A Clean Escape

I'm a sci-fi fan so I've been looking forward to this series for a while. However, if the rest are anything like this, I know why ABC delayed it and decided to show it during the summer vs. fall. This was kind of painful to watch - the kind that comes from bad movie-making.

In general terms, this is about a psychiatrist trying to fish out memories from a patient. All of this takes place in the future and the patient only remembers what happened up a moment 24 years ago (he has Korsakov syndrome).

This sounds like a good setup for a sci-fi movie, but the movie was pretty bad. The actors sounded like they had hardly rehearsed. Sam Waterston and Judy Davis are great actors so I don't know what happened. It was painful to listen to their interaction - it seemed fake and contrived.

Although I won't go into details, the movie was ridiculously moralistic - stuff we have heard a thousand times and seen in countless shows (like the newer Outer Limits).

If you're a sci-fi fan, you'll probably feel the need to watch this. Be forewarned, though - it's probably not what you're expecting.

Don't listen to those who decry this; it's by no means bad. The initial episode is a worthy adaptation of a good Cold War type short story, with many good points and thought-provoking elements. The acting by veterans Judy Davis and Sam Waterston is intense and convincing, and the production values are beautiful.

Now, the story can't really be summarized without spoiling it, as the real substance of the plot is really only revealed towards the end, but I enjoyed it a great deal and was very positively surprised. The moral was that we are all responsible for doing what's right, so things won't escalate out of hand. When we know that there is something wrong, we should not just stand by and do nothing. We should act. Some people may see this as a "moralistic" message, but I have news for such people: that's what art does. If you just want empty entertainment, watch Friends.

More of this, please.

My rating of episode 1: 8 out of 10.

Stumbled by accident on this series a few weeks ago yet never got around to watching it . Today i decided to give it a shot and right after i have an weird ominus feeling . In 2007 this dystopian future described by this episode would have seemed , sci-fi , a long shot , a apocalyptic story that could maybe happen in 100 years if everything went completely crazy and yet , here i am , just 10 years after this looking at a future that looks more and more like this episode everyday , and Trump has only been in power for a week .... The future of my past is now my present . As far as the episode is concerned , even 10 years later i don't feel this is a cheesy bad episode from the past . Story was solid and offered a great climax revealing key clues at the right time to keep the suspense going right to the end . Great work .

It is much more easy to complain about shortcomings, than it is to create quality sci-fi stories and adaptations. Various other series and movies have helped to set almost impossibly high expectations from those of us who eagerly devour all things Science-Fiction.

Ten or more years ago, I might have found this story riveting.

In all fiction, there is the need for willing suspension of disbelief. I think that for Sci-Fi, we also need to make allowances for telling of stories, and to not get bogged down in any one of several different ways. One-hour episodes are not like books or novels or even short-stories.

The fact that it could have been better, did not detract from my having enjoyed it anyway. I will eagerly watch the next episode in the hope that it will be even better than this one was.

This episode has a very interesting premise that could have been much better if they trusted that the situation in the office was enough to sustain the entirety of the narrative. It should have started in tthat situation and progressed with the exposition from their dialogue alone. Unfortunately, the execution laves to be desired, with a lot of sappy melodrama.

I don't know what was going on but Judy Davis was not at her best here. She overacts. A lot. It probably doesn't help that her makeup makes her look like she escape a mental asylum.

Sam Waterston gives a powerful performance, but there's only so much he can do to save this episode.