As The Following Events Are Based On A Pack Of Lies begins, people talk about being scammers. Dr. Rob Chance (Alistair Petrie) claims he had to fight against the system so he is proud of what he achieved. He believes what is in a man’s heart is what matters and people know his heart. Rob believes in a thing called karma and yours is coming. Alice Newman (Rebekah Staton) sews a red cape. She tells herself that a woman who wears it will be confident and successful. When she receives a call from Juno Fish (Romola Garai), she gets ready to run out. She reminds her dad to take his pills.

Alice speaks to Benjy Newman (Julian Barratt) about pitching her idea to Juno. She explains it is always about the pitch with Juno so she just needs to remain confident. Dr. Chance goes around handing out advertisements for an event at the college. After he crashes his bike, he looks at a book written by Cheryl Harker (Marianne Jean-Baptiste). Rob speaks to Alice on the phone about her pitch while saying he already posted it. It looks like he is posting it now instead. Alice seems shocked when she sees Rob. She begins chasing him only to get locked out. Alice sits down and looks at the pamphlet Rob has been handing out.

Then, Alice runs to work where she tries to give her pitch only to stutter. She storms out. Bill (Karl Johnson) meets Alice and agrees that the man on the pamphlet looks like him. Rob is calling himself a climate scientist. Bill says he isn’t dead, but he has changed his name. Bill begins worrying that Alice will want to get in touch with him. He doesn’t want Alice to go back to how she was when Rob left. Bill says he’ll be dead when he gets his hands on him. Cheryl Harker wakes up at home. She joins Regina (Sandra James-Young) and Lola Dartmouth (Maya Sondhi) who are talking about the book. Lola tells her they’re hoping for a decision on the scholarship candidates soon.

Cheryl says she is dealing with one short-listed candidate to visit. She promises to get back to her as soon as possible. Then, she prepares to sign books with Regina’s assistance. Although the tour was humiliating, the online feedback was 99% positive. Cheryl tells Regina not to lie to her because she suspects the fans hate it. Regina claims it is just a few people upset about the ending. Cheryl mentions that she was caring for her terminally ill husband while writing it. While there is demand for a prequel, Regina doesn’t think they should go down that route.

Regina recommends going on holiday or getting back on the dating sites. Cheryl thinks it is too soon. Seconds later, Cheryl gets Rob’s letter. It contains a pamphlet and a note saying he hopes she can still make it although Cheryl doesn’t remember saying she’d go. Cheryl makes it clear that she isn’t going to it. Alice talks to Juno about seeing Rob. Juno asks if she called the police since Rob was her husband who ran off with her money and caused her dad to lose his house. Alice insists it was more complicated than that. Juno says police won’t take kindly to a university man scamming gullible poor people.

She pleads with Alice to go down there and tell them. Otherwise, she can show up to Rob’s speech and threaten to tell people. Juno suggests he’ll offer to pay her back on the spot. She finds out that he is a friend of Sir Ralph Unwin. Juno urges Alice to stand up for herself. Alice looks at Rob’s post about his speech at Gideon College tonight. Cheryl reads the negative reviews online and contemplates going to Rob’s speech. She goes with Regina. Mick greets them outside. Alice makes it there shortly after them. Cheryl and Regina speak to Sir Ralph Unwin (Derek Jacobi). Alice listens as Ralph says he met Rob at the old boys’ club. He claims Rob has done seven solo expeditions.

Rob has a mishap when he comes down from the roof. Then, he begins talking to the audience about his work. Rob tells them about the dream he had. He claims to have left his lucrative job in a family business and dedicated his life to combatting the polar ice melt. Alice gets upset and breaks a mirror in private because Rob lied about so much. She thinks about approaching him, but turns around and leaves instead. Alice bumps into Cheryl on her way out. She goes to the police station to report a crime. Rob approaches Cheryl who says she has the wrong coat. Once they exchange coats, they introduce themselves.

Cheryl thought it was a very important event, but she is leaving early so she can grab dinner before going home. Rob tries to invite himself before learning that Cheryl is a widow. Alice tells the police officer that her husband left her 15 years ago. At the time, his name was Robbie Graham. Alice explains she just saw Rob in Oxford pretending to be a posh science expert. She reveals that Rob got her dad and some of his friends to invest in holiday homes in Florida. Alice invested as well. The scheme hit some problems so they had to give more money. When Rob disappeared, they realized all their money was gone.

Robbie told her he was going to look after her, but he was lying about everything. He racked up a lot of debt that she is still paying off. Plus, her mother and father lost their house and ended up splitting. Cheryl has a good time at dinner with Rob who orders everything on the menu. Rob apologizes to Cheryl for not having read her books before they talk about him being an unusual scientist. He believes there are things in this world they’ll never be able to explain such as how music releases dopamine in the brain. Rob says music is something spiritual for him. Cheryl says her husband stopped recognizing her near the end of his illness.

