Three Reasons To Watch The Fades Tonight

Here’s an entirely spoiler-free discussion of The Fades, a new BBC supernatural drama that premieres at 9pm tonight on BBC Three. I’ll be back later with a more spoiler-heavy alternative.

1. There’s A Whole Lot Of Shaking (Hands) Going On

First episodes of ongoing TV serials can either be spoon-feeding sessions of dry and lumpy set-up, or they can offer up exciting, tantalising glimpses of rich, undiscovered worlds.

The trick to fitting in lots of the requisite exposition without choking the audience is to render it all dramatically, and The Fades makes a pretty good fist out of this. We are left to connect the dots ourselves as the central characters are linked in a web, strand by strand, with each reveal coming from a dramatic or visual turn – somebody walks into somebody’s house, somebody has a picture of somebody else. It’s compelling to see the picture come together like this, piece by piece, each slotted in without comment.

I’m not sure there’s any relationship possibilities left to reveal amongst the characters we’ve already met, and that too is quite impressive: the entire family tree seems to have been set out in a single episode. And it’s not just a case of “So now we can get down to business” because we’re already getting down to it.

There are some big concepts to get across too, seeing as this is a supernatural story with magic (for want of a better word) that has rules of its own. Lots of these elements remain unexplained, however, but as our characters get deeper into this world and understand it more and more, then so will the audience, I’m sure.

At a plot level, this is a satisfying first episode with very good structure. Better still, there’s not a typical cliffhanger either, there’s just a lot of ongoing plot threads, character arcs and supernatural mysteries that the audience will be invested in.

It’s an important distinction. A cliffhanger seeks to get you tuning in for the next scene, a compelling narrative seeks to keep you tuned in for the rest of the storyline, however long that is.

2. The Doctor Who Connections

The Fades‘ executive producer is Caro Skinner, who has now taken up the same mantle for Doctor Who, starting with the Christmas special. What’s more, this first episode is directed by Farren Blackburn, who is currently shooting… the Doctor Who Christmas special.

Hardcore Whovians can consider tonight’s entertainment to also provide a little taster of the talents coming to assist the Doctor in the near future.

Blackburn has done a fine job, by and large. The desaturated look is nothing revolutionary, but it fits comfortably, and there’s no, say, ridiculous crash zooms or stutter-fits of jump cuts to knock the viewer out of the story.

And when you see the titular Fades, you’ll be seeing a walking visual metaphor that seems pretty much bang on the nose of the big idea.

Not all of the action is as clearly staged as would have been ideal, but it isn’t particularly glitchy and you’ll certainly be able to follow it.

3. There’s Something To It

I have to give away some of the show’s most basic set-up here, and reveal a tiny element of one dialogue scene.

The lead character of the show, Paul, has a best friend called Mac. I defy you to pigeonhole him – even though many of his characteristics are identifiable, he’s his own blend. One strong taste in the mix-of-Mac is that likes genre films and he forces (and I mean forces) references to them into conversation at every turn.

Late in the episode, Mac delivers a critique of The Sixth Sense that almost makes sense. Ultimately, though, that moment isn’t about putting Shyamalan under the microscope, it’s about foreshadowing how the show’s own ghostly presences will work, and shading in a little of their subtext all at once.

It’s a deceptively in your face pop-culture moment, masquerading as a geek-joke, but actually pulling a good amount of thematic weight.

This scene is an example of how The Fades went right when it could have gone wrong. While I’m still hoping that Mac’s constant dribble of pop bobbins is dialled down a little the further we go, his dialogue at least has application.

Jack Thorne’s script is pretty much like this throughout, in fact: it can seem rather more bold and blatant than necessary, but there’s usually something else going on at the very same time, just a few inches under the surface.

I’d recommend you give The Fades a punt tonight, or failing that, via the iPlayer. I found it much more engaging and involving than, for example, this last run of Torchwood, Sunday’s episode of Spooks or some recent episodes of Doctor Who. It’s definitely more ambitious and textured than a lot of snooze-button genre TV.

I recently spoke to Thorne, Skinner, Blackburn and several members of the cast. Stay tuned for some of what they told me, coming up this evening ahead of the broadcast soon. (Sorry for the delay, some issues with the recording and verifying some quotes)