Carl D wrote on Feb 3
rd, 2026 at 8:52am:
What was this thread about again?
Ah yes, This Britain.
Kenneth Branagh plays Boris Johnson. The portrayal is spooky. He does Boris better than Boris.
Interesting thing about this show - multiple protagonists. So many characters you forget who's who, but it somehow works.
We've completely forgotten this time, with the death toll mounting daily, when every sniffle portended death.
This Australia prevailed. While Mother was counting 2000 deaths a day, we might have hit 40, despite the same concentrated population, but do you know?
It was all a matter of politics. Interesting to see the political factors from an English point of view. There, individual rights were more of a factor. At one point, Boris rejects military checkpoints, reflecting on his long term legacy.
While this was going on, Scomo was quietly signing himself into multiple ministries. He had no problem with the authoritarianism the pandemic begged. Boris, in This England, seems passive, overworked, and beaten down by Bart Cummings, focus groups and political processes.
While we've now forgotten covid almost entirely, This England makes us remember.
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow.