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The Midwich Cuckoos is an adaptation of the John Wyndham novel, and a situation where I never saw any other version which has gone before (and I haven’t read a novel since I left school).
We first see a scared young couple wanting to escape – Zoë (Aisling Loftus) and Sam (Ukweli Roach) – but who also want to avoid the army that are patrolling, before seeing their young daughter staring at them in a bizarre way…
Flashback to 5 years earlier, and the couple are driving along, about to move into their first house, as they start a new life together.
Then events move to introduce psychotherapist Dr. Susannah Zellaby (Keeley Hawes), who has a disgruntled daughter, but we first see her in her job, dealing with a young girl called Charlotte, who thinks bad things are going to happen if she doesn’t have all her toys with her when she goes on holiday. First world problems, eh?
The town of Midwich has a load of jubilee bunting up, as this series begins on June 2nd 2022, which coincides with the first day of the Queen’s Jubilee weekend, but before long, there’s no time to think about this because tons of electrical interference kicks in all over the place, shorting everything out, horses bolt free out of their stables, stoned students are dancing like there’s no tomorrow, kids are suddenly behaving all staring and weird, and everyone suddenly passes out… which looks particularly painful if they’re face-planting.
Leaving out any major spoilers, obviously, I get that the creators of this remake they have to set the scene, but this opener is so leaden and dull, with everyone looking like they’d rather be someone else. I will try a second episode, however, to see if this improves. It’s a possibility?
The Midwich Cuckoos begins on Sky Showcase on Thursday June 2nd at 9pm, with all episodes being available on demand at the same time. It’s avaiable to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD, with the release date to be confirmed.
Series Directors: Jennifer Perrott, Alice Troughton, Börkur Sigþórsson
Producer: Pat Karam
Creator: David Farr
Screenplay: David Farr, Sasha Hails, Namsi Khan, Laura Lomas
Novel: John Wyndham
Music: Hannah Peel
Cast:
Dr. Susannah Zellaby: Keeley Hawes
Cassie Zellaby: Synnøve Karlsen
DCI Paul Haynes: Max Beesley
Zoë Moran: Aisling Loftus
Sam Clyde: Ukweli Roach
Hannah Moran: Georgia Thorne
Charlotte McLean: Darcie Smith
Sarah McLean: Amy Cudden
Stewart McLean: Mark Dexter
Mary-Ann Phillips: Rebekah Staton
Jane Colter: Marianne Oldham
Barnaby: George Potts
Jodie Blake: Lara Rossi
Deborah Haynes: Jade Harrison
Rachel Saunders: Hannah Tointon
Curtis Saunders: Lewis Reeves
David Saunders: Dexter Sol Ansell
Mitchell Fenner: Alec Nicholls
Amrita Chohhan: Anneika Rose
Nora Randall: India Ria Amarteifio
George: Kit Rakusen
Lily Grace: Erin Ainsworth
Young Ezra: Kaylen Luke
Young Nathan: Jude Ible Thompson
Military Working Dog: Kratos
Evie Stone: Indica Watson
DS Mayes: Laura Doddington
Bryony Cummings: Cherrelle Skeete
Lancaster: Alex Brock
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.