7.17.2014

Television: Extant, "Pilot"

I know, I know, I'm a week behind already. But I did finally make my way to this one on my DVR queue. And . . . I'm intrigued.

It was a slow start, and I don't like the kid at all (am I supposed to?), but there were enough weird little things going on to keep me interested enough to watch another episode (now also on the DVR).

Set in the middling future, Halle Barry plays an astronaut named Molly Woods. She's just come back from a year-long solo mission and is having a difficult time readjusting to family life with her husband John and son Ethan.

There's an A.I. thing going on with the robot son . . . Does he grow? If not, at what point do the parents get tired of raising a perpetual child? When the fun and novelty wear off, can they just stick him back in his box? Sell him on eBay? Do they still have eBay?

Anyway, Ethan and other A.I. children for those who can't have their own and aren't qualified to adopt, is John's pet project for which he's working to get funding. But Ethan is having weird "malfunctions" where he exhibits aggressive behavior. This kid was definitely born/manufactured in the Uncanny Valley.

And Molly . . . She comes home from a solo space mission . . . pregnant? And she's tried to cover up some weird goings—dead people visiting—on by erasing footage from the space station cameras. Hmm.

Final puzzle piece: Talk of another astronaut having had mental issues after a mission. He supposedly committed suicide.

So yeah, there are some interesting things happening on the show, and despite the slowish pace, it fed me just enough to entice me to come back. We'll see if it holds.


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