As the first episode of Time begins, Mark Cobden (Sean Bean) is transported to the prison while we hear other inmates complain about having a rat amongst them. They scream for them to open the door so they can get to the supposed rat. Once they reach the prison, Mark is housed in a cell with the other inmates and the snitch desperately tries to clear his name. He is soon attacked by the other inmates and Mark has to quickly move out of the way to avoid being struck. Seconds later, Mark is checked into the prison. He explains he doesn’t really have a religion so the guard puts him down as Anglican. He claims he is more of a lapsed Catholic but the guard doesn’t seem to care. Mark confirms he has never been in prison before and he isn’t suicidal. After a picture is taken and a strip search is performed, he is sent to the nurse for a check-up.

After a brief wait in a cell with Jawad, Irvine, and others, Mark is given a PIN code and told they’ll get a two-minute phone call. Mark realizes he left the number on the phone so he won’t be able to contact his parents. The guard lets him know he’ll receive paper, stamps, and an envelope tomorrow so he can write to them. He thinks it over and decides to call his wife Alicia (Nadine Marshall). When she answers, he reveals he was sentenced to four years before asking for his parents’ phone number. She agrees to get it so he bums a pen from the guard and writes it down. The only problem is that Mark has just used his only call. He asks Alicia if she will do it and tell them he is in Craigmore. Mark asks about Tom. Alicia doesn’t like that and tells him not to go there before ending the call abruptly.

Next, Mark is taken to his first-night cell and told he’ll be sent to a new wing after induction tomorrow. He is shown the emergency call button and given instructions only to use it in legitimate emergencies. The guard admits he knew Bob Warren and he was a good man. Mark says he knows before the cell door is shut and he is left all alone. Later that night, the inmates in other cells reveal their convictions and sentences. When Mark says he killed someone, the other inmates laugh and refuse to believe it. After that, we’re introduced to Eric McNally (Stephen Graham) who struggles to get dressed because his wife, Sonia (Hannah Walters), has turned into a feminist and won’t iron his shirts. Once the joke blows over, he checks David’s room and finds a shirt. He leaves and arrives at Craigmore Prison not too long after that.

He suits up before Karen opens the door so he can go through. He rounds up the other inmates before confronting Mark and confirming his identity. Eric tells him to call him boss or Mr. McNally. The group prepares for induction. Eric knows Irvine because he has been in prison before. Along the way, Eric says he is their personal officer so they should come to him with any problems they have. One of the inmates asks about Gabber still being there because he owes him money and is worried about it. Eric promises to look into it once he finds out Gabber’s proper name. Once they arrive at the classroom for induction, the inmates argue about the so-called grass until Eric threatens to nick them and get them sent to segregation. Once things calm down, Eric instructs them to write down their name and prison number before finding out it is Mark’s first time in prison.

Then, Eric tells them to write down the names and numbers of people they’d like to call. The prison staff will contact them to see if they want to talk to them. Once they take care of that, the inmates are taken to their new cells and Mark is sent to a cell with Bernard (Aneurin Barnard). Bernard says he wants the bottom bunk before asking Mark what he is doing several times. Mark explains he is doing four years for dangerous driving. Bernard suspects Mark killed someone to get four years. As for him, he is doing 10 years for manslaughter because he killed his father. He asks Mark about his hands being soft so Mark says he was a teacher at Bellbridge Comp. Bernard questions whether the guards brought Mark in there to spy on him because of his case against the prison. When Mark posts pictures of his son Tom on the wall, Bernard realizes he has none of the boy’s mother.

Bernard learns they’re separated before admitting he is noisy. He begins talking about the number of staff at the facility. He says there are a few short of 1,000 staff members and a few short of 1,000 inmates. He says it costs 30 grand per prisoner and it is money down the drain because you come in bad and get worse. He believes nobody says anything because it is money going into peoples’ pockets and that is his case. Later, Mark has a flashback of himself sitting next to a bike before he hears Bernard making odd noises. He quickly learns that Bernard has panic attacks so he gives him advice for dealing with them. Bernard rips off his shirt and we see a bunch of scars across his body. He grabs a shard of glass and slices his arm. Mark offers to get someone but Bernard doesn’t want that. Mark decides to get someone anyway so he pushes the emergency button on the wall.

