Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Paapa Essiedu, Anjli Mohindra, Rudi Dharmalingam, Caroline Quentin, Tom Burke, Salóme Gunnarsdóttir, Lorn Macdonald, Charly Clive, Lukas Loughran, Vinette Robinson, Tommy Letts, Enyi Okoronkwo, Alec Utgoff, Martin Razpopov, Brian Gleeson, Chris Fulton, Michael Matus, Sarah Edwardson, Bradley John, Felix Hayes, Nina Singh, Kate Alderton, Marilyn Nnadebe, Olivia Nita, Thomas Flynn, Adam Best, Taz Skylar.
Time travel never leaves the user unscarred, even in the least convincing of films and television series, it is a given that consequences are unavoidable even for the hardiest of souls, that Time is often a bitter and twisted entity that thrives on chaos, confusion, and humanity’s folly in believing that even the smallest interaction will leave them unscathed.
What is not widely shown is the descent into madness that can come from repeating actions that you know must play out so that Time has the chance to restore and continue at the right moment, and it is this madness, this staring deep into the eyes of insanity that The Lazarus Project shows with disarming candour as new recruit George, played with genuine charm and energy by Paapa Essiedu, falls into the trap of believing that even in amongst all the resets, the moments when the future of the world hangs in the most perilous of hands, that he can make time his own and save the one he loves.
The Lazarus Project isn’t a particularly unique premise for a series, however, it does have the redeeming feature of being honest in its delivery, the genius and insanity embracing in a such a way that the focus of the show, the chasing down of terrorists with a rogue nuclear missile in their possession, would be in other writer’s ability be considered a poor alternative for a night’s viewing, but in Joe Barton, the writer behind the superb Our World War, the situation, especially its series climax where the strain of repeated actions starts to visibly show on the characters, and perhaps the actors as well, is handled with belief and sincerity of vision.
With intriguing performances by Anjli Mohindra, Caroline Quentin, and Tom Burke, and positively ingenious ones by Rudi Dharmalingam as Shiv and Charly Clive as Sarah, the series deserves a second instalment, and with Joe Barton given carte blanche to really open the dialogue and action.
The Lazarus Project is honest about its limitations, but more than makes up for it in its style and cohesiveness of its writing, and if Time Travel has any consequence, then this eight-part series arguably sustains its reasoning and its portrayal with devastating results. A genuinely impressive production, one that understands its constraints, but which makes the most of all its plusses to deliver a tale worthy of a viewer’s time.
Ian D. Hall