He even started calling her Miriam who was his first wife. One morning, she turned on the radio. When Marvin Gaye’s I Want You came on, her husband started singing along. He remembered that it was their song. They talked for an hour before the dementia took him back. Cheryl says that was the night. Rob wants to show her a place once they finish. The officer tells Alice that a verbal report isn’t sufficient so they’re going to need more tangible evidence. They need some indication that the behavior is part of a pattern. The officer informs Alice that lying isn’t a crime. They’ll also have to think about intent. Without evidence, they won’t be able to take the case any further.

The police have a special website dedicated to this sort of thing so Alice can make a report if she thinks of anything. Rob takes Cheryl to the secret place and explains that students come there to practice all the time because of the special acoustic properties of the tunnel. Before he kisses her, Rob wants her that he doesn’t do strings, he travels light, and he is spending the next six months on a remote polar search station with no Wi-Fi. Cheryl says she is in love with a dead man before they kiss. When Alice gets back, Diane (Ellie Haddington), Bill, and Benjy discuss what is going on. They explain to Benjy that Alice filled out papers and divorced Rob without him.

Diane complains that she is living in sin with a professional clown when she could’ve been married to a doctor. Alice is adamant that Rob isn’t a scientist and she doesn’t care how he feels about her going to the police. Diane suggests the important thing is that there were rights and wrongs on both sides back then. She tells Alice that she can turn her life around if Rob did. Diane tells Charles they should probably leave. Later, Benjy asks Alice how she felt when she saw him. He is trying to imagine how it’d feel if she went missing and he saw her all those years later.

Rob and Cheryl are shown in bed together. Norm Niedecker (Donald Sage Mackay) talks about Terry who was the youngest member when he joined the Retirement Community Bridge Club. It only took his mother six days to agree to marry him. She gave him $2.2 million. The following day, Alice strategizes to get the evidence needed to bring Rob to justice. She tries to call the Saatut Climate Academy and learns it isn’t based in Gideon College. She also calls the automated voicemail service for the academy. Rob tells Cheryl that he read her book and found it gripping. She tells him why people were upset with the ending.

Rob says his departure to the Arctic has been pushed back a few days. Alice calls the Unwin Children of the World Foundation. Benjy asks if she is stalking again, but she calls it investigating. Rob tells Cheryl about his chateau in the Dordogne. Cheryl says she can’t leave her dog Goblin. She is a bit funny about him because her stepdaughter Danni bought him for her after Lance died. Alice wakes up her dad to tell him about Rob’s date with another woman. Rob talks to Cheryl about meeting Danni, but Cheryl thinks this is moving too quickly. She wants to focus on herself for a bit. Rob asks if he can still come to the Blackwell’s book signing.

Cheryl asks him not to. Alice listens to everyone. She watches them hug before Cheryl leaves with Goblin and Rob cries. At work, Juno asks Alice to pick up Poppy and get her some cash. Alice learns that the team decided not to use her cape for the brief. When Alice goes out, she sees the book signing for Cheryl. She goes in as Cheryl reads from her book and sees Rob standing nearby. She looks again but he is already gone. Rob leaves with a bag. Alice watches him drive away. She follows him in Juno’s Range Rover and ends up crashing. Alice walks over and watches Rob throw the bag into the water before getting back in and driving away.

Alice runs towards the water. Cheryl realizes that her dog is missing as Alice goes into the water to try to find the bag. Seconds later, Alice pulls the bag out of the water and finds Goblin inside.

 

The Following Events Are Based On A Pack Of Lies Review

The opening episode of The Following Events are Based on a Pack of Lies was surprisingly enjoyable although it wasn’t perfect. The story is original since I don’t remember a show tackling this subject matter recently. When the episode was focusing on that seriously, it was very compelling.

The performances are strong enough to add authenticity to everything happening. The series is shot well without trying to be too fancy. The biggest issue though is the fact that it doesn’t know what it wants to be. At some points, the series feels like it wants to be humorous although the jokes don’t really hit the target.

At other points, it tries to be very serious. It is also hard to know what is going on with Rob talking to the camera and Norm who is out by the trailer. In other words, the series is uneven. Finally, it was a little long-winded towards the end. That concerns me a lot since this has five episodes and it could become unnecessarily drug out before all is said and done.

Despite these issues, the opening episode was pretty enjoyable and there is potential for the story to become more engrossing as it progresses. It scores a 6.5 out of 10. Recaps of The Following Events Are Based On A Pack Of Lies can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising on Reel Mockery here.