Connor Macgregor Reviews...Miniseries/TV Movies

Set in 2067, the narrator tells how the world is a happier place, as meat eating ("carnism") is banned and veganism prevails. Young people express their disbelief on how people could have ever killed and eaten animals. Yasmine Vondenburgen, a psychotherapist, holds support sessions for former carnists to lift the guilt of carnism. In one session, Davina breaks down after naming Edam as a cheese she once ate.

The film goes back to 1944, to the establishment of The Vegan Society, and rationing of meat due to war, which ends in 1954. Fanny Cradock promotes carnism in theatre and TV. In the 1970s and 1980s, US food companies disguise meat as toys children would like to eat, using figures like Ronald McDonald to attract them. Intensive farming leads to BSE crisis and foot-and-mouth disease. From 2004, many diseases grow due to consumption of processed meats.

The film then returns to 2067, with young people using new VR technology to experience eating meat. They stop after a while, unable to process it.

Going back to 2017, the film shows how celebrity chefs like Nigella Lawson, Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall promote carnism instead of veganism. It shows the rise in veganism, helped by people like JME, who inspires Troye King Jones. King Jones then writes a book and makes feature films on veganism. Maude Polikoff, former erotic dancer, reveals she left the career as milk and dairy were used in a sexualised way, in spite of being unethically obtained. Vondenburgen explains how the hierarchy of the British monarchy led to humans believing they should be above animals. The UN urges people to cut down on meat, due to climate change. This is ignored, and the UK faces floods. Lindsay Graber, a victim of these, explains climate change due to meat on TV. Veganism is promoted by TV presenters, but it is ignored, and in 2021 the UK faces a Super Swine Flu, killing many. Intensive farming is banned to prevent a re-occurrence, but this hikes up costs of meat, and many people are confused over what to eat.

In 2023, this Era of Confusion is broken by a new celebrity chef Freddy Jayashankar, who re-introduces a plant based Eastern cuisine. It is revealed that King Jones and Jayashankar are in a relationship. Later, a film, Dorothy is Still Dorothy, is broadcast by the BBC featuring Dorothy, a woman with Alzheimer's who forgets that eating a chicken is normal, much to the annoyance of her son Jeff. In 2024, a musical featuring Amelie dressed as a cow is made, which exposes the horrors of the dairy industry. Albania wins the Eurovision Song Contest by a vegan song.

Meanwhile, Graham Watkins speaks out against veganism, harassing vegans on streets and in restaurants. A TV show, Mike's Meat House, mocking veganism is started, but cancelled after four episodes. Graber returns to TV to explain harsh environmental effects of beef, and suggesting a ban on it, which is not accepted by the British, leading to riots. King Jones appears for an interview on Newsnight. Shortly after that, he is murdered and cannibalised, allegedly by a member of the Great British Meat League. This sparks a revolution, with major food companies including McDonald's and KFC turning vegan, and 75% of UK at least vegetarian; yet there is a reluctance for criminalising carnism. Watkins, with other carnists, states illogical reasons defending carnism.

All such arguments are resolved by the invention of a Thought Translator, allowing animals to communicate freely with humans using the recorded voice of Joanna Lumley. The unethical practices of the egg industry are explained. In 2035, the Bill of Animal Rights is finally passed, criminalising carnism. The animals who were victims of the industry are sent to recovery centres. Coming back to 2067, the Clifton Abbatoir is now a museum to explain the horrific dairy industry of the past. The young and old apologise to each other.

The film ends with the support group successfully naming the fish they had once eaten.

Set in 2067, the narrator tells how the world is a happier place, as meat eating ("carnism") is banned and veganism prevails. Young people express their disbelief on how people could have ever killed and eaten animals. Yasmine Vondenburgen, a psychotherapist, holds support sessions for former carnists to lift the guilt of carnism. In one session, Davina breaks down after naming Edam as a cheese she once ate.

The film goes back to 1944, to the establishment of The Vegan Society, and rationing of meat due to war, which ends in 1954. Fanny Cradock promotes carnism in theatre and TV. In the 1970s and 1980s, US food companies disguise meat as toys children would like to eat, using figures like Ronald McDonald to attract them. Intensive farming leads to BSE crisis and foot-and-mouth disease. From 2004, many diseases grow due to consumption of processed meats.

The film then returns to 2067, with young people using new VR technology to experience eating meat. They stop after a while, unable to process it.

