This is a thoroughly entertaining and quite frightening vision of Britain and the world in the not too distant future.
The writing of natural-sounding dialogue is something that a great many writers struggle with, and it's something that lots of writers simply cannot do. It's even more difficult when you have an army of characters to write for. Notwithstanding the difficulties, Russell T Davies does a fine job with the dialogue here.
Still on the subject of dialogue, the series is set in and around Manchester and it calls for Dame Emma Thompson to deliver all her dialogue in a Manchester accent - something which, to my surprise and delight, she does exceedingly well. You can't fault it, you really can't!
Apart from its value as a very well-written TV drama serial, it is also noteworthy for its skilful use of "diversity": the series is packed with diversity but, when you think about it, so is Manchester. Kudos to Russell T Davies for packing so much of it in while making its inclusion appear almost seamless.
What stood out for me was the "wheelchair person" (as Alan Partridge would say) who was written in by the writer and portrayed by the actor as a perfectly normal happy woman with a perfectly normal happy family and a perfectly normal happy life who, unfortunately, has medical issues affecting her ability to walk.
In short, she wasn't in any way defined by her wheelchair - and that's pretty rare in a British TV drama.
Recommended.
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