Vienna: Series Two Box Set

A second series of three hour-long episodes, this sees Vienna back on Earth, somewhere in North America. The theme of re-writing memories, and what that says about our identities features, to at least some extent, in all three episodes.

* Tabula Rasa - The theme is immediately apparent in the first episode, which sees Vienna waking up with no recollection of who she is in a large hotel somehow sealed off from the outside world. While, of course, we know the answer to that mystery at least, many more present themselves, including an unexplained murder, as she explores her surroundings with an equally amnesiac accomplice. Even once we do start to get some answers (aided by a number of flashback scenes), they only raise more questions until we reach the final denouement. It's a good story, despite a few minor holes here and there, if not quite up to the standard of some of the episodes in earlier seasons. 4 stars.

* Underworld - This story starts with another murder mystery, and soon turns into a noirish tale of corruption and criminal gangs as Vienna helps the police track down the culprit. To a large extent, the episode is actually about Vienna's cop partner, played by Samantha Béart, and benefits from the change in focus. Nonetheless, Vienna does have a lot to do and, of course, there's the mystery of why on Earth she's working with the police in the first place. While memory alteration does have some bearing on the plot, here it's a relatively minor element in a story that has more to do with being chased by monsters through dark sewers. Nonetheless, the nature of events, and, in particular, the implications of the neural implant embedded in Béart's character raise this above the merely average. 4 stars.

* The Vienna Experience - While the first two stories seem linked only by the fact that they're set in the same city, everything comes together in the last one, in which the dangling mysteries are resolved. Vienna is once again helping the police, but the focus this time is on why she's doing that, the identity of a masked stalker following her about, and a sci-fi take on reality TV. There are some major twists in this one, causing us to question some of what happened in the previous episodes, and the show is certainly back on top form. 5 stars.

The trilogy has an open ending, with a promise of some significant changes to come in the third season, but isn't a true cliffhanger.