I never watched Life On Mars (also on my watch list) so I've only known John Simm from films and a few other television dramas that he's acted in so I thought highly of him anyway, but seeing his performance in Prey was absolutely marvellous. There is only 3 episodes and Marcus goes through so much emotionally, he has to deal with his grief, anger, betrayal and a whole host of other things in such a short space of time that Simm could be forgiven if he lost it slightly but he never does. Simm managed to portray the character to perfection and emote so well that the audience sees all the emotions that he is going through throughout the series, while watching the show I felt the pain and betrayal that Marcus felt. The show is very fast paced and a lot of things happen within a single episode so it would be easy to lose track of what is going on but you never forget the reasoning behind it, it's all in Simm's face every time he lights up the screen as Marcus. If awards were actually about people's work rather than hype and campaigning then Simm's portrayal would be award worthy, I say he should be given an Oscar even though Prey isn't a film. He's that good.
We've seen shows like this time and time again and I've always been a sucker for it. Prey feels different from the thrillers before it, it starts off with a mighty bang when Marcus finds his wife and son murdered at home and the audience get some backstory regarding their relationship so it's quite predictable when he is arrested. What comes next I don't thing anyone could predict, the show could've been quite simple with Marcus attempting to track down the unknown assailant and clear his name but it goes beyond that. Marcus uncovers a conspiracy that makes him question all his friendships and colleagues, and he truly has nowhere to turn for help and has to go it alone. I found myself sitting and watching trying to pick out all the bad eggs, finding myself engaged and emotionally involved with the show (to be fair, I'm always emotionally involved with television). British film and television is often very bleak so I wasn't even sure if Marcus would get to the bottom of it all or ever find and ally he could trust which kept me on tenterhooks.
I could go on and on about the show but I don't think I really have to and I wouldn't want to spoil too much for you. I say that you all set aside a few hours of your time and watch the show. It is thrilling and addictive and is bet money on you being just as engrossed as I was. There may be a second series on its way but the first has a proper conclusion so don't worry about having to wait around a year to find out what happens (I'm looking at you Peaky Blinders).
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