Dispatches from Elsewhere

The first 7 episodes of this show were great! It was nice seeing Sally Field in a show again, and I didn't realize how much I'd missed Andre 3000. The diversity of the cast was nice, the plot seemed a little out there but in a fun and interesting way. Unfortunately by episode 8 things start to slide, episode 9 does a poor job of wrapping anything up, and episode 10 is self indulgent, pretentious nonsense best left unwatched. Seriously, if you haven't seen it yet, don't bother, it adds nothing to the show and is not the feel-good, uplifting ending they seemed to think it was going to be. Disappointed.

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.

It started off slow, got to a really interesting place and then meandered....

Off a cliff.

It's based on an interactive game that was played in SF a few years back. See the documentary THE INSTITUTE for more details.

The premise interested Segal enough that he wanted to make a series about it. Kudos for AMC to breaking out of the Zombie and vampire hell they've created for themselves but still.

If only someone had been brave enough to tell him to throw out the last episode, never to be seen again, this would've rated as high as an eight.

Instead it changes into something else entirely.

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.

So as of yet, I don't know what to think of this one. As to what star rating I'd give this, my place holder is a 7. I hope it turns into something interesting and different, but I don't know right now. Watching this, for me, is like making a wrong turn down a road I've never been and seeing some interesting things that are a bit off and make absolutely no sense.

Do I turn back, or do I keep going? That's sort of how I feel after watching the first episode. I think I'll keep going a bit further and see where this leads.

If the story delivers, or doesn't, I'll re-edit this review. But I'll watch the next episode and see where that leads. If you like off-beat fantasy type stuff you might like this one. It's certainly off-beat. It kind of reminds me of movies like The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Brazil, and maybe even a little bit like a modern take of Alice in Wonderland thrown in. At this point. I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing just yet. The writing is ok, and the story is at least intriguing, the characters are somewhat cookie-cutter at this point, but hey Sally Fields is in it playing Sally Fields again, so there's that.