Strange.

Since I'm back at Uni again, my release schedule for reviews and just general order of reviews is...completely out the window, I know I was barely a week into Real Life Month but since I have had barely any time to review anything, I decided that the moments I do, I'm just going to dedicate it to things I love and want to share with other people. Enjoy!

Strange is a British TV drama, released in 2003. I was just a kid when this was released and me and my friends loved it...it then subsequently vanished and I basically forgot about it. From time to time there'd be reruns on TV but never the whole series and I'd end up forgetting about it again and from time to time I'd look on Amazon or whatever in the hope of a DVD...but nope and I'd forget about it again. However, recently when I was reminded this show existed again I decided to do something I was less than proud of...seek more...dodgy means of getting hold of the show. I would never support piracy or other such things on this blog, but this is a great series, it's the BBC's fault that it failed and it is also their fault that all the fans of the show out there (this has a loyal, cult following) can't get ahold of the bastard thing. Grr. Yeah, that is right, even though a lot of people loved this show, the BBC decided to basically air each episode on a different time and day, it took a year before the series was released after the pilot was shown and they wonder why no one saw it? What a bunch of bullshit!

Strange is about a defrocked priest who is battling with demons. John Strange is teamed up with a guy with downs syndrome who has visions of when the demons attack, a computer hacker and a nurse who acts as his sorta love interest with occasional guest companions coming in for an episode. While fighting demons, he also must battle the mysterious Canon Black, a man with a strange interest in keeping the existence of demons out of public domain - and a possible demon himself. There are hints of wider things at play, melds of different cultures and a hint that John Strange has a somewhat detailed but nonetheless half explored past. It's a shame really that they couldn't have made this one series self-contained, because these seven episodes are barely the beginning to the Strange story, and you can't help feeling disappointed when it ultimately ends openly without barely answering one core question. And I guess that is at the same time testament to Strange's quality too, you know something must have been good - or you at least enjoyed it - if you feel sad when it's over and crave more. Who knows, maybe the sequel would have been a terrible CGI fest and my love for this show would have been destroyed.

Sadly though, I don't think the story ever quite reaches the potential it sets itself up to have. With all these demons in one city, and tons of interesting characters, it just ends up feeling so oddly...pedestrian and polite. This show had all the set up for some truly epic moments, but they just never happen. I mean the show does get more epic as it goes along in a scale sense but it just all ends oddly...boringly. I mean it still has bigger battles and much more unique monster designs than more modern shows like Supernatural have but this show was craving for more superpowered demon hunters and more demon interaction with other demons.

And admittedly, it isn't particularly well written, either. I mean the show seems pretty clever, but if you think of any aspect too long in this show the whole thing starts to unravel, in a confusing mess. Half of that is the shows fault, the other half is tropes of the genre. And although the show raises a lot of interesting concepts for a truly fun universe, the seven episodes barely explore any of it...and this world will never be explored again.

Honestly Supernatural is very similar to this show, actually. Much of the hour long episodes are about researching phenomena with real science, connecting it to a current police case - like mysterious killings or whatever, researching into who their demon of the week is, then taking it down in the last ten or so minutes with their research.Although Strange has this central romance or maybe not so romance and Strange's banter with his team, it lacks that central, strong chemistry, relationship Supernatural had with its brothers and is nowhere near as funny - Strange isn't dull so much, but it's a lot more boring than it really seems on paper.

This isn't helped by the shows poor pacing, despite having an extra twenty minutes over other American shows of this type, most episodes feel extremely slow, with lots of meandering plot, only to jump up to top gear in the last ten minutes and feel rushed as hell. If they tightened each episode up, took out all the unnecessary plot, this could probably easily be half as long as it currently is, and would probably be better for it. It isn't often shows like this feel like they could be shorter.

Strange looks awesome, especially in the second half of the series (minus the last episode). Each demon has a unique weapon, or power which is usually pretty cool and as the series goes on they become less and less human and the demons get more and more epic. However when the last five minutes allow the demon to use their supernatural powers it comes across so hilariously dramatic that it feels out of place in its own show.

Honestly the more I chew on it the more I realise the biggest problem with Strange is it was cancelled. With the way this show is written and the speed information is delivered, it seems to feel the show was certain it'd last long past its second season but it just didn't so there are so many awesome concepts, and a fascinating story that is sadly never allowed to come together, it barely even gets a chance to start too. This can be said for characters too, we never learn of Canon's Motivations, Jude and John never share a proper romantic moment...these seven episodes feel like just the beginning sentence to a story never finished.

So do I recommend it? Wow... this review turned out to be so very negative. Look I guess 11 - 12 year old me was much more easily impressed, and since I've been searching for this show for like ten years now, I guess I hyped it so much in my quest that I never had a chance to be anything other than disappointed. But don't get me wrong, this is a good show, it has a fair share of problems (much of which I put down to it being cancelled) but this was the one of the first times British Drama really got the Supernatural thing right, any fans of New Who, Sherlock or Supernatural are bound to find something to enjoy in this show - I see Strange's influence in all of them.

Think About It!

-Locke