"The Fades" premiered on BBC America on Saturday (Jan. 14th), and made us wish we grew up in England. Not because of the fascinating history or the crumpets. It's mostly because we could barely understand a word they were saying. This is coming from people who are huge fans of "Doctor Who" and the BBC version of "Being Human."
The premise is a lot of fun and familiar to fans of things like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" with teens saving the world from supernatural foes. Paul (Iain De Caestecker) is an adorable geek who discovers that he's "angelic" and able to see and battle "fades," who are spirits who missed their "door." (Remind anyone of "Being Human?") Natalie Dormer from "The Tudors" just happens to be one of them.
Not all fades are nice. One of them is trying to lead the rest in a bit of a rebellion/war. Paul has to save the world, all the while geeking out with his best buddy Mac (Daniel Kaluuya), who's accent is so thick, we almost missed his references to Terry Pratchett, Alan Moore and Tolkein.
The show looks like it could be a lot of fun after some of the details get worked out and the writers hit their stride. We'd also recommend recording this on your DVR so you can rewind if you miss a line. Please understand that we're not saying they should speak differently because we can't quite make out the words. We're just saying that this British show is very, very British. It might take a bit of time to get used to the super-thick accents.
