Back To Life - General Discussion

[scrb]

Apparently a joint Showtime and UK production.

About a woman returning home to a small town from prison.  Starring Daisy Haggard, who played Myra on Episodes.

Strong reviews in the U.K. and now a good review from Tim Goodman.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/back_to_life/s01/reviews?type=top_critics

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/back-life-review-1252529

 

 

S01E01,  Nov 10, 2019:

Quote

When Miri Matteson returns home after eighteen years, she stumbles back into adult life in the coastal town she once knew, while the shadow of her past looms large.

Edited November 6, 2019 by scrb

[scrb]

Quote

S01E02,  Nov 10, 2019:

Miri is excited for her first day working at Nathan's Fish & Chip shop, but the community isn't taking kindly to her return.

Edited November 6, 2019 by scrb

[scrb]

So she's not welcomed back out of prison.  You'd think people might have forgotten after 18 years, when she was apparently still in high school and now approaching middle age.

But it's suppose to be a small town so the neighbor didn't forget, is openly hostile and contemptuous.  So is a prospective employer.  Her parents home is vandalized with graffiti -- Psycho Bitch in blood -- and someone sends a package containing feces.

Even her parents are wary, with Caroline the mother hiding the knives.  

They dwell a bit on how much things have changed since she went to prison.  Caroline is exchanging chats with her lover while Oscar her father takes selfies and pictures with his phone.  Meanwhile, Miri has her old flip phone and she can't recall the number for it.

But she's anxious to return her old bf's Discman as an excuse to go see him.  Her parents lead her to believe he's still interested in her but turns out he's married with twin children.  In fact Dom is still interested in her, though surprised to see her at first.  Dom seems to be interested in women other than his life because he's also the one having an affair with Caroline.

Mandy, her old bff, is desperate to reconnect, after ignoring Miri while she was in prison.

Miri manages to get a trial job at a Fish and Chips place, even after the owner realized she was the infamous girl who committed this memorable crime.  Miri hints that it wasn't as portrayed, yet whatever the actual crime was, it elicits strong hostility against her.

On her first day on the job, someone throws a brick through the window, causing her to get some cuts in her face.  Kind of inconsistent though, that Dom didn't know she was getting out but apparently there's a stalker who did to commit the vandalism, the feces in the mail and the brick so quickly after she's back.

Billy, a caretaker for the neighbor, takes a liking to Miri but he doesn't know yet.

Hagard conveys this awkwardness with readjusting to life well.  She was a teen when she went away -- her room still has posters of Bowie and Prince, which she takes down eventually -- so she not only has to adjust to being a civilian again but also being a mature woman who's approaching her 40s.

She doesn't have the right clothes for job interviews or work, she butchers her bangs trying to look presentable and she hasn't learned to drive so she tried to ride her old girl's bike.  She rebuffs Dom's advances and Miranda's overtures, like a teen who  only remembers that they wronged her.

On Showtime Anytime, all the episodes are available so I don't know if they plan to air another season.  Maybe this will be a one-off if it doesn't do well in the ratings in the UK or here.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ha, I had to laugh at Miri trimming her bangs and then taking it a bit too far. I think we've all gone a step too far with our bangs or our eyebrows at least once.

Part of me wants to admire that Miri managed to stay so optimistic that she came home after eighteen years in prison and thought she could just pick up where she left off, but how delusional does she have to be to think that her ex-boyfriend was just sitting around waiting for her all this time, despite the fact that he hadn't been in contact with her for years.

Miri's dad cracks me up. But her mom is one of those people who texts in all caps so UGH. Well, that and she's having an affair with her daughter's ex-boyfriend.

[iMonrey]

Weird show. I checked in just because I got such a kick out of Daisy Haggard on Episodes and was interested to see what else she could do. I really need to know more about the murder. It's weird how the story is just being hinted at without details, that seems like a huge part of the premise in order to understand why people are hostile and whether we should sympathize with Miri or not. Maybe that's the point, they want us to decide that before we know what she did exactly and why. 

[Melina22]

I'm part way through episode 5 and I have mixed feelings about the show. It's a weird mix of realistic and absurd. And while some characters seem likeable, like her employer, father and the next door neighbour, others are heinous, particularly her mother. 