Going back to 2017, the film shows how celebrity chefs like Nigella Lawson, Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall promote carnism instead of veganism. It shows the rise in veganism, helped by people like JME, who inspires Troye King Jones. King Jones then writes a book and makes feature films on veganism. Maude Polikoff, former erotic dancer, reveals she left the career as milk and dairy were used in a sexualised way, in spite of being unethically obtained. Vondenburgen explains how the hierarchy of the British monarchy led to humans believing they should be above animals. The UN urges people to cut down on meat, due to climate change. This is ignored, and the UK faces floods. Lindsay Graber, a victim of these, explains climate change due to meat on TV. Veganism is promoted by TV presenters, but it is ignored, and in 2021 the UK faces a Super Swine Flu, killing many. Intensive farming is banned to prevent a re-occurrence, but this hikes up costs of meat, and many people are confused over what to eat.

In 2023, this Era of Confusion is broken by a new celebrity chef Freddy Jayashankar, who re-introduces a plant based Eastern cuisine. It is revealed that King Jones and Jayashankar are in a relationship. Later, a film, Dorothy is Still Dorothy, is broadcast by the BBC featuring Dorothy, a woman with Alzheimer's who forgets that eating a chicken is normal, much to the annoyance of her son Jeff. In 2024, a musical featuring Amelie dressed as a cow is made, which exposes the horrors of the dairy industry. Albania wins the Eurovision Song Contest by a vegan song.

Meanwhile, Graham Watkins speaks out against veganism, harassing vegans on streets and in restaurants. A TV show, Mike's Meat House, mocking veganism is started, but cancelled after four episodes. Graber returns to TV to explain harsh environmental effects of beef, and suggesting a ban on it, which is not accepted by the British, leading to riots. King Jones appears for an interview on Newsnight. Shortly after that, he is murdered and cannibalised, allegedly by a member of the Great British Meat League. This sparks a revolution, with major food companies including McDonald's and KFC turning vegan, and 75% of UK at least vegetarian; yet there is a reluctance for criminalising carnism. Watkins, with other carnists, states illogical reasons defending carnism.

All such arguments are resolved by the invention of a Thought Translator, allowing animals to communicate freely with humans using the recorded voice of Joanna Lumley. The unethical practices of the egg industry are explained. In 2035, the Bill of Animal Rights is finally passed, criminalising carnism. The animals who were victims of the industry are sent to recovery centres. Coming back to 2067, the Clifton Abbatoir is now a museum to explain the horrific dairy industry of the past. The young and old apologise to each other.

The film ends with the support group successfully naming the fish they had once eaten.

A man (referred to as "The Traveller" in the cast list) observes the solitary figure of a signalman standing by the track in a railway cutting. Shielding his face from the sun with one arm, the Traveller waves and greets the Signalman. However, the Signalman seems fearful and makes no attempt to speak to the Traveller. Observing the man's demeanour, the Traveller notes that the Signalman appears to be afraid of him. Having been reassured that there is nothing to fear, the Signalman invites the Traveller into his lonely signal box. Seated in front of the fire, the two men talk about the Signalman's work. Although his labour consists of a dull, monotonous routine, the Signalman feels he deserves nothing better because he wasted his academic opportunities when he was young.

During their conversation, the Signalman is repeatedly distracted by an unusual, high-pitched vibration of his signal bell that only he can hear.[3] The Traveller remarks on the bell, and the red light at the entrance to the nearby tunnel, before changing the subject to how an accident in the tunnel would be a terrible thing. The Signalman, slightly wide-eyed, tells him that a tunnel collision is the "worst to be feared". To comfort the disturbed man, the Traveller comments that he almost believes he has met a contented man at peace, because the Signalman does his duty no matter what and has no desire to be anywhere else.

The Traveller agrees to meet the Signalman the next night when he starts his shift. Holding his light so that the Traveller can find his way back up the path, the Signalman asks him not to call out. At the inn later that night, the Traveller hears the faint sounds of a passing train before retiring to bed, and in his sleep, dreams of the Signalman telling him not to call out and, even though he could not hear it at the time, of the bell making its vibrating ring, bathed in the red light of the signal at the tunnel entrance.

The next evening, as the fog settles in, the Traveller finds the Signalman waiting for him. The Signalman reveals the reason for his initial fear; the Traveller's waving action and words mimic those of a ghostly spectre which rings his bell and is visible beside the red tunnel light. The spectre has appeared twice: first before a tunnel disaster, and then before a young bride fell to her death from a passing train. The Signalman explains that the spectre had returned a week before and has appeared since in fits and starts, always by the light at the tunnel and always gesturing with one arm across its face and the other waved in warning. The frustrated Signalman says that he has no rest or peace because of it, and that it calls out to him with an agonised shout of, "Below There, Look Out, Look Out!", as well as waving and ringing the signal box bell.

