Utopia Falls

This genuinely odd series is both a futuristic dystopian drama and a dance competition, melding tropes from both YA sci-fi and reality battles in a way that's alternately flat and fascinating. As Utopia Falls opens, it seems like New Babyl is a pretty cool place to be. "No one wants for food or work or a sense of community," we're told in the monologue that opens the show. It's a society where everyone has a purpose. But since a show about heaven on earth would be pretty boring, it's not really a surprise when the illusion of the fair and just authority begins to fall away, and the fascism beneath is slowly revealed. 

The group of teens at the center of Utopia Falls' drama, who hail from different segments of the Hunger Games-style divided society, are similarly depicted as the best of New Babyl at the start of the series, before they find artifacts from the past that make them question the present. Only Aliyah and Bodhi are given the screen time to develop into convincing characters. There are too many other Exemplar candidates vying to make a strong impression (and though we're told they're each super talented, the scenes in which they're shown singing and dancing don't demonstrate that). But the narrative is such an unusual one that viewers will be content to drift along to see where this strange show is headed. Utopia Falls doesn't score on all levels, but it's arresting -- and peculiar -- enough to hold your attention.