I'm just not buying her mother and her ex whatsoever. It's not even remotely believable to me. And I hate how people gratuitously say graphic or vulgar things presumably to give scenes a jolt or be extra shocking. I'd have thought by 2019 we'd be past the need for this. 

I'm curious to find out the mystery behind her crime so I'll probably watch to the end, but I'm not loving it like all the critics apparently do. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Miri mixing up the Human Centipede and the Hungry Caterpillar cracked me up.

[scrb]

Only watched through ep. 4 so far.

Oscar the Viking, who recycles, beats up Dom but can't confront Caroline about her cheating.  Maybe that's why the Vikings never took over the world, because they couldn't even deal with their wives back home.

Samuel the "detective" who's snooping on Miri is a weird character.  Why such interest in the case after all these years?  The crime sounds like an accident resulting from some fight the girls had.  After 20 years you'd think most people would have forgotten but maybe in a small town, it's the only eventful thing which has occurred in several decades?

Whoever is sending shit to her and now plastering the town with all those articles seems to have a lot of time and energy to express hatred towards her.  Seems like they're saving the identity of the hater as well as the real nature of Samuel's obsession with the case towards the end of the season.

Mandy isn't happy in her marriage, offers to fuck Nathan, Dom keeps pestering Caroline for sex, some mystery characters want to make Miri miserable.

Maybe Miri was better off being away all those years, even if she was in prison.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S1.E3

Quote

Miri and her neighbor Billy escape to an amusement park for the day but Miri's past continues to chase her. Caroline attempts to end things with Dom for good.

Original UK air date: 4/15/19
Original USA air date: 11/17/19

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S1.E4

Quote

Miri and Caroline embark on a road trip to visit Oscar's aunt. But when an accident stalls them, they are forced to discuss how Caroline truly feels about Miri's time in prison.

Original UK air date: 4/15/19
Original USA air date: 11/17/19

[msrachelj]

On 11/10/2019 at 11:02 AM, scrb said:

So she's not welcomed back out of prison.  You'd think people might have forgotten after 18 years, when she was apparently still in high school and now approaching middle age.

But it's suppose to be a small town so the neighbor didn't forget, is openly hostile and contemptuous.  So is a prospective employer.  Her parents home is vandalized with graffiti -- Psycho Bitch in blood -- and someone sends a package containing feces.

Even her parents are wary, with Caroline the mother hiding the knives.  

They dwell a bit on how much things have changed since she went to prison.  Caroline is exchanging chats with her lover while Oscar her father takes selfies and pictures with his phone.  Meanwhile, Miri has her old flip phone and she can't recall the number for it.

But she's anxious to return her old bf's Discman as an excuse to go see him.  Her parents lead her to believe he's still interested in her but turns out he's married with twin children.  In fact Dom is still interested in her, though surprised to see her at first.  Dom seems to be interested in women other than his life because he's also the one having an affair with Caroline.

Mandy, her old bff, is desperate to reconnect, after ignoring Miri while she was in prison.

Miri manages to get a trial job at a Fish and Chips place, even after the owner realized she was the infamous girl who committed this memorable crime.  Miri hints that it wasn't as portrayed, yet whatever the actual crime was, it elicits strong hostility against her.

On her first day on the job, someone throws a brick through the window, causing her to get some cuts in her face.  Kind of inconsistent though, that Dom didn't know she was getting out but apparently there's a stalker who did to commit the vandalism, the feces in the mail and the brick so quickly after she's back.

Billy, a caretaker for the neighbor, takes a liking to Miri but he doesn't know yet.

Hagard conveys this awkwardness with readjusting to life well.  She was a teen when she went away -- her room still has posters of Bowie and Prince, which she takes down eventually -- so she not only has to adjust to being a civilian again but also being a mature woman who's approaching her 40s.

She doesn't have the right clothes for job interviews or work, she butchers her bangs trying to look presentable and she hasn't learned to drive so she tried to ride her old girl's bike.  She rebuffs Dom's advances and Miranda's overtures, like a teen who  only remembers that they wronged her.

