Set in the Valle del Vanoi area in northern Italy, ‘Stranded' (somewhat confusingly originally known as ‘Black Out' – Vite Sospese in Italy) is about the inhabitants and visitors to a ski resort who find themselves trapped in the region on Christmas Eve following an earthquake and subsequent avalanche.
If you want to avoid all spoilers, stop reading this article now.
Giavanni Lo Bianco (Alessandro Preziosi) is one of the people trapped. He’s there with his two children for a holiday after the death of his wife. He’s a wealthy financial broker, but he also happens to be the brother of a powerful Camorra mafia boss. Before the earthquake occurs, he spots another guest – Marco Raimondi (Marco Rossetti) – at the resort and recognises him as the husband of a woman who is due to give evidence in a criminal trial against his brother. The woman – Dr Claudia Schneider (Rike Schmid) – is in hiding to protect herself and her daughter, Anita.
Having spotted Marco, Giavanni follows him and eventually discovers the location where Dr Schneider and her daughter are hiding. He calls his brother, who has already discovered their location and has wheels in motion to send someone to stop her talking. But then Giavanni discovers that they are about to be relocated and after discussions with his brother, decides to kill Claudia himself before they can be moved.
He steals a rifle from local hunters and is on the hunt to seek out and murder Claudia when the earthquake strikes.
As a result of the quake, various people lose their lives – including the Chief of Police, whose car was hit by an avalanche. Many others are seriously injured or missing, and the region is unable to reach the outside world due to power outages and communication failures. Also, the only way out of the village is via a tunnel, which has become blocked by the snowfall.
One of those badly injured is Giavanni’s daughter. He takes her to the resort and asks for medical assistance. And who is the only doctor in town? Yes, it’s Dr Claudia Schneider, the woman he was trying to kill earlier.
Missing in the avalanche are Giavanni’s son – who was out on a snowmobile when the earthquake hit – and Claudia and Marco’s daughter, Anita.
In all honesty, there isn’t much to recommend this show. It’s meant to be a character-driven thriller, but the characters are one-dimensional. The plot is ridiculous at times, and the script is predictable. The location, of course, is stunning – it’s a beautiful part of the world. But that’s the only redeeming feature on this mediocre thriller.
In the final scene, after numerous people have died, suffered life-changing injuries, or are missing in the snow, it’s decided to dress up someone up as Santa Claus and distribute gifts to the kids (which seems particularly poor taste). But whilst that’s happening, they hear a loud thumping noise. Everyone goes outside to discover a (computer generated) stag ramming its antlers against a tree until it collapses and dies of its injuries. It’s an unnecessary and grim end to what was a turgid opening episode.
Walter Presents: ‘Stranded' is available as a boxset on C4 Streaming now.
