Continuum: Closing the Loop

A couple of years ago I decided to check out a show on Netflix because time travel, so duh. Continuum wasn't great, but the premise was enough to keep me on board for a few episodes. That grew into having it on mainly in the background and then deciding I wasn't going to watch the next season. Except, when the next season became available, I did watch it. And I went back and forth on my opinion a couple of times, but still continued. By the time season 3 hit, I was all in. And now, having watched the last 6 episode wrap up season, I'm glad I stuck with it.

The premise of a group of terrorists from the future being sent back in time, followed by one supercop (Rachel Nichols) is simple enough. But the show had layers to it at every point. For starters, those terrorists were fighting a fascist corporate empire for which the supercop worked. On top of that, the man responsible for sending them all back (William B. Davis) in time is the man responsible for said empire. And to top it off, who winds up helping supercop in our time but the younger version of the man responsible for the empire. And if that wasn't convoluted enough, along the way the status quo changes a few times due to time lines shifting and other factions coming into play. Basically, the show kept my interest because it never really settled into a grind.

Sure there was some not so great acting along the way and often the dialogue was beyond expository. And the effects weren't great.  But at the heart of the show was always the relationship between Kiera, the supercop, and young genius Alec (Erik Knudsen), the potential corporate ruler. Over the three and a half seasons of the show their friendship was tested to its limits and their attempt to fight the future while simultaneously getting Keira back to her son in said future was the blinking light at the end of the twisty tunnel. The last few minutes of the finale were surprisingly moving and satisfying in a bittersweet way. Basically the ending was much better than it had any right to be and for that, I give this show major points that forgive the inconsistencies. It's hard to nail an ending, but man, did they ever. Between this, Dark Matter and Orphan Black, it appears Canadian Sci Fi is kicking some ass.

Dark Affairs

We're about half way through season 1 of Showtime's The Affair, starring McNulty (Dominic West) and that lady from Luther (Ruth Wilson). It turns out the show is not just a Bridges of Madison County type of romanticizing of infidelity. There's a mystery involved and the structure of the show is pretty interesting in a Rashomon sort of way. It's pretty twisty and focuses on complex human relationships. Still. . . .

I guess I'm more of a prude than I thought. Or, I don't know, I value loyalty and trust. The idea of an affair, especially under the circumstances presented on the show make the characters immediately unlikeable to me. Not that liking the characters is a requirement of a good story, but in this case, where we're sort of trying to piece together who the reliable narrator is, if any, I think it puts the whole story in an odd place for me. I just don't believe either of them. And maybe I shouldn't. I'm only half way through the first season, so I might be jumping the gun. We shall see.

Speaking of trust, SyFy Channel's Dark Matter is a fun show. It's the kind of show I used to find by accident while channel surfing, but as a semi-cordcutter (I technically still have basic cable, but never watch it), I now have the luxury of complete control over what I watch and when. Anyway, Dark Matter opens up with the crew of a spaceship waking up from stasis with no memory of who they are. It then unfolds over the season like an onion with layers of complexity and surprising depth. It's never AMAZING, but it is pretty damned entertaining and the characters really grow on you quickly. Looking forward to the second season next year.