‘Utopia’ premiere review: Basically the furthest thing from that

We watched the entire first episode of Fox’s ambitious “Utopia” tonight, and there is immediately one reaction we have to it: Intrigue. We’re not sure if we actually enjoy the show, though, or if it is just such a car crash that you cannot turn away from it.

There are so many little things in here that qualify this show for “hot mess” territory, starting with the casting. You’ve got a hillbilly guy named Red, an ex-felon in Dave, someone who literally calls herself Hex, a woman who takes her clothes off at the drop of a hat, a very tall guy who loves alcohol, and a preacher. Who thought this would be a good idea? Basically, we sympathize for the more normal people, and we do wonder why in the world production thought it would be good to allow someone with a criminal history on the show. Sure, they were not violent crimes, but it took all of about three minutes to realize that Dave wasn’t going to get the “fresh start” that he was hoping to from this show. Instead, he was the defensive guy who was overprotective about what little in the world he has, and basically freaked out at every second possible.

Now, the positives here come in the way of the constant comedy, the location (it is very beautiful), and the premise itself. It is interesting to see how these people all manage to live without any real interference, and the cast proved to be so entertaining that there were no needs for competitions or strategy.

In the end, though, this is just the premiere. There’s still a long ways to go before we know if this experiment really works. Grade: B+.

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Photo: Fox