Bad Things – As the first episode of The Midwich Cuckoos begins, Zoe Moran (Aisling Loftus) and Sam Clyde (Ukweli Roach) pack a suitcase before seeing a military vehicle on the road outside of their window. Once the soldiers walk by, Sam says they should go. They rush outside to load their bags. Before they can leave, Hannah approaches as they plead with her not to do this. As she gets closer, Hannah asks her mommy what she has done. Then, we jump back in time five years as Sam tells Zoe that Celtic tribes used to make this same journey for ritual and trading purposes. He believes she loves him because he is a history teacher, but she suggests otherwise. Sam promises they’ll still go dancing. Their conversation is interrupted by a call from Mary-Ann. After the call, Zoe confirms they can pick up the keys now.

They pass by a sign welcoming them to Midwich. Dr. Susannah Zellaby (Keeley Hawes) listens to a little girl who tells her about all her stuffed animals. The little girl admits her friends have to be lined up in this exact order when she goes to bed. She can’t sleep without them because bad things will happen. Susannah tells Charlotte that she has that feeling too sometimes and that is when she has to be very brave. Dr. Zellaby wants Charlotte to be very brave when she goes to her granny’s this weekend by leaving one of her friends in Midwich with her. The little girl leaves the lion with Susannah before she goes. As she goes back inside, she yells to Cassie to say she has finished. She reminds Cassie that she is going up to London tonight for a date. Although Cassie will be alone for a few hours, she doesn’t seem to mind.

Zoe and Sam pick up the keys from Mary-Ann who asks them not to become strangers. Once they prepare to leave, Zoe notices a framed newspaper that calls Midwich one of the ten best places in Britain to bring up children. Mary instructs them to go through their front door backwards because it is Midwich good luck. Zoe goes through the door backwards, but Sam does not. Cassie notices that her television begins glitching. Zoe wonders what he has done by not coming in backwards as they begin kissing. Jane Colter (Marianne Oldham) learns that Sue is not well and the new teacher from London isn’t starting until Monday. She agrees to stay since they’re one short for night duty, but she’ll have to get Tilly from home. The horses in town begin snorting and whining. Jodie Blake (Lara Rossi) rides in a taxi that nearly runs over a couple because the red light isn’t working.

She brings wine although her friend can’t drink because she is pregnant. Jodie complains about the train and nearly wiping out a perfect nuclear family. She doesn’t think they wanted her to come to this town. Rachel Saunders (Hannah Tointon) watches the new neighbors through the window and suggests they’re from South London. Curtis believes they’re too cool for Battersea. He jokes they thought they liked the smell of the city until it started to stink. Zoe tells her mom on the phone about the new house and how Sam starts at the school on Monday. She reminds her mom that this was her idea because she needed a new environment. She says she chose him so it might be time to deal with that too. Before the call ends, Zoe finds a child drawing of a family on the wall of the house. Zoe and Sam agree to keep her mom’s clock to show it to her when she comes.

Jane tries to calm Tilly the dog when the radio begins acting strange. The lights and television start behaving oddly throughout the city too. DCI Paul Haynes (Max Beesley) asks Mitchel what is going on since terrified old ladies are telling him they’re at war. He learns they’re getting intermittent power from Kilmorey Avenue to Baker Lane. Mitchel has already checked the substations but found nothing unusual. Paul gets a call from Deb who tells him that Steve has left Jodie for good this time. Deb is going to invite her to stay the night. Susannah tells her daughter where to find candles in case she needs them and she can get a pizza later if she wants.

Cassie says she hopes he is worth it, but she doesn’t think he will be. She won’t know if she doesn’t go. Susannah promises she’ll come straight back before she leaves. She passes by a woman who gets into a vehicle with Stewart McLean (Mark Dexter). They go back to the house where Stewart tells her they’re gone for the whole weekend. The lights haven’t been working for a couple of hours, but Stewart doesn’t think that would happen on his watch. He claims they’re just having a campaign meeting. A girl working at the stables gets invited to a party and notices that the horses are acting odd. Janes looks around and finds that George (Kit Rakusen) is reading under the blankets so she tells him to go to sleep. Zoe and Sam agree that this reminds them of camping, but Sam never wants to do that again.

Sam remembers going down on her while rain dropped relentlessly on his head. Zoe makes it clear that she saw telling her mother the truth about choosing him. They share a toast to their family whenever that happens. Rachel watches them getting ready to have sex through her window. Nora arrives at the party with a bunch of other kids her age. Jodie tells Deborah that she is pleased for her. Deb insists it’ll happen for her too. Jodie learns that the baby is a boy. Cassie looks at the teddy bear that was left behind by her mother’s patient. She sees the television glitching so she runs out of the house. On her way out, she calls Ryan to see what he has because she needs something. Rachel watches the neighbors have sex while the horses kick the doors.

The horses break free and run away from the stable. Nora’s party moves outside where the kids dance on the lawn. As Cassie walks through the streets, she notices that the stop lights are rapidly changing. The lights begin flashing elsewhere. Deborah calls Paul to tell him what is going on with the electricity. She explains that the lights are on again, but they’re not turning off. Jane finds that George is out of bed and tries to make him go back. He ignores her while staring straight at her. Cassie sees one of the horses running down the street before she collapses to the pavement. Everyone else begins dropping too. Susannah’s date talks to her about his ex and how it has been two years since they split. He believes his kids are okay with it. Susannah says it is unnerving that she has kids as young as six coming to see her now dreaming of terrible violence.