Bernard tells him that the guards are busy because this happens a lot. He asks Mark what his favorite drink is and learns Mark likes drinking vodka. Bernard believes he likes it because it doesn’t have a smell. He says he gets the same feeling from cutting himself that Mark would get from his first drink of the day before Eric arrives and finds out what is going on. Mark says he is bleeding to death but Eric says it isn’t as bad as it looks. Eric reminds Bernard he promised not to do this again and warns him he’ll have to go to segregation because the hospital wing is full. Bernard says he isn’t going to stop. Eric threatens to come in but Bernard warns him that he has AIDs. Eric doesn’t want him to say that because he’ll have to come back with a gang of guards. Mark screams and asks what he is supposed to do before Eric takes off to get help.

Seconds later, Mark hears the guards coming in the distance and Bernard tells him it’d be a good idea to stand back. Mark watches and Eric records as the riot guards rush in and quickly subdue Bernard. A man is sent in to clean up Bernard’s blood again. Brendan (Jonathan Harden) admits that Bernard is his best customer before learning about Mark getting four years. Bernard reveals he is sentenced to life. He admits he’d rather clean blood than feces. Once Mark is alone, he covers the broken glass spot. Then, it is time for lunch. After grabbing his plate, Mark hears Stanley Victor Timmins (Jumayn Hunter) introducing himself. He spots Mark glancing at him and gets angry about that. Mark manages to escape to his cell without being attacked. As he eats alone, he can hear the chaos caused by the other inmates. Eric is approached by an inmate who believes his son David is locked up at Lowood Prison.

Eric tries to deny it but the inmate doesn’t believe him. Then, Eric says they’re not really close and have no real bond so it can’t be used against him. The inmate, Jawad, reminds him he is going to be visiting his son at the prison tomorrow. Eric is told that his son won’t be as comfortable and safe as he could be if he ignores this conversation. The inmate has friends there and will protect David but he doesn’t say what he wants in return. Eric wants a few days to think it over. When Eric leaves, he calls his wife and tells her they’re going to have to cancel Maureen tonight because they need to talk about David. When he gets home, they talk about David and the fact that inmates hundreds of miles away found out about him. Eric blames staff since they know he is visiting his son tomorrow. He is also confident that it was a threat. He isn’t sure what they want but says they should talk to David about it tomorrow. Eric and Mark both have trouble sleeping that night.

Mark remembers a woman hoping he rots in prison. She calls him a drunken bastard and says Bob was ten times the man he is. Next, an inmate enters Mark’s cell and takes Bernard’s sugar. Mark follows him and tells him he should ask Bernard first. The inmate tells Mark that his card is marked. Mark has to walk away before the inmate throws the scolding hot water on Baz. He tells him this is what they do to a grass. Mark hides in his cell and listens to the commotion outside. Meanwhile, Eric and his wife head to the prison to meet with their son. Eric goes for a candy bar for his son while Sonia checks on David (Paddy Rowan). When Eric returns, he tells David he has a problem before making sure his son told no one what he does. David learns that the inmates know and they’re blackmailing him with that information. When asked what he is going to do, Eric says he is going to keep him safe and get him sent to the VP wing. David doesn’t want that because he doesn’t want the entire prison to think he is a grass.

Eric suggests having him ghosted or transported to another prison but David says he is just now getting used to this one. David wants to take his chances but Eric says it is VP or ghosted. David relents and says he would rather be ghosted so Eric says he’ll talk to his governor. Eric promises that everything will be okay. When they leave, Eric and Sonia talk about David losing weight and prisons being horrible places. During lunch, another inmate takes Mark’s food. Brendan joins Mark outside and sits down next to him. Brendan asks about Bernard and learns that he hasn’t returned to his cell yet. Brendan says everyone north of the equator walks clockwise but south of the equator they walk anticlockwise. On the equator, it is chaos. On day four, Eric gets Mark out of his cell so he can see his parents. June (Sue Johnston) and John (David Calder) are allowed inside with other guests.

