viewers we can only hope the dramatic momentum will continue; challenging the preconceptions of what television audiences want and deserve to watch.

 

Utopia is on Channel 4 on Tuesdays at 10pm.