A wave of anxiety is crippling the young and they’re not doing enough about it. Susannah hasn’t dated many men in Midwich because there is a limited selection. She doesn’t come here very often. Michael (John Hollingworth) invites her to walk around the city and finish off a bottle of whiskey at his home, but Susannah has to get back because of her daughter. Although she is 23, she has issues and cannot live on her own. Michael believes kids need firm boundaries. Susannah suspects he needs time to think about his relationship with his ex-wife although she doesn’t want him to take this the wrong way. She doesn’t think that is as resolved as he claims. As Susannah leaves, she calls her daughter who doesn’t answer. She learns that some of the railway services have been canceled due to a power failure in the Midwich area.

A mother and daughter watch the news on television and wonder whether daddy is there. Susannah reaches a roadblock and learns that they’re not letting anyone into Midwich at the moment. She is told to go back to the village hall and wait there. They refuse to let her through or tell her what happened. Susannah continues walking until she runs into a group of people wearing hazmat suits. They try to retrieve a body that has fallen onto the grass nearby. As the man in the suit gets closer, he falls to the ground too. When they spot her, she begins running in the opposite direction before she collapses to the ground too.

Paul learns that London sent someone. He is introduced to Bryony Cummings (Cherrelle Skeete) moments later. Paul tells her how he set up roadblocks and a cordon around the impacted zone. Although there are 11,000 people in the town, only a few hundred are in the affected area. It seems to be centered around the prep school with three or four streets of family houses, a small estate, and riding stables. They cannot contact anyone inside. Anyone who tries to go into the impacted zone immediately becomes unconscious. He shows her pictures of the bodies and admits they aren’t sure whether they’re dead or alive. Paul sent a small UAV that picked up nothing. He explains that something is blocking the infrared and they have no idea what it might be.

They learn there is another body on the edge of the zone. Workers manage to pull Susannah out of the impacted zone before she is checked out by medical personnel. Paul arrives and tells the others he knows her because they met last year. Susannah remembers her wife whom he lives with on Clemency Drive. Bryony introduces herself to Dr. Zellaby and reveals she is from the Home Office. Susannah remembers running and feeling lightness and dizziness. It was very quiet. Paul wants Susannah to get tested, but she doesn’t want to leave until she knows her daughter is okay. Paul asks one of them to take Susannah because there is nothing they can do right now. Moments later, Bryony and Paul talk about his wife being in there with her sister.

Paul plays the voicemail from his wife about the lights turning back on and how they won’t turn back off. In the morning, we hear a news report stating there is no news about the people in Midwich while Susannah and others wait at the boxing gym. Her phone battery is running low preventing her from calling her daughter. Bryony and Paul meet with John Lancaster (Alex Brock) who is the SO15 commander. He is going to be taking over. Paul recommends a phased evacuation, but John wants to find out what is going on first. He instructs Paul to get his team on the local population outside the zone and knock on their doors to keep them in their homes. Paul learns they’re going to be sending a plane up. In the control tent, they discuss identifying any hostile presence in the area.

Paul tells Bryony that they shouldn’t be up there. One of the guys in the plane admits they cannot get anything because something is blocking the signal. John instructs them to go in closer instead of returning to the base. As they get closer, they can see the bodies on the ground. However, they become unconscious causing the plane to crash to the ground. Paul tries to call Deborah, but he doesn’t answer her phone. He tells Bryony that his wife is pregnant although nobody on his team knows. Bryony promises that they’ll get her out. Susannah learns they’re evacuating the area. She runs into Sarah who says she hasn’t been able to get in touch with Stewart. Susannah doesn’t want to go anywhere until she hears from Cassie. The soldiers try to force her on the bus while Paul tells them to put their guns away.

They stop when Cassie calls her mom’s phone. The horses and other people begin waking up too. Other phones begin ringing near Susannah. Cassie tells Susannah that she needs her. Zoe and others begin waking up as well. Sarah finally gets in touch with Stewart once he wakes up. She tells him there has been a blackout for 12 hours leading everyone to believe they were dead. When Stewart’s girlfriend wakes up, he tells her that she can’t be here. Paul wants their units to join the ambulance and fire teams. He instructs them to go in slowly and according to strict emergency procedures. He tells Bryony that he has to stay here to coordinate his units. Since his wife hasn’t answered his calls, she agrees to go to his address to investigate.

She has an officer drive her to Paul’s house before she finds Jodie on the ground. While Jodie is alive, Bryony has to perform CPR on Deborah. She is taken away in a body bag. Jodie watches from the house. The family is happy to have Stewart back home. Jane walks outside with her dog. Something strange is on the ground. She touches her belly and seems to know she is pregnant. Zoe seems to suspect the same. Susannah finally returns to Cassie who thinks she might be pregnant too. Her pupil has changed or so it seems.

 

The Midwich Cuckoos Review

After the first episode of The Midwich Cuckoos, it could easily be described as dull and dreadful. This is supposed to be a modern take on an old classic, but the primary changes are casting choices that completely eliminate the idea of a small village that is ranked as one of the best to raise children. Instead, the cast is having sex with the curtains open for all to see and partying on the lawn. The cast is bloated making it difficult to care about anyone or to even know who is supposed to matter in the first place.

Everything about the first episode was dull, including the drained colors, casting choices, modern takes, and dialogue. Half of the characters spent most of the episode having sex or talking about having sex while adding nothing to the story. The dialogue was particularly bad. Does Zoe need to reassure Sam that she picked him after moving with him to a new town? It was also strange that they decided to make Cassie a basket case.

There is still time for this to turn into something worthwhile, but nothing from the first episode inspires confidence that it’ll right the ship. It probably won’t come anywhere close to doing justice to the novel or the 1960 film Village of the Damned.

The first episode scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of The Midwich Cuckoos will be available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our work at this link.