The Peripheral (TV Series) Pilot (2022) User Reviews

Excellent start, great introduction, great acting

[namob-43673 · 8/10 · 28 October 2022]

I started watching this just in passing. I saw it, clicked and suddenly there it was. No expectation, no idea what it is about. And I do not think I have ever been more surprised.

This is excellent. Very intriguing. I felt like I was watching a more advanced futuristic version of Dollhouse, or a much better written and much better acted version of Westworld, or some mix of the two with a creepy thriller feel to it. Although the concept is not 100% new, they introduce enough interesting newer versions and more advanced copies of what we have seen before. Coupled with great performances, excellent directing, lovely settings and a story I really want to know more about and I am definitely seeing more of this.

If I had to complain about something is that they try to introduce a little bit too much in a too short period of time. Should have let the story breath a bit and slow down the pace. Since this was the first episode I assume we will get more backstories and information as we go, but I think this first episode could have been more focused. We do not get enough info about these people, not even the main characters are flushed out.

Excellent start of the show though and I hope this continues because if so I will have a new favourite to watch. 8/10 and I highly recommend so far.

preliminary review after 2 episodes

[flowirin · 9/10 · 23 October 2022]

I loved the book. It was really good. I can't remember the exact details, but the concept, rough plot etc is still there.

So was watching this with half an expectation that it would be terrible, as so many book to tv shows are (rings of power, i'm looking at you).

But, apart from the stainless steel bus not having the foot thick coating of whatever it was (I forget the exact details), the feel of this has so far been spot on. Its definitely not the same as the book, but it is not doing it a disservice. Far more mundane that the book vision, and 'london' is nothing like the world I have in my head, but OK none the less.

The actors involved manage to pull off the roles well, with only a couple of the 'londoners' being a little out of their depth.

Let's hope it keeps on the same trajectory.

Pilot

[bobcobb301 · 7/10 · 7 December 2022]

Amazon has been hit or miss with its original shows and I think this one might be a hit (even if it doesn't get huge streaming numbers).

The right amount of action and intrigue and the right balance of overtly science and supernatural elements. The setting is a ltitle weird though and some of the characters feel unnecessarily goofy, but there is a lot to like about where this is headed.

I was not hooked immediately by the pilot compared to some other sci-fi shows throughout the last 10-20 years, but I saw enough to stay with it.

Chloe Grace Moretz did the best she could with the source material here.

Fantastic futuristic thinking

[rjmeredith3382 · 10/10 · 25 October 2022]

This is pretty Fantastic. Think Conception and James Bond mixed. Lots of thinking involved, complicated plot, totally sci-fi futuristic stuff that will totally blow your mind. I like that it is set in a redneck backwater small town in the U. S. If the future episodes are as good as the pilot, I will be pleasantly surprised. I am also glad that thy don't put in totally unnecessary sexual references and visuals. There is enough to keep your attention without all that. This is the kind of series that you will look forward to with great anticipation. The writing is not perfect, there are some strange inconsistencies and some ideas that would be absolutely logically impossible, but that is the nature of sci-fi, I guess.

Book fan

[ypromo · 10/10 · 8 November 2022]

As a fan of the book, I have been looking forward for the release of the series for quite a while now. Despite some drastic differences in the story between the book and the series - like what Flynne actually does or witnesses in the fateful "sim game", to begin with - I certainly do appreciate the accessibility of the cinematic result.

I am still not certain whether I would have wished or hoped for a darker adaptation - as though this one isn't bleak enough... but it sure would have taken much longer to get into the thick of the plot, following the process as it went in the book.

At any case, I am grateful for the series as it is, after having seen to episodes, and believe it does do the book justice.

A new Gibson world will spin your brain!

[cnrutledge-28046 · 10/10 · 23 October 2022]

The first effect, that you get from the story, is what I think of as the mental shift, the spin, the slipstream of a new Gibson world! William Gibson, this author of these books, is the man who gave us many other worlds, that will flip-ya, flip-ya for real; to quote Finster (movie Usual Suspects). So, keep in mind the difficulty level, as it takes a couple of viewings to really sink in; how bizarre life is fixing to be, in your little head! Gibson, is a hell of a conceptualist. I bet he, would be a great conversationalist as well; pity we don't know each other. So, the story starts with a tiny tease, that your left not having any idea what it means?. Suddenly, shifting to an entirely different place, that looks kind of like some normal place in the Quasi South of the United States but you quickly realize it isn't, not quite! So, you meet this family of pretty decent people: one is a veteran has a lot of Veteran friends in his neighborhood. You, meet evil people who you'll agree, in you know the old big daddy boss type you have watched on Cat on a Hot Tin Roof or at least read it? (This starts becoming the Tennessee Williams Twilight Zone) Maybe you saw HUD? We'll put it the other side for now. The story is convoluted, it is very well played out. The pacing is outstanding! The graphics and other things we've come to expect are excellent; but remember, any show must have a few basic things to be worth a damn!