Mark sits down and waits for his parents to join him. He learns from his parents that Alicia has allowed them to see Tom. They had photos on their phones but the guards took them. We also hear the conversations of some of the other inmates. Mark tells his mother that he is fine. She asks if he still sees Bob and he admits he does. He says he sees his wife. The visitation session ends before he can answer any more of their questions. Next, Eric talks to his governor who agrees to help. Eric says he wants to have him sent to Chapel Grove. Governor Cameron says that will work but it’ll take a few days to get David moved. Once they’ve done that, they’ll sort out the problematic inmate. When Mark tries to use the phone, Johnno cuts in front of him and grabs it. Other inmates watch as Mark tries to get the phone back. He threatens Mark who apologizes. When Mark returns to his cell, he finds Bernard there.

Bernard realizes that his bag of sugar is missing so Mark pretends to know nothing about it. Later that night, Mark hears something and asks Bernard if he can hear it. He looks at Bernard and finds him whimpering. Mark tries to help him as he shakes. Mark screams that Bernard isn’t breathing. He tries to perform CPR on his cellmate. The guards do not rush to the cell. When Galbraith arrives, he won’t enter until he has support. He screams for help but Mark would prefer he enters the cell immediately. They finally arrive and begin working on Bernard but it is likely too late. The next day, he gets a visit from Marie-Louise (Siobhan Finneran) who is a Catholic nun and a part of the chaplaincy team. Mark is told that Bernard saved his medication and took them all at once so it was suicide. Marie learns that it is Mark’s first time and his profession outside. She says he might be the answer to her prayers.

Next, Eric takes Mark and a few of the others to the chapel. Marie tells the kids that Mark is a teacher who has promised to sort them out. Daniel is the first to talk about his experiences. He says he killed a young man in a fight then stops and can’t talk about it. Baz (Bobby Schofield) agrees to tell them about being injured recently. He explains that the inmates thought he was a grass but wasn’t. They boiled a kettle of water and put sugar in it to make sure it would stick to his skin. He knows who did it but he doesn’t want to prove them right by telling on them. He hopes they’ll think it is enough and leave him alone. That night, Eric gets a call from his son who says he is great. When Sonia joins Eric, David confirms he has been moved to Chapel Grove. David says it is looking good and he feels safe. The next day, Eric and his comrades raid Jawad’s cell since he was the one pulling the strings.

Jawad tries to fight with them but he is quickly taken down. Eric watches as the guards deal with him. Jawad and Eric look at each other as he is led to a private cell before Eric tells him that he threatened his son and he’ll pay for it. Next, Mark calls his parents and gets to talk to Tom. Mark isn’t sure they should talk since Alicia doesn’t want that. Tom tells his father that he wants to come and see him. Johnno interrupts the call and grabs the phone from Mark who asks for it back. Mark says it is one thing to make him suffer but another to make his family suffer. He threatens to hit the other inmate if he doesn’t get it back. Mark is punched in the face and he begins bleeding. He walks away without doing anything. He goes to his cell and tries to stop the bleeding. Another inmate approaches him and tells him he should’ve hit him back but Mark says he is a teacher. Mark is told that his life won’t be worth living now. Eric learns that Jawad hasn’t stopped banging on the door of his cell. Jawad asks why he and his lad don’t get on. Eric tells him that his son is somewhere safe now but Jawad knows he is in Chapel Grove. Eric opens the door and begins choking him. He tells him not to go anywhere near his son or he’ll kill him before the other guards pull him out of the cell.

 

Time Review

I question the authenticity of Time since I doubt all prisons are like this. Nevertheless, I can’t complain too much. The opening episode was one of the best I’d watched in a long time. In fact, I’d happily say it was one of the only episodes I actually enjoyed from start to finish. There is so much to like about this show including the outstanding cast, the mood, and the hard-hitting story.

Again, I doubt this is the norm for most prisons but I am sure many of them are very rowdy. With that in mind, I could easily see these things happening in prisons around the world. I can’t wait to binge this series and hopefully watch Mark evolve and eventually stand up for himself. The series won’t be for everybody but I enjoyed it.

I appreciate the gritty story and the fact Jimmy McGovern is willing to go where others won’t. In a time of crappy television, Time will stand out from the pack. It gives me a bit of hope that we can get back to watching great television after the pandemic. For that, I’d give the opening episode an 8 out of 10. Future recaps of Time will be available here. It’ll take me a bit to get used to the characters’ names so they might be mixed up in the recap above. Just let me know if there are any mistakes regarding names.