Channel4 Utopia cancelled, is the Network to blame?

It's official. Channel4 has announced Utopia won't return for a 3rd season.

The dystopian drama created by Dennis Kelly which got us glued to the couch has been cancelled due to low ratings. This is insane as it's hard to imagine a person not becoming enthusiast about Utopia after watching the first episode.
Here's my reactions, in this order.

I immediately blamed The Network for this. That would be its perfect final conspiracy, just think about it. But this is real and the only network to blame is Channel4. 

A Wilson Wilson picture posted on the Utopia official Facebook page confirmed this decision to the fans of the show.

'We are so sad to say goodbye, but we'll always have that spoon.'

Haha. We'll have that spoon, right. But we'll never learn more about Janus. We'll never find out if Pietre is going to save the day or if Wilson Wilson will be a better Mr. Rabbit than his charming predecessor Milner. But most important, we'll never know what happened to Jessica Hyde, Becky, Ian and Philip Carvel.

Well, at least not the British ones we got used to during the last two series.

Brace yourselves as a very unnecessary US remake is on its way. The American version of Utopia - directed by David Fincher (Fight Club, The Social Network and the dense political drama House of Cards) - is due to arrive on HBO in 2015. 

I've always been suspicious of US remakes of European movies or TV shows. Some are quite good, but most of them are just made to exploit another country successful ideas by adding Hollywood big money and names to impress. One for all, the American remake of the 2009 Swedish film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Speaking of remakes, I still have to take a look at Gracepoint, the US version of the British crime Broadchurch I loved to watch last year.

Back to Utopia, I'm not sure whether the US remake will be able to convey the same atmosphere as the original show, which had at least 5 strong points.

1. The plot can drive you crazy. I liked the fact that Janus, the project aiming for the sterilisation of the world in order to reduce population and consequently poverty, is presented like something horrible yet justifiable. Utopia is the perfect tapestry to reunite all the threads of several national, European and international conspiracies. The dystopic final design is made up of the worldwide known events and the almost unkown ones, both of them significant to understand the bigger pattern. I'm pretty sure Americans will add a little more 9/11 and JFK to the whole thing.

2. The photography is one of the marktrade of the British conspiracy thriller (season 2 premiere in 4:3 set in the 70s is a little masterpiece). The saturated, vivid landscapes almost seem a counterpart to the gloomy reality protagonists have to face.

3. There are three iconic elements in the C4 Utopia: the opening theme by Cristobal Tapia; the catchphrase of the show 'Where is Jessica Hyde?'; the particular technicolor yellow shade used for the opening credits and to emphasize details throughout the episodes known now as Utopia Yellow.

4. Jessica and the others of the gang makes a great team of characters. I can't even imagine other faces to embody the protagonists at this point. Not to mention their different accents. I'm sad thinking about the fact I'll never hear Paul Higgins's Michael Dugdale say "fuck" with his Scottish accent anymore.

5. Another Scot I'll miss is Rose Leslie. I've already declared my love for her and her Game of Thrones character Ygritte here. However, her portrayal of young Milner won me over for good. I hope they let her come back for the American Utopia on HBO, the same network as GoT.

I can't be anything but disappointed for this unexpected cancellation. No, I'm not psyched about HBO Utopia because Channel4 Utopia already had everything a good conspiracy thriller needs.

Trust no one. The Network can be watching us, but we're definitely not going to watch their network any time soon.

Girls

Girls season finale. Did I like it? I did. A lot of things happened during this season 3. Charlie and Marnie broke up. I used to think Charlie was the cutest guy on Earth and Marnie didn't deserve him, before learning he's a jerk. Or maybe being with Marnie isn't that easy as she's a huge control freak. Anyway, I would like him to come back next season, you hear me, HBO? So maybe Marnie will stop trying to be with all the guys she can't have just because she feels insecure. Adam gets a role on a Broadway production. I can't believe it, considering he spends half his life on a couch doing nothing but jerking off. Hannah still strives to become a writer and not being consumed by ambition and jealousy. Jessa finally admits she's a junkie, which makes her the most honest character of all. I love the fact she tries to help Beedie killing herself, that's very sweet and brave of her. I don't love exactly when Beedie changes her mind after having swallowed the whole contents of her pill jar. I guess it's not easy, but euthanasia is really something you should focus on before it is definitely too late. Shoshanna? Well, I don't like her much, first of all because I can't stand her tone of voice. And guess what? She dumped Ray like he was the greatest loser of all time and then, when she finds out he'd slept with Marnie, she wants him back! Definitely too easy.

Not a single good thing happened in this season finale, except maybe for Hannah being accepted at Iowa Writers' Workshop (any place left? just wondering).

That's the point with Girls, it always has. I've been watching it since the first episode was released and I can remember I was so excited because I felt it was something I belonged to. Something which was so close to real life of young people it hurt like hell watching. I guess this is pretty unexpected for a TV show, to be that real. We mostly want to be entertained when we turn on TV. Girls isn't entertaining at all in the way we would like it to be. Not in the sense it's not funny, because it is. Lena Dunham is one of the most talented writers of her age. I'd be the happiest person alive if I could get some of her writing talent one day. Girls is more like a punch in the face. You didn't see it coming and when you get someone's just hit you, you're ready to hit back. Then, you realize you're only going to crash your weak fist in your reflection in the mirror and you feel numb. I think it's one of the few shows which can picture perfectly what's like being 20-something today and not make you feel like everything's easy because it's not, really. And the soundtrack is pretty amazing, which is definitely a bonus. Everytime I watch an episode I tell myself I'm going to download all the beautiful tracks in it, but obviously I forget to. The only thing I know for sure is that I do want the job of the guy who's paid to pick out the songs. It must be one of the best jobs in the world, just think about it. You're at your desk with you coffee mug listening to new bands and match them with different scenes. Then, once approved, you go home with the awareness that people will feel sad for a song which made you feel sad in the first place, or in a good mood for another song which made you glad. It's like being the God of tunes. You play with people's feelings and they don't even know. But maybe my imagination is running a little bit too wild.

I am happy there's going to be a season 4, anyway. I must admit I've cried sometimes while watching TV shows or movies because I was sorry for my favourite character and experiencing a deep empathic moment. I am a sensitive person, don't blame for that. Girls is different. The times I've cried for it I did it because I was feeling sorry for myself, no favourite characters involved. I haven't a favourite characters among the four of them, actually. This is another thing I do love about Girls. Hannah, Marnie, Jessa and Shoshanna are far from being perfect. They're full of flaws but that's what makes them real. I love all the Girls in different ways, but none of them is exactly a role model and that's a good thing because neither are we. I don't need to watch another Tv show with a supergorgeous, fairylike protagonist (Rory Gilmore, I still love you, anyway) and feel like my life's crap when I can see how Girls' lives are as crappy as mine.

This is a pretty selfish thought, isn't it? I've never said I am not a self-involved bitch but Girls taught me it's almost okay to be that way.