Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
What if . . . Jesus returned to Earth?, 1 Jan 2004
Having missed this when it was screened on TV, I was somewhat of a latecomer to the charms of Second Coming. I don't know why I waited so long. It is a totally gripping and thought-provoking drama. Basically, it's about a northerner who works in a video store and then disappears for 40 days on the moors only to return and declare himself the Son of God. Obviously, he is written off as a nutter, but to prove that he is the Messiah he turns night into day over Manchester City football stadium. He performs one or two other miracles, but for the most part, he is unsure of his role and bumbles his way through a worldwide media frenzy (made totally believable by the use of actual British TV news readers such as John Snow). He then gives the human race five days to come up with a Third Testament or face Armageddon. It sounds like a bible-bashing storyline but it's not; it's more like a modern-day thriller for which you don't need to be religious to appreciate - - I'm the least religious person I know and I loved it. It kept me on the edge of my seat for the entire 140 minute running time. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for something intelligent, interesting, thrilling and believable.
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22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Best British Drama I have seen in Ages!, 17 Feb 2003
Wow! What can I say about this title? I'm sure that a lot of people will be offended by the story so well done to ITV for having the courage to air it. Not since BBC's First Born (1989) Have I been so impressed with a TV Series. The Second Coming revolves around a Manchester video store clerk called Steve Baxter, who disappears for 40 days and is found on the Yorkshire Moors in the North of England; incoherent and babbling he claims that he is the Son of God. No one believes him until he performs a major Miracle that makes everyone stand up and notice him. Steven isn't mad, he is the Second Coming. Baxter then proclaims that humankind must write it's own Third Testament and that they have 5 days to do it.Christopher Eccleston puts on a fantastic performance and the idea to set it all in Manchester is inspired. I wasn't sure if we were really meant to believe Baxter was the Son of God when I first heard about this drama but that is soon cleared up from the start. Throughout the programme I was left on the edge of my seat wondering how this could possibly end well, I won't Ruin it for you so I'll say no more. The relationship between Steve's friends is amazing particularly with the only woman he has ever loved, especially because she does not believe in him. You Absolutely have to see this show it is a must have DVD and I am going to purchase it the day of its release. Well I hope I've convinced you to see this thought provoking, intelligent and bold British drama. I'm sure someone will eventually write a better review than this one, as this is my first review; I know it's not great. I hope you find it useful.
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10 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exciting, thought-provoking drama, 23 Feb 2003
Russell T. Davies has made another masterpiece, well worthy of the creator of Queer as Folk and Bob and Rose.
The cast are excellent - Christopher Ecclestone's gawky, uncertain Steve Baxter is completely convincing and easy to like (you'd think it'd be at least a little difficult to empathise with someone who was the son of the creator of all things, but he remains very human for all his godly powers). Lesley Sharpe as his aptly-named girlfriend Jude is realistically cynical, and her struggle to understand what Steve's going through while maintaining her belief that God doesn't exist is wonderfully expressed. As for the...well, they're not really named, but "demons" is as good a term as any...they're unexaggerated, but create a sense of insidious evil that is very unsettling.
The storyline is well-measured, uniting Davies' talent for dialogue (which seems very real, for all the supernatural occurences witnessed by the characters) with a gripping sequence of events leading up to an oddly quiet yet devastating climax.
All in all, it's a moving, thought-provoking story. It doesn't require a belief in God, nor try to foist one on you, but attempts to make you think about what it is to be human, whether as God's creations or not.
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