In 2023 Detective Hasan finds a naked corpse in a Whitechapel alleyway, and in 1941 and 1890 two other detectives find exactly the same body, while in 2053 a fourth detective is about to make a startling discovery.

There’s no denying it, the premise for Netflix’s new time hopping sci-fi thriller is intriguing, but while four identical bodies in four different timelines may seem fantastical, the fact that each of our detective heroes keeps seeing mysterious incarnations of Stephen Graham everywhere they look feels decidedly contemporary. Let’s face it, these days you can’t avoid the guy, what with it seeming to be a legal requirement to cast him in every British TV show at the moment – so that bit, at least, isn’t mysterious at all.

Bodies is a conundrum – not because of the twisty enigmatic narrative, but because it somehow manages to be decently gripping but really quite naff at the same time. A lot of effort has gone into the story and the production design, but not so much care as to the cheesy dialogue and creaky acting, peppered as it is with some extremely strange accents notably from Mr Graham himself, and from Shira Hass (playing the 2053 detective) both of whom seem to be attempting some kind of English Received Pronunciation, and neither quite succeeding.

There’s certainly lots going on. Our present-day detective (Amaka Okafor giving by far the strongest performance of the whole cast) finds her corpse after a far-right rally marching through the East End, and suspects some kind radicalised cell might be at work. In 1941 a persecuted Jewish detective (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd) is receiving mysterious instructions from Greta Scacchi to move his East End corpse, for reasons we are yet to discover. Scroll back to 1890, the cadaver seems to be tied up to gay prostitution (or something… I couldn’t quite follow that strand). And in 2053… well, thereby hangs the twist.

Unfortunately, this four-pronged structure – entertaining though it is – reduces everyone’s screen time, and so they have to speak in awkward expositionary shorthand, and there’s little time to invest in anyone emotionally. It’s all about the mechanics, making it very hard to engage.

And yes, the production design is lovingly crafted for three of the time periods, but Bodies painfully struggles to imagine the 2050s, rendering them as a Poundland Blade Runner, complete with naff hairstyles that would give Space 1999 a run for its money.

Verdict: Bodies definitely holds the attention, but some superficial and structural shortcomings make it hard to really get involved. The ideas are certainly bold, but I was left feeling strangely indifferent. 6/10

Martin Jameson

 

www.ninjamarmoset.com