The Nevers: What the Must Watch reviewers think
This week Hayley Campbell and Scott Bryan share their thoughts on Sky Atlantic’s The Nevers.
Laura Donnelly, Olivia Williams, James Norton and Nick Frost star in Joss Whedon’s latest sci-fi series about a group of women who develop unusual abilities in Victorian London. Joss Whedon has since departed the show following allegations that he fostered a work environment of emotional abuse on previous projects.
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Hayley says: “You couldn’t pay me to watch Joss Whedon writing about Victorian London – but here we are”
“I should preface this by saying I don’t like Joss Whedon shows. I loathed Buffy the Vampire slayer when I was growing up and I still do. Also, generally, I tend to find Americans writing TV shows set in Victorian London don’t come out that well. So in theory you couldn’t pay me to watch Joss Whedon writing about Victorian London – but here we are, I can be bought.
“I didn’t love it but that’s not the fault of the cast, who are great. It’s just not an exciting premise for me. It’s sort of like X-Men in Victorian London: it’s a bunch of people with these unusual, mutant abilities all living in a big house together. And it’s a pretty young woman fighting supernatural forces…which, from the man who did Buffy, is just treading old ground. A lot of the dialogue is wasted explaining what superpowers are in a time before superheroes, so it drags. The first episode felt like months to me.
"So, in closing, no thank you. I’m sorry for being mean but I’m just allergic to Joss Whedon. I was never going to like this show so the title is quite apt.”
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Scott says: “Needs an edit”
“I was really impressed by the scale and the cast. I think I can sum my review up with these three words “needs an edit”. It just feels like there is thirty percent too much plot and rabbit holes not connected to other plot lines. Equally, there are also scenes that feel about thirty per cent too long!
“There’s a few scenes with a scale and energy that take your breath away, then there's other scenes in stuffy old rooms that last too long and lead you to shout “come on – get to the next bit!”
“It is just a bit too weighted down. Like Hayley says – that’s nothing to do with the acting or even the characters. I think it’s just down to the people who decide what stays in and what stays out and they just kept too many ideas in.”
©2021 Warner Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
The Nevers is available now on Sky on Demand and NOW.
Must Watch is released as a podcast every Monday evening from BBC Sounds and all other good podcast providers.
This week, the team chat to star of The Nevers Laura Donnelly and Rafe Spall about series 2 of Trying on Apple TV Plus. They also review The Pact on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.