On Showtime Anytime, all the episodes are available so I don't know if they plan to air another season.  Maybe this will be a one-off if it doesn't do well in the ratings in the UK or here.

She looks way older than approx. 35. I don't buy that she was only a teen 18 years ago. Only watched 2 episodes so far but I hope they reveal what the crime was. I thought it might be drunk driving or something like that, but the mother hiding the knives and the "psycho" written on her fence says not.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

22 hours ago, msrachelj said:

Only watched 2 episodes so far but I hope they reveal what the crime was. I thought it might be drunk driving or something like that, but the mother hiding the knives and the "psycho" written on her fence says not.

I was curious about that too while I watched the first two episodes. It does get brought up in more detail in the later episodes so keep watching!

[scrb]

Well everyone’s secrets are out.

Miri wasn’t bitter about being locked away until she learned what Mandy did.  She had actually been reconnecting with her.  Mandy felt guilty so she didn’t visit Miri in prison but wanted to become friends after she got out?  She had to know eventually that it would get out.

But by the end of the finale, she seemed to have made some sort of peace with her predicament.

Not sure what they’d do with a new season.  More friends, maybe a more meaningful job?

Seems like it could have been a movie or just written on the assumption that it would only be these 6 episodes.

They could have shown more about daily life in this small coastal town through Miri’s eyes, as she discovers what’s changed and what hasn’t since she went into prison.  Might have been interesting to audiences outside the UK.

I don’t know what those odd announcements were.  Weather reports over the radio?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S1.E5

Quote

A terrible coincidence puts Miri back in the community's firing line as she becomes the key suspect in a new crime. Caroline and Oscar attempt to revive their relationship.

Original UK air date: 4/15/19
Original USA air date: 11/24/19

[ElectricBoogaloo]

SEASON FINALE!

S1.E6

Quote

After being locked in a cell once again, Miri gets out determined to tell her side of the story and to finally get the town on her side. Season finale

Original UK air date: 4/15/19
Original USA air date: 11/24/19

[mytmo]

Just finished the series.  Weird little series but I liked it.  Is there a season 2?

[MicheleinPhilly]

On 12/12/2019 at 9:37 AM, mytmo said:

Just finished the series.  Weird little series but I liked it.  Is there a season 2?

There is a 2nd season available via Showtime. 

Just binged both seasons over the weekend and while it took me a couple of episodes to warm to it, I became quite fond of it. But I'm a sucker for dark comedy. 

I won't say too much in the hopes that others will discover season 2 and come back to chat about it. But I will say that despite having spent 18 years in prison, Miri seems to be the most emotionally well-adjusted person in the bunch. 

[mytmo]

On 9/20/2021 at 1:14 PM, MicheleinPhilly said:

There is a 2nd season available via Showtime. 

Just binged both seasons over the weekend and while it took me a couple of episodes to warm to it, I became quite fond of it. But I'm a sucker for dark comedy. 

I won't say too much in the hopes that others will discover season 2 and come back to chat about it. But I will say that despite having spent 18 years in prison, Miri seems to be the most emotionally well-adjusted person in the bunch. 

I'm going to look for it tonight.  Thanks!

[aghst]

Finished season 2 in a couple of days.

Don’t know if it will be renewed but it could serve as series finale.  The characters all seem to have changes in their arcs by the finale.

Second season didn’t feature as much cultural adjustments as the first season.  Miri still wants to try sushi and she did use a mobile phone but it was a flip phone.  She finally gets a driver license.  She may convince Billy, her bf, to leave the small town with her.

Show could continue but maybe it would no longer feature the original premise so it could be rebooted in another place, with new challenges than trying to put her past behind her.

Or it could just end.

Breeders also seem to be in a similar limbo.

[FozzyBear]

I just finished season 1. I still feel like there’s more to the crime than we know. It sounded like the friend attacked her, Miri pushed her off, and the friend hit her head or something. 18 years seems like a long sentence for what sounds like an accident. Miri would have the bite mark to make her story that the friend attacked her seem believable, her family seems to have enough money they would have hired a lawyer, she was a teenager at the time. Do we learn more about the trial in S2?

other than that I liked the odd tone of the show and think the cast is great.