The Signalman notes his dilemma; if he was to telegraph "danger" he would not be able to give any reason why and would surely be displaced or fired, so he feels powerless to prevent a possible calamity. The Traveller tries to reassure him by telling him that there is nothing the Signalman can do but discharge his duty, and he must remain calm. The Signalman thanks the Traveller for his advice and they agree to meet again.

After a troubled sleep, the Traveller goes to meet the Signalman the following morning, but as he nears the cutting a train approaches through the tunnel and the Traveller realises he can hear the bell ringing. Running towards the scene, he attempts to warn the Signalman, who is standing transfixed on the rail line beside the red light at the tunnel entrance. As the spectre reappears, the Signalman is struck by the oncoming train.

The Engine Driver tells the Traveller that, as his locomotive came around a bend, he saw the Signalman standing on the line. When the Signalman did not heed the whistle, the driver shut it off and called out to him. The Traveller asks what the driver said. Turning around and standing in front of the red light, the driver tells him that he called, "Hallo, Below There, Look Out", with one hand covering his face and the other waving in warning. The Traveller is horrified, because the actions of the Driver are the same as those of the spectre that haunted the Signalman. He watches the crew carry the Signalman's body away, before turning and heading back over the countryside in the thickening winter fog.

A man (referred to as "The Traveller" in the cast list) observes the solitary figure of a signalman standing by the track in a railway cutting. Shielding his face from the sun with one arm, the Traveller waves and greets the Signalman. However, the Signalman seems fearful and makes no attempt to speak to the Traveller. Observing the man's demeanour, the Traveller notes that the Signalman appears to be afraid of him. Having been reassured that there is nothing to fear, the Signalman invites the Traveller into his lonely signal box. Seated in front of the fire, the two men talk about the Signalman's work. Although his labour consists of a dull, monotonous routine, the Signalman feels he deserves nothing better because he wasted his academic opportunities when he was young.

During their conversation, the Signalman is repeatedly distracted by an unusual, high-pitched vibration of his signal bell that only he can hear.[3] The Traveller remarks on the bell, and the red light at the entrance to the nearby tunnel, before changing the subject to how an accident in the tunnel would be a terrible thing. The Signalman, slightly wide-eyed, tells him that a tunnel collision is the "worst to be feared". To comfort the disturbed man, the Traveller comments that he almost believes he has met a contented man at peace, because the Signalman does his duty no matter what and has no desire to be anywhere else.

The Traveller agrees to meet the Signalman the next night when he starts his shift. Holding his light so that the Traveller can find his way back up the path, the Signalman asks him not to call out. At the inn later that night, the Traveller hears the faint sounds of a passing train before retiring to bed, and in his sleep, dreams of the Signalman telling him not to call out and, even though he could not hear it at the time, of the bell making its vibrating ring, bathed in the red light of the signal at the tunnel entrance.

The next evening, as the fog settles in, the Traveller finds the Signalman waiting for him. The Signalman reveals the reason for his initial fear; the Traveller's waving action and words mimic those of a ghostly spectre which rings his bell and is visible beside the red tunnel light. The spectre has appeared twice: first before a tunnel disaster, and then before a young bride fell to her death from a passing train. The Signalman explains that the spectre had returned a week before and has appeared since in fits and starts, always by the light at the tunnel and always gesturing with one arm across its face and the other waved in warning. The frustrated Signalman says that he has no rest or peace because of it, and that it calls out to him with an agonised shout of, "Below There, Look Out, Look Out!", as well as waving and ringing the signal box bell.

The Signalman notes his dilemma; if he was to telegraph "danger" he would not be able to give any reason why and would surely be displaced or fired, so he feels powerless to prevent a possible calamity. The Traveller tries to reassure him by telling him that there is nothing the Signalman can do but discharge his duty, and he must remain calm. The Signalman thanks the Traveller for his advice and they agree to meet again.

After a troubled sleep, the Traveller goes to meet the Signalman the following morning, but as he nears the cutting a train approaches through the tunnel and the Traveller realises he can hear the bell ringing. Running towards the scene, he attempts to warn the Signalman, who is standing transfixed on the rail line beside the red light at the tunnel entrance. As the spectre reappears, the Signalman is struck by the oncoming train.

The Engine Driver tells the Traveller that, as his locomotive came around a bend, he saw the Signalman standing on the line. When the Signalman did not heed the whistle, the driver shut it off and called out to him. The Traveller asks what the driver said. Turning around and standing in front of the red light, the driver tells him that he called, "Hallo, Below There, Look Out", with one hand covering his face and the other waving in warning. The Traveller is horrified, because the actions of the Driver are the same as those of the spectre that haunted the Signalman. He watches the crew carry the Signalman's body away, before turning and heading back over the countryside in the thickening winter fog.