32 | New Scientist | 7 November 2020
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COMEDY duo Simon Pegg and
Nick Frost have specialised at
writing and starring in movies
(Shaun of the Dead, The World’s
End) that stir together warm,
beautifully drawn British comedy
and classic horror themes. Their
latest outing, a TV series called
Truth Seekers, arises from that
same delightful tradition.
The truth seekers of the title are a
gang who rove around England
investigating the paranormal.
Given that, I queried with my
editors at New Scientist why I
was being asked to review a show
about ghosts when I hadn’t been
allowed to review The Witcher
on its release. Back then, I was
told: “There needs to be science
in it. We’re a science mag. Witches
aren’t science.” This time, they
said: “Is it like Ghostbusters?
Are there gadgets? Because if
so, that counts. It’s technology.”
And indeed, this is a sort of
amped down, English version
of Ghostbusters, complete with
home-made ghost-detecting
gadgets that flash and make
noises whenever spectres draw
near. So, yes, of course it shouldbe reviewed in a science magazine!
Our ghostbusters here are
Gus (played by Frost), broadband
installer by day, ghost-hunting
vlogger by night, his nervous
new sidekick Elton (Samson Kayo)
and an extra sidekick Astrid
(Emma D’Arcy), whom they
pick up along the way.
This triumvirate are variously
supported and impeded in their
ghostbusting by Gus’s fatherRichard (Malcolm McDowell),
Elton’s sister Helen (Susan
Wokoma) and what really only
amounts to a cameo from Pegg,
playing Gus’s boss (in a very
strange wig) at a broadband
company called Smyle.
Frost, who co-wrote and is also
a producer of the show, never puts
a foot wrong, but for me the series’
standout is Kayo. It is hard to play
a big cowardy custard and beWho you gonna call? Truth Seekers comes from the duo who mashed keenly
observed British comedy with horror to create cult hit Shaun of the Dead. Here’s
hoping the series rivals the success of the original Ghostbusters, says Emily Wilson“ The series’ standout is
Kayo. It is hard to play
a cowardy custard and
be genuinely funny,
but he pulls it off ”TV
Truth Seekers
Jim Field Smith
Amazon Prime VideoEmily also
recommends...Film
A Clockwork Orange
Stanley Kubrick
Kubrick’s 1971 retelling of
Anthony Burgess’s dystopian
novel is brilliant, visually
stunning and very upsetting.
It deserves to be called a
classic, and I think Malcolm
McDowell is superb in it, but
I can understand why –
because of the stylish and
distanced way in which
Kubrick delivers the horror
and violence – it has always
been controversial.genuinely funny, but Kayo pulls it
off. McDowell’s presence of course
adds extra class to the already
classy ensemble, and there is a
clever nod to A Clockwork Orange,
the genuinely harrowing
dystopian flick of his youthful
career, in a plot line involving eyes.
As with everything filmed
pre-pandemic, you will need
to get used to how closely the
characters sit together (especially
when they have only just met)
and how often they unnecessarily
pat each other and take cups of
tea from the hands of strangers
with no apparent concern.
My worries about Truth Seekers
are twofold. First, is it funny or
scary enough, or both? For me, it
was only mildly funny – although
I loved the gorgeous writing – and
it wasn’t in the least bit scary.
I wonder if that is enough,
although perhaps the show is
aimed at a much younger
audience than I represent.
Second, the structure. Because
the show isn’t exactly densely
plotted, the narrative arc advances
little in each 30-minute episode.
So you end up getting not much
comedy and certainly little
woo-woo scary for your episode
buck, and then, on top of that,
not much new story either.
Eventually, the plot does heat
up rather nicely, and I ended the
eight-episode season intrigued
and ready for more. But will
people still be watching? What I
hope is that this proves to be the
quiet first season, establishing
who our new pals are and why we
should care about them, and that
this leads on to something a bit
more unmissable – and potentially
as much a smash hit as the first
Ghostbusters in 1984. ❚COLINHUTT
ON/STOLEN
PICTURE
S/AMAZO
N^ STUDIOSElton (Samson Kayo,
left) and Gus (Nick Frost)
hunt ghostsThe TV column
Emily Wilson is the editor
of New Scientist. You
can follow her on Twitter
@emilyhwilson or email her
at [email protected]