The concept of a crime procedural mashed up with supernatural and psychic powers is nothing new to these shores. Some readers may be familiar with Ghost Whisperer (ghastly) or Medium (tolerable), but over a decade ago Afterlife screened on British TV, and BBC America recently brought it to these shores. Alison Mundy (Lesley Sharp) is a psychic, acquiring her powers in a childhood accident — she basically sees dead people. She has attempted to ignore her “gift,” medical treatment has failed, and to cope she leads a pretty solitary life. She uses her abilities for cheap entertainment to eke out a living. During one performance a local psychologist named Robert Bridge (Andrew Lincoln) attends with a group of his students to show how fake psychics are. However, Mundy soon dispels his notion that she is a fake, leading to this scientist and skeptic trying to understand her powers and possibly use them to deal with some problems of his own.
The center of Afterlife is the interplay between Mundy and Bridge, the psychic and the disbeliever — a trope well explored in many a show. Bridge is dealing with his own loss, and the guilt over an accident in which he lost his son weighs heavily. The idea of a disbeliever seeking insight and possible forgiveness lingers through the show. Of course a large part of the show deals with Mundy and how her abilities weigh on her. Both Lincoln, familiar to many from his current work on The Walking Dead, and Sharp do great work. Sharp plays the slightly off-center, tormented role well and Lincoln gives a weary and conflicted turn.
The show uses some of the traditional scare tactics — creaking floorboards, slamming doors, etc. — but also achieves a chill by using more subtle means to get under your skin. Great camera work and some effective long takes speak to a talent behind the scenes. An eerie portrayal of Mundy’s psychic visions give the show a macabre feel at times, but nothing overly gory. It is a mystery/thriller show, somewhat formulaic at times when dealing with the “ghost of the week” scenario, but the premises often unfold in a interesting way. It’s gloomy and grim at times as you would expect, but imbued with a emotional warmth by the co-stars.
While the premise of a crime procedural with supernatural elements is not such a novelty in TV these days, it was just over a decade ago. Afterlife is entertaining but perhaps never destined for greatness. Where the show excels is in the performance of the cast. The grit imbued by its setting lends to an interesting and well-made take on the premise. People looking for an interesting British take on the psychic/supernatural thrill genre would be well served checking it out.
Season 1 and Season 2 of Afterlife are both available NOW from BBC America.
