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No Escape is one of those dramas which begins with a mystery section, before winding back in time to fill in some details.
IMDB still lists this as its alternate title, The Blue, which is the title of the boat in the drama, initially visited by divers answer a distress call, but they find nothing and no-one, aside from the words scrawled in blood, “I confess”.
As such, cops turn up to question waitress Lana (Abigail Lawrie – The Casual Vacancy) at the restaurant where she works, and that’ll certainly make a change to anyone’s day in a dull job, as I would’ve found at the Little Chef. However, the concerned young lady needs to explain to Chief Inspector Sarah Craven (the stunning Susie Porter – Cargo) exactly what she knows about what went on there, all of which will be news to us at this point.
In a drama which jumps back and forth in time, we go back six weeks earlier, where, together with Kitty (Rhianne Barreto – The Outlaws), they take a trip from London, destined for Mindanao in the Philippines, chancing their luck with little money to their name, until they manage to get hold of a ticket for The Blue, which leads them to meet fellow backpackers Shell (Colette Dalal Tchantcho – Domina), Heinrich (Elmo Anton Stratz), Denny (Sean Keenan – The Power Of The Dog), Joseph (Narayan David Hecter) and the skipper, Aaron (Jay Ryan – IT Chapter Two).
Hormones and booze will soon play a part, but after two episodes of this so far, I don’t have much in the way of answers, but it’s safe to say that the two best female friends get separated along the way, and given that the cops have had to get involved, it doesn’t sound like this trip would’ve been considered for a potential episode of Holiday Of My Lifetime, with the late, great Len Goodman.
No Escape drip-feeds the info to you, but does feel like it takes too long to get anywhere, and in too soap-operay a way, thus feeling – given the locations – like a long drawn-out version of The Beach. I can’t say I’m engaged enough to venture further into their journey, but if it turns out to be an amazing escapade, then I may return to The Blue.
If you’re wondering how many episodes there are, then ol’ Mr Goodman would confirm, “SEVEN!”
For this series, I watched the first episode as a preview, but saw the second when it aired (as all episodes are available on day one) since there were no subtitles on the preview, and the dialogue isn’t always clear to hear, given the disparate accents.
No Escape is not available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD, but is on Paramount+ from today. All episodes are available on day one.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 55-60 minutes per episode (7 episodes)
Release date: May 18th 2023
Studio: Paramount+
Format: 2.00:1
Director: Hans Herbots
Producer: Lee Thomas
Writers: Tolula Dada, Kris Mrksa
Novel: Lucy Clarke
Music: Dominik Scherrer
Cast:
Lana: Abigail Lawrie
Kitty: Rhianne Barreto
DS Paul Christie: Josh McConville
Chief Inspector Sarah Craven: Susie Porter
SAR Officer: Alexander James Winslow
Shell: Colette Dalal Tchantcho
Heinrich: Elmo Anton Stratz
Denny: Sean Keenan
Joseph: Narayan David Hecter
Aaron: Jay Ryan
Airline Staffer: Kelly Jones
Head waiter: Sahajak Boonthanakit
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.