First: it must be consistent and intellectually backing every one of the primary elements.

Second: the writing must be very good, intelligent, and not talk down to the customer, AKA us.

Third: the acting must be up to par, of high quality. We, expect the actor to be in the moment, and to deliver the lines and the concepts behind the lines, with aplomb.

These three things, and many others, are well developed and well applied here; not to mention delivered with aplomb. The Directors, Writers, Actresses, Actors and others, associated with the making of this and apparently the second episode as well, accomplish their task. So, expect a hard ride, and to be put up wet; because believe me this is going to try your brain and shake your realities, so get in and buckle down boy, cuz what you think is real just got served!

DELICIOUS Sci-fi with a Slice of Cyberpunk!

[jseph1234-262-617488 · 10/10 · 30 March 2023]

Just watched the Pilot Episode of The Peripheral and I absolutely LOVED IT!!! I love the fact that it has an element of Cyberpunk from the Master William Gibson and yet it features a very simple girl with a knack for gaming.

Reminds me a LOT of Watch Dogs Series and particularly Watch Dogs 3 and the various hacking elements and their interface with the real world and the impact that you can have on the real world.

I just read on The Peripheral Twitter Feed that they are coming back for a Season 2 which makes me REALLY Happy because I get to know how the story continues after I finish watching all of the other Season 1 Episodes!

YAY ME!

S1.E1 - Great First Episode [8.6/10]

[panagiotis1993 · 9/10 · 2 December 2023]

(S1. E1) My Live Reaction / Review for The Peripheral Season 1 Episode 1 ''Pilot''. The episode is 1 hour and 12 minutes long? That's really cool. In 2032 video games seem very advanced. What kind of video game is this? They get paid for playing? I wonder if they lose money when they lose in the game too. 30 minutes in and we are inside a video game, I hope that not the entire episode will be like this. Ok we are back to reality. The dude in the wheelchair is badass. Flynne gets the medicine she needs for her mom from these drug dealers. Cant she get them from a drugstore? I wonder. Imagine playing a game that makes you feel pain like its real, I would hate it. Wait, is the game real? Like an other dimension or something? That would be cool. Invisible cars? That's cool. Someone, a whole squad is after Flynne and Burton? What the hell is this game? Overall this episode was pretty good, my rating is 8.6/10.

Good start into a fresh scify world with interesting main character

[moritzherz · 6/10 · 6 November 2022]

The first episode of "The Peripheral" gives a good overview about what we can expect from this new scify-thrill by the "Westworld" creators Lisa Joy & Jonathan Nolan.

We get to know all the relevant characters and especially Flynne played by Chloë Grace Moretz got my attention. She did a really good job in this episode and I'm looking forward to see more from her.

And then we have the plot. Flynne plays VR games to earn money for her dying mother and gets involved in something far bigger than one could expect. A virtual London, that by the way looks amazing, in which she has to do what the voice in her head says what leeds to a conflict with another player at the end of the episode. Followed by a hunt in the real world with a bounty on her head about 9 million! The episode ends with this cliff hanger, we don't know if she can escape these bounty hunters!

With this said the first episode of "The Peripheral" gets me interested in the show, hoping that it can hold this quality in the future episodes.

I'm sorry, I don't get the hype

[finn9849 · 2/10 · 9 November 2022]

The best way to describe this series is how it's like a Power Rangers show- but minus the spandex and giant robots. The dialogue is insanely laughable at times for the wrong reasons. And the same can be said for the action sequences, along with how the characters carry themselves. As someone who's been in small communities before, I'm not convinced that these characters live in a small town. Even the characters they try to portray as shady is unconvincing. In terms of how th simulations are, it's very cheap looking, and the sets look like something out of a Cartoon Network reality show. Yeah, no thanks. I love Chloe in her other works, but I'm just getting really tired of all these popular sci-fi shows that fail to deliver.