Director: Yann Demange
The further Dead Set drifts away from its Big Brother core, the more appealing it becomes. It's clearly doesn't have pop-culture satire foremost on its mind, so part 3 is a welcome shift into pure zombie-slaying action outside of the BB house…Kelly (Jaime Winstone) and Marky (Warren Brown) escape from the compound in a van, in an effort to find medicine at a local supermarket for the bitten Angel (Chizzy Akudolu), who is being nursed in the BB house by Grayson (Raj Ghatak). Unfortunately, they run into two edgy policemen after fleeing the store with zombies in pursuit, and the stand-off with the tetchy cops proves equally as dangerous…
This was the best strand of the episode by far, with some genuine scares (the moment a dropped crowbar heralds a rampaging zombie), and a few amusing digs at the reality show phenomenon (Marky noticing he's been exploited in Heat magazine.) Winstone undoubtedly makes a good, believable heroine, and the tense situation with the cops is nicely balanced with a few comic lines. It's about time Charlie Brooker had a bit of fun with this idea. More, please.
In the BB compound, as the aforementioned Grayson looks after the deteriorating Angel in the garden, Joplin (Kevin Eldon) uses the time alone with Veronica (Beth Cordingly) to spy on her in the shower. The development of characters like Joplin and (particularly) Veronica was very welcome, with everyone becoming more noticeable now the zombie emphasis has abated. The Joplin/Veronica scenes are wholly unrelated to the undead threat, which was a refreshing change.
Meanwhile, Kelly's boyfriend Riq (Riz Ahmed) and Alex (Liz May Brice) have taken refuge in a country house and spend the episode searching the TV and radio for signs of life. I'm not convinced (in this digital, automated age) that TV and radio broadcasts would go off-air so quickly, but it's almost tradition for radio's to hiss white noise in apocalyptic drama, so I can let it slide. Great to see the BB live-feed still working, thus allowing Riq to see his girlfriend is alive, too. So far, that's been the only unique use of a reality show conceit in this zombie tale.
Again, the subplot for producer Patrick (Andy Nyman) and screeching Scottish housemate Pippa (Kathleen McDermott) is a big waste of time. They're still trapped in small office with Zombie Davina (Davina McCall) lurking around in the corridor outside. It's such a waste of Nyman and McDermott's talents, but they seem to be in a holding pattern right now. Hopefully their escape is imminent, so they can start participating in the story. Also, it was a bit depressing to see Brooker lean on toilet humour again to sustain interest in their scenes -- with Patrick having a bout of diarrhoea in a wine bucket, to the utter disgust of Pippa.
Overall, I liked this episode a fair bit, because it reminded me least about missed opportunities with the reality show backdrop. It's still full of big clichés and lacks enough comedy for my taste, but the scares were effectively delivered, the various subplots (with the exception of Patrick and Pippa) were more involving, and the characters have started to take hold. Let's hope the remaining two episodes can capitalize on part 3's sudden focus.
29 October 2008
E4, 10pm
Cast: Jaime Winstone (Kelly), Andy Nyman (Patrick), Kathleen McDermott (Pippa), Kevin Eldon (Joplin), Riz Ahmed (Riq), Liz May Brice (Alex), Warren Brown (Marky), Shelley Conn (Claire), Beth Cordingly (Veronica), Chizzy Akudolu (Angel), Raj Ghatak (Grayson), Adam Deacon (Space) & Davina McCall (Herself)
