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The Power is a new 9-part series on Prime Video, where a streaming service tells us it’s time, again, another Young Adult novel brought to the small screen.
The essence is that, for reasons unexplained, teenage girls find they can suddenly generate electricity from their fingers, and if I could do this, I’d be finding a way to harness it and cut down my power bills!
But the cost of living crisis hasn’t yet hit the town inhabited by these characters, and we start with Roxy Monke (Ria Zmitrowicz – Three Girls), living with her mother, Christina (Sinead Matthews – aka Jenny from Ideal), who’s divorced from Bernie (Eddie Marsan – The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe). He’s hosting a wedding and Roxy has an invite, but we don’t need to see any sparks flying yet in the way you’re expecting, since Mr Marsan can do more than enough of that for everyone.
In fact, and if someone has captured this and put it on Youtube I’ll link it below, but the actor – who I first saw as Stoat, opposite Samantha Janus, in Game On – was on BBC Breakfast talking about The Power, and how he got to destroy a cake by punching it because “It’s not the cake I ordered”, although he did admit they had around 4 wedding cakes made so he could punch them, and have that many takes to get it right. In fact, I’d settle for an hour of Eddie Marsan just punching cakes! Maybe the alternate takes can be put online as an extra?
But back to the plot, and amongst the girls shown, there’s Allie (Halle Bush), who’s rather fed up of her foster parents as they’re rather insulting, claiming she has ‘selective mutism’, when it seems more like she’d rather just not say anything; and Jos (Auli’i Cravalho), who rather fancies a lad in school, but can she make it work between them?
As for why and how this is happening, “It comes when you need it… when the time is right, you’ll know…”, but I’ll give no spoilers as to how and when it manifests itself.
Needless to say, this causes a kerfuffle wherever it happens.
So far, by the time the preview link came through to watch this, I only had time to watch one episode before the launch, so it still has time to get into the characters portrayed by John Leguizamo (Violent Night), and Toni Collette (The Staircase), as local mayor, Margot.
I will try a second episode, as I haven’t seen enough to fully judge it yet, but the end of the opener did have a clipshow of “This Season on The Power”, and I know 3 eps are available, initially. Plus, it’s a fairly easy watch that you don’t have to think too hard about.
I just wish that it could have a better title, as it’s feels a bit non-descript and generic. Okay, so it IS the title of the novel, and it’ll have a following accordingly, but that’s just how I see it. Maybe they should’ve included that Snap song into this?
Thanks to our friends at Prime Video for the screener prior to release.
The Power is on Prime Video from Friday March 31st. Three episodes are available on day one, with the rest added weekly.
You can also buy the novel in Paperback, Hardback and Kindle.
NOTE:
Trailer posted March 29th 2023 23:00
Updated with spoiler-free review of episode 1: March 30th 23:00
Cert: 
Running time: 50 minutes per episode (9 episodes)
Release date: March 31st 2023
Studio: Prime Video
Format: 2.39:1
Series Directors: Ugla Hauksdóttir, Lisa Gunning, Logan Kibens, Neasa Hardiman, Shannon Murphy
Producer: Chris Thompson
Developed by: Naomi Alderman, Sarah Quintrell, Raelle Tucker, Claire Wilson
Novel: Naomi Alderman
Screenplay: Naomi Alderman, Michelle Hsu, Sarah Quintrell, Raelle Tucker, Claire Wilson, Brennan Elizabeth Peters,
Sue Chung, Stacy Osei-Kuffour
Music: Morgan Kibby
Cast:
Tunde Ojo: Toheeb Jimoh
Jos Cleary-Lopez: Auli’i Cravalho
Margot Cleary-Lopez: Toni Collette
Allie: Halle Bush
Roxy Monke: Ria Zmitrowicz
Rob Lopez: John Leguizamo
The Voice: Adina Porter
Bernie Monke: Eddie Marsan
Christina Monke: Sinead Matthews
Matty Clearly-Lopez: Gerrison Machado
Ryan: Nico Hiraga
Darrell Monke: Archie Rush
Barbara Monke: Juliet Cowan
Helen: Edwina Findley
Tatiana Moskalev: Zrinka Cvitesic
Frank: Reese Alexander
Daniel Dandon: Josh Charles
Izzy Cleary-Lopez: Pietra Castro
Ricky Monke: Jacob Fortune-Lloyd
Yuki: Ashley De Guzman
General Miron: Bogdan Albulescu
Sister Maria: Daniela Vega
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.