I don’t know about you, but I could use a break from vampires, werewolves and zombies. Not a long break, but a break – especially from the vampires. I recently came across The Fades on BBC America and I have been delighted with this good (not so) old fashioned ghost story.
In The Fades, the actual ‘Fades’ are spirits of the dead that have not passed on out of our world. They are basically stuck here on Earth without being able to communicate or manipulate the physical world. I would call this a “ghost” personally, but I guess calling this The Ghosts just doesn’t sound as dramatic. I digress. Our hero is Paul, a young man who is haunted by apocalyptic dreams and has started seeing the Fades – the spirits of the dead – all around him. At the start of the series, we find an embittered and vengeful Fade has found a way to break the barrier between the dead and the living. Now Paul and his movie-loving best friend, Mac, must try to figure out how to save humanity.
The friendship between Paul and Mac is spot on to what most of us had in our own youth. They are both outcasts in their own school basically because they are geeks and they are different. These guys literally get picked on by everyone in the school. I guess that is one of the main reasons I like this series, because of the true friendship even in the face of constant adversity. That and they constantly rip on each other like only real friends could do.
As far as the scare factor is concerned, you will not be letting the little ones watch this with you. The crossed-over Fades look like zombies with green eyes (check out the box art). They definitely bring the horror to every scene they are in, especially with their violence. Think 28 Days Later ‘Rage’ victims.
Same as most BBC series, The Fades Season One is only six episodes long. In fact, the Blu-ray disc set clocks in at just 338 minutes. There is also a super hilarious “Mac Explains” segment where the comic relief best friend recaps every episode. I think this is far superior to the old “Previously on ___” clip show – in fact every show should be recapped this way. Of course there are also the regular items you would expect such as outtakes, extra scenes, deleted scenes and interviews.
I have not finished season one yet, so I cannot tell you if it is all wrapped up in the end. At the time of this posting, there has been no word on a season two, but season one is still airing in the states; so we will see. Own it on Blu-ray starting today and check out the official site here.
