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.
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.