Demons Episode One Review
Well, it wasn’t quite as bad as I’d expected – but it certainly wasn’t good. Judging by the first episode, They Bite, the best word for ITV’s new show Demons is probably “confused”.
Someone clearly said “Let’s do a British version of Buffy”, which is fair enough. However they then seemed confused as to whether they wanted a serious, atmospheric supernatural story or a tongue in the cheek version. In episode one it seemed that neither the writer (Peter Tabern) nor the director (Tom Harper) knew either. The choice of theme music added to the confusion.
Mixing comedy with suspense on TV is a difficult trick. Programmes like the original Buffy and Doctor Who manage to pull it off. Demons didn’t. Probably the only person who got the balance right and emerge with any credit from this episode was Holly Grainger as Ruby.
As for Philip Glenister – oh dear. He’s a decent actor but in this he just looked embarrassed. He also limited himself to a single facial expression and tone of voice – perhaps that was because he was so busy concentrating on his dreadful American accent. More likely he was working hard to avoid yelling “Get me out of here!”
As to the other main actors, Christian Cooke as Luke and Zoe Tapper as Mina, they were competent but apparently chosen mainly to look good and appeal to those of appropriate inclinations. That might explain why Luke spent so much time without his shirt. Combined with the music this suggests a laughable attempt to appeal to the “cool teen” market.
The whole thing smacks of committee production. Instead of a single creative force it looks like the work of different people pulling in different directions. The end result does nothing very well.
Apparently this first episode attracted almost six million viewers. It’ll be interesting to see how many people bother to watch episode two.
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