Incase you missed it – and many did it seemed – Under the Dome is a fantasy thriller originally from the brain of suspense master Stephen King translated to the small screen on American network CBS.
The action centres around a small town in America that has been trapped under an indestructible and unexplainable dome, no I’m not talking about the Simpsons movie.
In the first season we see the town’s initial reaction to being caged into such a claustrophobic environment, feeling like a Tom Cruise fiancé as the actions mainly focuses on the relationships the main characters form and the side-effects of the mysterious dome.
At its finest points the first series does what all great fantasy thrillers do; immersing the viewer into the world that’s presented, bordering on the peaks of shows like Lost with its cliff hangers, however the low points resemble old-school doctor who with naff FX and acting, an intriguing mix.
Many questions are left to be answered by the time the second series rolls round and we are thrust straight into the action early on as the town is in chaos at the hands of Big Jim, played by Dean Norris.
It’s clear from the outset that the campness will be ramped up from the off as the performances are unforgivingly flamboyant. Without giving any spoilers away to the masses who have yet to discover the show the main plot is taken away from the dome itself and shifts to the supernatural happenings within it and the cliques formed by our characters.
Visually the show has improved as a storyline with hordes of butterflies is impressive whilst scenes where blood rains from the sky is a bit of a visual treat. Despite this improvement the lack of focus on the reason viewers originally watched the show – the actual dome – makes the stories seem a bit lightweight and periphery, losing the escapism element from the first season.
This was not such an impressive visual treat.
Another prominent issue that adds to the sense of overwhelming silliness is the names of some of the main characters, with Barbie and big Jim springing to mind. Considering almost all of the action is supposedly drama based the tension that is created is immediately destroyed by a mere mention of calling Mike Vogel ‘Barbie’, it’s about as appropriate as having Kerry Katona as the spokeswoman of Waitrose.
Whilst the characters insistence on calling Dean Norris’ character ‘Big Jim’ in any given scenario becomes quite comical, making him sound like a southern American chubby pornstar as opposed to a sinister solemn faced mayor.
To be fair, Dean Norris does a decent job of giving the show a shred of credibility but after becoming so used to seeing his face in the greatest show of all time it feels distinctively like seeing a stunning ex-girlfriend you once had couple up with a proper munter, figuratively speaking of course.
Come on Barbie lets go party.
Despite all these blindingly shocking faults I can’t help but admit the show is surprisingly more-ish, much like eating something sickly sweet you know you shouldn’t but just can’t help it. I’d even go as far to recommend you give it a go; just sit back, turn off your brain and enjoy the beauty of its campness.
