The Hood Maker

A complex slow episode like a distorted work of art.

I'm being rather generous with the rating here as this is the best made and produced episode of a weak series that I've averaged out to a 5, with too many below that.

It's less reliant on a surprise twist-to-the-twist premise and is instead written and shot to stand on its own merits as though it's part of a larger milieu: if feels like a pilot for its own series. Not a great series, not one that would get greenlit, but still slicker and more confident than the rest of Electric Dreams.

The characters have actual personality both in their writing and performances. For once, the lines feel more than just straight exposition, and Madden and Granger have some effective chemistry, this time thankfully unmarred by unnecessary and tawdry flesh grinding. However, I could have done without Madden using his actual accent, which to a Scottish ear sounds like Ned gutter trash.

The budget is also well spent on creating an alternative dystopian near-past using well dressed sets and some small crowd scenes, a sharp departure from the barren, hushed and deserted feel of the other episodes. The creative director clearly put some thought into this and films it carefully to give the impression of a bigger budget production, helped by an effective score that compliments but doesn't over-sell what we're being shown.

One nitpick is that the premise has been skewed slightly from Dick's original to make the teeps more sympathetic than sinister, but the core dynamic of the relationship is preserved, and it's decently presented.

If I were going to recommend an episode of this series, it would be this one, but don't get your hopes up, it's all downhill from there.

I think there are a couple failings here. One has to do with the history preceding this episode. How did all this come to be? Give us some sort of milieu to work within. Once we have telepathy, there are factors that need to be addressed. How does one put in filters in a mind that is not a machine? Do they occur naturally? Also, when we reach a stage where there is utter bad on both sides, who are we sympathetic toward? This seemed endless at times and I have to admit I never understood the point. If it was simply that telepathy takes away our humanness, that would have worked. But I'm not even sure that's it.

Keeping up with the other episodes I have seen, the acting, atmosphere, and technical aspects here are all at their best. What sets this story above the ones I have seen so far, is that the characters are gripping and well developed, and the ending not only makes sense, but has the nerve to avoid giving you exactly what you would want. I am beginning to like the idea of re-imagining PKD's stories rather then giving them literal adaptations. My second favorite so far next to "Human is". Give it a watch.

It has been said that this is the strongest episode of Electric Dreams anthology series. This does not bode well then.

There was nothing too special about The Hood Maker and the dark, grungy look of the dystopian society was just off putting and very much a cliché.

The visuals might had been inspired by Blade Runner but the story was more reminiscent of Minority Report.

The police use Teeps, who are special telepaths to read people's mind and the public are not happy as it is an invasion of their privacy. Special hoods have been created to block the telepaths.

Honor is a Teep but her new partner Agent Ross is someone she finds hard to read. This is a relationship based on mutual distrust as they hunt for the hoodmaker.

The story is a parable of modern times. The influence of government snooping, anti terror legislation etc. It just a shame that the episode was too po faced and drab.