![]() The show sci-fi’s the hell out of the COVID pandemic, taking all our pent-up fears and frustrations about a viral Armageddon, nuclear escalation, financial disaster, and environmental catastrophe, and spins dramatic gold, creating a secret society bent on saving humanity that isn’t as selfless or heroic as it first seems. Thanks to a talented cast, solid writing, clear direction, efficient editing and cinematic cinematography, the series takes on the sci-fi time-travel tropes of movies, but gives them what they’ve never really had before-time. It’s a strategy that pays off, with each episode building on the last, as the plot, dramatic intrigue, and characters thicken. ![]() There’s time aplenty to build characters and themes, and to set the audience up to root for heroes who turn out not to be as righteous as they first seemed. With hints of Doctor Who and James Cameron’s Terminator franchise, the time-traveling sci-fi roots of The Lazarus Project might not be new, but allowing the characters and narrative to stretch out over eight episodes feels fresh. That’s true of the whole series which, throughout its eight-episode narrative journey, sees clear-cut notions of good and bad, right or wrong, start to muddy, as morality and justice get twisted in tangled loops. His character arc over the course of the series is a thoughtful and fascinating exercise in creating a backstory that resonates. Standouts include Rudi Dharmalingam as Shiv, a seasoned Lazarus Project member who turns out to have more in common with George than just being a member of a cult set on saving the timeline.Įntering from episode two as Revrov, a rogue Lazarus Project member, turned traitorous villain, Tom Burke is a scene-stealer. British comedian Caroline Quentin is a delight as Lazarus Project leader Wes, playing M to Essiedu’s Bond, and the two are complemented by a host of actors pretty much perfectly cast. Pretty handy if you memorise the next twenty weeks’ winning Lotto numbers…Īs is needed to sell any convoluted set-up, what makes The Lazarus Project work is great writing, direction, and a top-notch cast doing their darnedest to take the batshit premise seriously. So, every time, um, time resets, members of the Lazarus Project remember the future still to come. Their advantage? Their members can remember. It seems the Lazarus Project is set on saving the Earth in similar fashion. Flung into a six-month do-over cycle, George finds himself plugged into Archie’s top-secret society, the Lazarus Project.įor those not up on their theology, in the biblical New Testament, Lazarus dies and is restored to life four days later by Jesus Christ. Which, before you can say “Live Die Repeat is a better title than Edge of Tomorrow”, it does. Archie offers George her business card, and cryptically suggests he reach out should his six-month life-repeat ever happen again. That’s until he meets Archie (Anjli Mohindra), a stranger sympathetic to his plight. ![]() In shades of Twelve Monkeys, George’s attempts to come to terms with his experiences, and warn others to prepare for a surprise global viral outbreak, only serve to make him seem several peanut butter sandwiches short of a full picnic. Sound familiar? Well, for George the last six months have been a nightmare, only made worse by waking up and starting all over again, back at square one on 1st July 2022. Over the following six months, George gets married, gets into business, and gets caught up in a growing world financial crisis, burgeoning Eastern European nuclear arms race, and a deadly global pandemic in quick succession. No spoilers here but for George, the Groundhog Day time-loop kicks off on 1st July 2022, shortly after he discovers his partner Sarah (Charly Clive) is pregnant. ![]() Essiedu, an already reliable and likeable actor, takes on the lead role as George, an app developer recruited into a secret society intent on saving the world-again.
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