Years and Years (New Russell T Davies)

The characters within the drama are too, though - pretty well every choice made by a family member is disapproved of by others - supporting Rook, becoming a flat earther, risking everything for a boyfriend or your global political activism or your identity crisis, losing money/job/having affair and supporting an increasingly fascist regime etc.

An interesting thing I noticed about the scene in the first episode which includes very up to date radio news reports. I was watching with subtitles on and they were different... The stories were more generic so the edit to real news must have been very last minute.

Quite amusing that tomasz schafernacker hasn't aged at all in 2028. Must have a good plastic surgeon.

I watched episodes 1-4 again tonight and now I feel utterly drained (but too hyped to sleep). I couldn't face 5 as well or I'd have been up all night. But god, I really want to burn everything down now. I really hope Bethany and Edith and maybe Celeste rip everything apart tomorrow.

Loved the ending of it, I wasn’t sold totally up to this episode but I think Davies hit the landing very well. At last someone called them out for being selfish (great speech from Gran), something that was frustrating me, and it all started to work for me. Very moving I thought in the last section.

For me, the point of the Gran speech wasn't about politics but about personal responsibility. Throughout, the characters had been in their own little hermetically sealed lives not realising that they were the problem. For this family those particular examples used were aimed at their concerns. Another family would have needed a different set of examples to hit home as hard.

The biggest problem with the nation, for me, is that people refuse to see themselves as part of the problem or as part of the solution. Everything is somebody else's fault or somebody else's job. When that happens you get leaders who feel as though they can get away with anything.

Little things....this year I have bought the Big Issue. I have bought all my new clothes from charity shops that I support. I have tried to eat more Vegan and vegetarian foods each week. I walk more places instead of getting out the car. I have requested my groceries are delivered without bags and choose green delivery slots. I am using a reusable cup on theatre visits and have bought my own water bottle and use it. I have stuck “Bollocks to Brexit” stickers on Dyson hand driers (this may not strictly be legal but I am prepared to take the chance). I have challenged old friends to think about perhaps supporting a party that likes buses when they complained about their only bus service being cut and another to actually read the Labour 2017 manifesto (they are seriously rich and think Labour are the devil....no problem with that if they have reasons but mostly based on “Corbyn is a Russian spy and wants to steal ALL your money”) I have challenged work colleagues who carelessly say the young are snowflakes or that Veganism is a fad and they don't know why it’s catching on. 
They may all be small acts but every time we challenge a view or do something it counts!  

You are one of the best theatremonkey.....you help make the country a better place by moderating on here and you’ve sort of made activism (getting a good seat for a fair price) into a job with your website!  
Never underestimate common decency and the power of queuing....

@theatremonkey sums up my disappointment.

We spend 5 weeks with a normal, if diverse family living through a turbulent decade doing the best to survive who morph into a family of super heroes.


We all have a duty to make the world a better place, each little thing we do can/does make a difference, the difference this family makes almost obliterates this message, they have a particular skill set, contacts and opportunities (I know it is a drama and there is dramatic licence) which can be seen as the continuation of the white knight syndrome.


The one truth to take away from this episode is ‘follow the money’ nobody seems to be investigating how a second rate populist has managed to mobilise and finance all these candidates making them the most popular party in the UK, the US have the Koch brothers who is/are the British equivalent.

'Little things' is interesting as an idea but doesn’t always pan out in the way desired. Remember when we objected to the air miles of those roses from Kenya? So we stopped buying them and put loads of people out of work in Kenya. The beggars up my way all have same blanket and arrive same time, dropped off by the 'owner'. So who gets the money? Vegan food! Well some manufacturers are cashing in here. And again, if we suddenly don’t eat meat? Everything has a consequence and often an unforeseen one. Funny how Ubers were condemned by the black taxi brigade when they operate in areas black cabbies don’t or won’t and when the uber is a lifesaver for old people and teenagers. The shops can easily go over to paper bags and sustain a few forests. Why don’t they? And so on.....I’m not trying to preach or put the clock back but I do think it just isn’t 'simples'.

I enjoyed the series overall and the positive ending, although part of me was daring it to end grimly. Performances were good and I thought Kinnear played a blinder.

But as with Doctor Who why does RTD let Murray Gold vomit all over everything with his big thundering drummy drums and melodramatic wailing choirs?

I thought this was very compelling television, by no means perfect, but what is? There's always things you wish had been done differently or would have written in another way but Russell T Davies is a produced writer with an excellent proven track record and I'm not so draw your own conclusions!

I do still think some of the female characters were under served by the script especially Rosie, this was brought home to me last night when I couldn't remember the name of her character but could recall the other siblings and extended family. Maybe solely my fault, maybe not. And whilst it's great to see such a diverse array of characters it did feel a little like 'Quick, we haven't got a (insert minority of your choice)'.