Mikes Film Talk

Peacock’s Teacup is set in the country. It entertains the premise that yet more alien parasites are in the woods. Their intent is thus far uncertain, but there is certainly no teddy bear’s picnic in this forest.

The story

Teacup starts with a woman in the woods. She is desperately trying to remove a strap from her wrists. She is bloody and scared. The woman is also mumbling what sound like incomprehensible babble.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, or farm as the case may be:

The Chenoweth’s, along with a few familial issues, are living their life. Their farm, next to the woods, may not be completely peaceful, but they do seem to be fairly happy.

A goat wanders into the woods around their domicile and Arlo goes after it. This turns out to be a mistake.

The woods have become dangerous

The main Cast

Yvonne Strahovski is Maggie Chenoweth

Scott Speedman is James Chenoweth

Emilie Bierre is Meryl Chenoweth

Caleb Dolden is Arlo Chenoweth

Kathy Baker is Ellen Chenoweth

Rob Morgan is McNab

Rob Morgan is Ruben Shanley

Boris McGiver is Donald Kelly

Luciano Leroux is Nicholas Shanley

Don’t Cross the Line

In Teacup, the surrounding forest is not the only problem. A mysterious man in an old fashioned gas mask arrives and sprays a blue line around the actual farm. Holding up a small whiteboard, we see the words, “Don’t Cross the Line.”

Everything for the Chenoweth family and their “guests” goes downhill from this point on.

This feels familiar

Teacup feels familiar. Not overly so but there is a, “We’ve seen this before,” feel to the whole thing. It is not too dissimilar to The Happening or Arcadian. Or, for that matter, any number of apocalyptic stories on television. The plot is pretty straight forward, despite the otherworldliness to events taking place.

The Plot

A “normal” family going about their “normal” existence is suddenly overtaken by events. These events put their world at risk and are strange, unsettling and downright scary.

Sounds familiar? Right?

It still works

The show creator of Teacup is Ian McCulloch, who has some excellent bona fides. So the series is starting off well. The show still works although it is very slow paced. FX in the first two episodes are pretty impressive. Once again, however, they feel evocative of The Last of Us and the (also) parasitic creations in that verse.

The Verdict

Teacup may well be “the next big thing” on television. It has many things going for it. For one thing it is nice to see Scott Speedman again. The actors all bring something to the table here. The only thing really hurting the show is that feeling of familiarity.

*I also found myself thinking of Outer Range. The plot has no similarities but the “feel” is pretty much the same.*

I give this a shaky 3.5 out of 5. Head on over the Peacock and see what you think.

The trailer