Dispatches from Elsewhere

Jason Segal is one of the most fascinating "creatives" in the entertainment industry. He is constantly re-inventing himself and his career, from "Freeks & Geeks" to "How I met your mother," from "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" to re-inventing The Muppets. This is his latest, a limited series based on a mysterious ARG that popped up in San Francisco a few years back (and then, just as mysteriously disappeared.) It's anything but safe. It's funny, clever, disturbing and very addictive. It's anything but boring, concerning 4 people who find themselves caught up in a strange company by the name of The Jejune Institute. A company which may or may not be real and may or may not contain the answers we all seek. Starting created, directed and written by Segal. Co-starring Sally Field, Richard E. Grant and Andre Benjamin (3000). Really interesting, highly recommended.

After watching the first episode I found it intriguing yet chaotic. I kept wondering where it was going but at the same time wanting to find out. I can however now see why David Lynch loved Philadelphia so much as the city comes off as quirky as this presentation. The jury is still out for me as maybe I should smoke something before I watch the next episode?

What is extremely difficult nowadays is to find something original. And for sure this is most definitely original. I love the storyline. I love the pace. Tried to cover many aspects and many flavors, such as adventure, conspiracy, romance, depression, the feeling of wanting more, etc. The only thing to critique is I found that there are certain parts of the show that focused only on one aspect for too long and didn't blend as smooth as it possibly could have. It has a lot of odd and weird things in there which is awesome for sure, but then it spent almost an entire episode only on romance. The adventure needs to continue! Oddness needs to continue! And then there were certain parts I was a little bit lost. But overall, definitely a wonderful watch.

If you look at the breakdown of voting for this show, you will see sharp divisions between people who thought it was wonderful versus terrible. Lots of folks gave it a perfect "10" and lots gave it the worst possible "1". That's exactly the kind of show or movie I seek out. It shows the filmmaker is taking huge chances to make something truly unexpected and different. I love to see filmmakers NOT playing it safe.

Did this experiment work? I can't say it's the best thing I ever saw. But I was definitely entertained, and I looked forward to each episode. It would help, by the way, to go seek out the documentary about the real "Jejune Institute". I found it on Amazon Prime.

After watching the first episode i had no idea what it is all about, But i found it intriguing enough that i will watch a few more to see how it goes.