The End Of The World As We Know It
Chock full of sex and teenage-orientated issues, Now Apocalypse is one of those polarising shows you’ll either love or hate. With a story teasing the end of the world and a very specific comedic style, Now Apocalypse’s intriguing premise is just enough to ward off the lack of substance here. The episode begins with a confused young man named Ulysses and a premonitory dream. Pondering over what it all means, he contemplates life while grappling with his own homosexual desires for his roommate Ford. Between Ulysses’ segments, we catch up with Ford himself who’s sleeping with a mysterious woman named Severine. He’s also aspiring to be a screenwriter too and a chance encounter with a man named Barnabus appears to open doors and pave way for a promising career in film. Or, at least that’s what Ford believes. The third central character here is Carly, Ulysses’ best friend. Fed up with her mediocre sex life with spiritual partner Jethro, she offers some advice to her friend over using Tinder before taking herself, and her body, online as a cam girl. Meanwhile, Ulysses waits impatiently for his date Gabriel to show up at a bar. After 30 minutes of anxious phone glances and one flustered phone call to Carly later, his date shows up and sparks fly. After an intimate moment together in a back alley, the universe appears to shift and the stars explode in a brilliant display of colour. As Gabriel leaves and Ulysses, in a state of bliss, heads home, he falls off his bike and wakes up within his recurring dream. The episode ends with him coming to this realization and facing the camera, letting out a scream for good measure. A lot of the scenes are shot using a range of different neon colours too and the camera work itself is okay, albeit a little pedestrian at times. While there isn’t a lot here in terms of plot development, the first episode does do an okay job introducing the characters through the various methods of sex they all have. I won’t go into detail on this of course but beyond these sexually provocative scenes, there isn’t a whole lot else here. Now Apocalypse will find its crowd but the thin narrative threads and a vague promise of an overarching story make this a difficult one to recommend in its current state. To be honest, I still think Future Man is the better option right now, given that show’s mix of sex, comedy and witty writing but it’s simply too early to tell whether Now Apocalypse will improve with time or not. Right now though, there’s better comedies out there but it’s still early days and Now Apocalypse could easily turn on a dime and deliver some compelling storytelling.
