Taboo

Unique, gritty, dark, compelling coupled with a nice piece of eye candy in the form of Tom Hardy, who is generally ready to get his kit off….what is not to love about this BBC produced series?

Taking a phone call from my dad as the first episode started I was met with “tune in to the BBC (he is in his 70s so we still tune in and don’t just change channel), there a programme with that guy you like in it”… as I was just heading out the door, I set it to record and series linked it, and then completely forgot all about it.

It was only when a friend at work asked if I had watched it as it would be right up my street that I remembered that I had it sat in my sky box, calling me to watch it.  Soooo, as it’s only 8 episodes I decided to devote a couple of evenings to binge watching this.

Lets start with a really brief overview of what this series is about, as honestly it’s far too in depth for me to write a synopsis here for you.

Set in the early 1800’s, James Keziah Delaney returns to London during the war of 1812 to rebuild his father’s shipping empire, much to the surprise of friends and remaining family as they all thought he was dead.  It just so happens that the government and his biggest enemy, the east India shipping company also want Delaney’s inheritance and will try and get it no matter what the cost.

Delaney’s character has been honed perfectly by Hardy, mixing shamanistic ways, eccentric madness,  charisma and a few mother (and sister) issues which make this character alone a compelling anti hero and takes this series from a good evenings watching to something truly sublime.

Every character is this show, adds a piece to the elaborate plot, which keeps you as the viewer wandering what will happen next.  The casting of each character has been carefully thought through and each give to their role with a polished superiority to anything else that the BBC have produced in years.

The sets are well put together and the filming of each episode throws the viewer in to the world in which Delaney lives.  Each detail defined to the finest point.  The final battle scene is an absolute masterpiece.

This show has true macabre elegance and an indulgent script which is historically accurate for the timing of the story line, although would you want to use this for children to teach them about the time?  Noooo!!! Be prepared for plenty of raunchy scenes, incest and a lot of broken taboos.