I previously vowed on FT that I would give up on Afterlife. Quickly: Nigel Kneale dies, I rewatch some old NK stuff inc “Woman in Black”, while reflecting on telly ghost stories see trailer for final Afterlife, decide I’ve seen way more than half, may as well finish the job, download eps i missed, watch whole lot. There.
The last thing I saw, the tumour had scrambled Egg’s brain and he wasn’t sure of Alison, the medium’s, rare abilities. But then he seemingly “cures” her of it by exorcising the memory of her mother’s suicide – a visually hard-boiled moment among the usual runniness of the stories.
In the next ep, Alison, bereft of powers, no longer feels the presence of spirits, specifically a haunted emo boy (listens to Nick Cave and is then found with arms cut) so turns to wine instead. It’s nice to see a drunk Alison for a change rather than the more familiar sight of a pickled Egg. But TWIST! the boy is only haunted by his own childhood abuse – science of the BRANE to the rescue courtesy of coddled Egg psychology. So maybe it’s not that she’s lost her powers… Indeed we next see Egg roll to the ground, and from his coma he turns up in her house in spirit form where they talk at cross purposes – to no comic effect.
The final ep, inna Kingdom stylee, is in the hospital with Egg’s shell of a comatose body as the traditional spooky 50s nurse ushers people to the light. There’s no special reason for this, it’s just to get us to the end of the ep, and a finally fried Egg to the end of a brightly lit corridor to greet his already dead son. By art or design this final slo-mo sequence is totally Close Encounters – the camera’s focus and scenic light reduced them to silhouettes with spindly arms and tiny heads in classic “grey” style – returning us to the original source of touching sentimentality that has run throughout the show, reminding us how derivative it all has been.
Now Egg may earn As in other shows, but here he’s a C at best, which is in the coma. Perhaps ITV rue the day they poached Egg from 4/the beeb, furthermore this may have scotched Egg’s chances of shining in the special “This Life” coming soon.
I’m hoping that there is no need felt for a third series and his wife forgets Egg and soldiers on bravely. Or Alison can have her own show – shes an XL not a medium.