‘Next time you do a review, you’ve got to find something you like. You’ve been far too negative,’ said the Fawn. ‘Well, it’s hardly my fault if everything on TV is crap at the moment. I can’t just call up good stuff to order,’ I said. ‘Try,’ said the Fawn.
Luckily – and unwontedly – Netflix has come to my rescue with a dystopian sci-fi series called The Eternaut. Though I’m not totally convinced by the name – a conflation of ‘eternity’ and ‘astronaut’ – it’s a very enjoyable watch, which confirms, yet again, Delingpole’s Iron Law of Television: always go for the shows with subtitles.
This one is from Argentina, based on a graphic novel written by Hector German Oesterheld with artwork by Francisco Solano-Lopez. It opens in Buenos Aires on the eve of a juicy disaster: a polar reversal causes a storm of deadly snow, one flake of which is enough to kill you instantly if it touches your skin.
Naturally, Buenos Aires being an outdoorsy kind of place abundant with street vendors, kids playing football and drivers with their elbows resting on open windows, the death toll is epic. The only way you’re going to survive is a) if you’re fortunate enough to be indoors when the apocalypse strikes and b) if you don’t make the mistake of poking your head outside to see what on earth is going on.
Our heroes are a bunch of old friends in their sixties who happen to have gathered for an evening session of the popular Hispanic card game Truco. This is one of the many things I like about this series.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in