Jodie Whittaker (the 13th Doctor in Doctor Who, Beth Miller in Broadchurch) stars in a new Netflix historical drama: A town called Corby in the UK is polluted by a mysterious force that poisoned a group of mothers in the early 2000s. As a result, their children either came out ‘different’, with dislocated limbs, no limbs at all, or in some cases, dead from the poison. Where the poison comes from is a complete mystery to these mothers. Susan McIntyre, played by Jodie Whittaker, rallies a group of women in the town of Corby whose children are all missing limbs from the poison.
The women aren’t alone in this case, even though they may start out that way. Susan picks a good lawyer, and it seems impossible for them to lose their case. A highlight from the show is when the lawyer and his assistant call up German professors across the ocean and communicate with them via Google translate, simply to find a missing number in a vital calculation which tells them about the poison. Then the mystery is, where did the poison come from?
In a tangled web of developmental Corby, the town council works quickly to make sure they can derail the mothers, but they do not stand down and aren’t rattled by the slightest dig at their psyche. McIntyre is questioned about her depression and the medications she takes on the stand. She responds brilliantly under pressure. At one point, a vital woman (and Susan’s close friend) whose child died from the poison, is cut from the final count. But she still goes to the stand to speak.
And finally, Robert Carlyle’s Sam Hagen may be the final link in the case to the women winning justice for their children. He finds the answers in an unlikely source, and it’s immensely satisfying seeing them defeat Roy Thomas’ Brendan Coyle, an all-self-important favored council member trying to cover up the truth at every turn.
You can’t help cheering with the women at the end when their case is over. It’s not just Whittaker who delivers a stunning performance (though that’s not surprising, when looking at her career), Carlyle gives a life lesson of standing up to bullies, even if it means losing a seat in the council, and Claudia Jessie (Bridgerton) and Tracy Tailor embody the women they perform so much that they become different people entirely, their past roles melting in the face of diversity and strength to make a stand for their children.
Toxic Town is well worth the watch, making a binge-worthy four-episode series.
