Virtual Future

Why is it that whenever one of these episodes deals with technological advances, there's always someone there to ruin the moment. In this case a young researcher, played by a really youthful Josh Brolin, discovers that while experiencing a virtual trip, using a device he has largely developed. The kicker is that while he is on this trip, he realizes he can see about six seconds into the future. To make it even more interesting, the future is mutable; in other words, he can change it. Enter the world renown CEO of a mega-research and development facility who has political aspirations. Once he knows about the virtual time travel, it becomes really important for him to step in on the research and expend big bucks, hiring the young man to work for him. The guy has a reputation as dishonest as nearly all prototypical big-business people are in fiction. Of course, what could be a boon for mankind (and womankind) becomes his pet means to move ahead political, seeing the future and then changing. Brolin doesn't listen to his young wife (a law student) because he knows the corporate world often plays hardball. Things heat up when it is realized that he needs to be stopped. Unfortunately, in addition to the obvious stereotypes, there are a lot of holes in the entire time continuum. Still, it's pretty entertaining.

Although the story still isn't all that great, at least they don't completely waste their two leads - Josh Brolin and David Warner, both of whom are really good here, even if David Warner is leaning hard into his typecasting as a shifty businessman. The story itself is very Stephen King's The Dead Zone with the twist of a VR Project that can see the possible future rather than someone with tactile clairvoyance.

While the story could easily have been filled out to feature length without risking too much, they did pretty good in filling up an episode of this series.

Honestly, though, I'm starting to wonder if nostalgia isn't doing a LOT of heavy lifting in my favourable memories of this show.

Yesterday I watched "Jonah Hex" with Josh Brolin in the lead role. Today I continued where I left off with the series "The Outer Limits" and, coincidentally, in the first episode that I watched, there's Josh Brolin in the main role again. Here, he's fifteen years younger and less experienced, and I didn't even recognize him until I looked at credits. Josh plays Jack, a young scientist working on perfecting virtual reality. Accidentally, he finds out that the side effect of his research is the ability to cast a glimpse a few minutes into the future. This brings him a job in a serious computer company, that gives him all necessary means in order to concentrate on this aspect of his research, perfect it and deliver a practical application. But as it always happens, everything that has practical application can be abused, and there is always someone who does not stumble over anything to fulfill his own goals. When abuse begins to enter the extreme, Jack realizes that it is his responsibility to stop evil. The story is unoriginal, sloppily elaborated and executed in an unimpressive and uninteresting way. I wasn't bored, but it left me completely indifferent.

4/10