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Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams |OT| No unicorns allowed

I've only seen the first two.

I really like its ambition. I really love that its an anthology series off K. Dicks stories. That is absolutely incredible.

They need to be adapted for TV far more. Or just make some new stories inspired by K. Dick. This the best hope for such a show, get some sci fi writers and get them to make some cool new sci fi tales which are practicle for TV.

Personally, I don't mind if they misfire when you are being this ambitious. But there's no way in hell this show is going to last. It's no Black Mirror. That show made big waves in Britain and eventually in many circles of America. It's not nearly as niche as this.

This show is going to mostly just appeal to sci fi fans, and even then it needs to up its game. First episode was decent, but it didn't quite work. And the second episode ends in a way that is sure to piss anyone watching it off.

This is some real sci fi nerdery going on, with a budget that never happens. It's not quite working but I really hope it can last. Realistically, i seriously doubt this is going to have good enough rating to last.
 
These just arnt working for me. While episode two appeared to have an issue where it wanted to ponder the question of an afterlife but didn't know how to get there and so the afterlife stuff just happened. Episode three wants to ponder 'if you could make a child whos caused you pain not exist, would you?'? It does this quite clearly, however it just pulls unexplained nonsense to have the situation happen.

Its like each episode has only one piece of a two piece puzzle. That one piece is of a really good quality but the other has rotted away to practically nothing.

Will prob just drop it now. I just leave each episode frustrated because i really like parts of it but cant stand the other.
 

MilkBeard

Member
Enjoyed the first two episodes, especially the second one. I don't agree with those complaining about the ending. I think it ended well, but also mysterious enough where you can ponder about what happened.

Can't wait to watch more.
 

GavinUK86

Member
excited to see tonight's episode. the story is a funny one. judging by the trailer and promo images it looks like it's completely different.

Sounds like US has to wait until 2018?

yeah apparently so which sucks for you lot. i thought amazon prime stuff was global not region specific
 
Will prob just drop it now. I just leave each episode frustrated because i really like parts of it but cant stand the other.

Yeah I keep getting disappointed by these as well. And I say that as a massive sci-fi fan that usually enjoys this kind of thing. Every episode feels unfinished and inconclusive. They each have an ambiguous, unsatisfying open ending where nothing is explained. It's a shame because this is clearly quite well produced but something seems to be going wrong on a story level in each one.

I'll try one or two more I think but if the next two are inconclusive like those previous then I'm out.
 

MilkBeard

Member
Third episode didn't quite make sense to me. I'm going to watch it again soon to see if I can pick up the clues. So far, not as good as the first two (imo) but this might change upon second viewing.

Yeah I keep getting disappointed by these as well. And I say that as a massive sci-fi fan that usually enjoys this kind of thing. Every episode feels unfinished and inconclusive. They each have an ambiguous, unsatisfying open ending where nothing is explained. It's a shame because this is clearly quite well produced but something seems to be going wrong on a story level in each one.

I'll try one or two more I think but if the next two are inconclusive like those previous then I'm out.

I mean, 'inconclusive' endings are a certain style, but they are hard to get right. However, they have a high chance of making people upset, which is fine in my opinion.

By the way, did you like the ending to Inception? Just curious. Because I feel this is a style that might not sit well with some people. It's important to ponder it and find your own conclusion.

It is difficult to get this right in a short episode format. If they were a bit longer, like Black Mirror episodes, they would get more time to breath. I do agree with that assessment (especially the third episode).
 

GavinUK86

Member
that episode was good. had a constant eerie vibe to it all. the pig lady at the gates and the sheep with human faces gave me chills. super gross. the whole growing souls was super creepy too. i liked it. probably my second favourite with hood maker being #1.
 

Madrin

Member
god bless black mirror for not only being good, but putting the sci fi anthology in vogue

i could watch these endlessly if the quality is there
Seriously. I hope this becomes a trend. I've always wanted more fantasy and sci-fi anthology shows with a self-contained story in each episode. Before Black Mirror, I'm not aware of any big anthology series in that vein besides The Twilight Zone and Tales From the Crypt, except for kids' shows like Are You Afraid of the Dark?
 
Think that was the best episode yet. Thought it was weird enough but still grounded in some sort of reality, also helps that it had its most straightforward story.
 

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
Seriously. I hope this becomes a trend. I've always wanted more fantasy and sci-fi anthology shows with a self-contained story in each episode. Before Black Mirror, I'm not aware of any big anthology series in that vein besides The Twilight Zone and Tales From the Crypt, except for kids' shows like Are You Afraid of the Dark?

You need to hunt down The Outer Limits, specifically the 90s revival. It would be right up your alley. Some genuinely good stories in there.

Twilight Zone came back, wasn't anything too hot. There was a horror based one called Masters of Horror, nothing special either.
 

JeffZero

Purple Drazi
90s Outer Limits was my jam. Brad Wright kicked up Stargate SG-1 a couple of years later and that's one of my all-time favorites but before SG-1 he ran Outer Limits and I loved it too.
 

MilkBeard

Member
Think that was the best episode yet. Thought it was weird enough but still grounded in some sort of reality, also helps that it had its most straightforward story.

I felt like this latest episode was not that great. Sure, it was more straightforward, but it felt a bit forced and sloppily put together.

I guess it just depends on whether the story calls to you--to me, it felt like a bare-bones telling of a few sci-fi tropes. I guess the same complaint that applies to the previous episodes also applies here in some way (for me): There are some interesting ideas in the episode, but the most interesting elements aren't developed much.

For example, I'd love to see more detail of the workings of their society, and how plants are illegal, and how there is a giant metal plate underneath the ground. I was more interested in that than the story about selling the QCs and the sloppy getaway story of his wife and the Jill.
 
90s Outer Limits was my jam. Brad Wright kicked up Stargate SG-1 a couple of years later and that's one of my all-time favorites but before SG-1 he ran Outer Limits and I loved it too.

Yeah i used to love the outer limits. I remember an episode about nano bots that heal you but they start seeing weakness and fixing them he ends up
with literal eyes in the back of his head and the more he tries to kill them the more defences they put up. He ends up woth poison tenticles on his skin or something lol
. Ludicrous but very entertaining. Been so long since i saw them. Not sure they would still hold up but would like to rewatch at somepoint.
 
Haven't watched this weekly, but did watch The Commuter today and really really enjoyed it.

Might just be because the acting was fantastic, but it also had a very creepy vibe throughout.

Can definitely agree that it's not the easiest story to follow though.
 

MudoSkills

Volcano High Alumnus (Cum Laude)
Just watched last night's episode, Real Life, and it was actually good. Not relatively good, like Crazy Diamond (which scored points for being coherent, if boring), actually good.

Simple premise and a story that concluded, well acted by both leads, no padding - it really worked.
 
Epsiode 5 was the best so far, IMO. Just really good dramatic sci-fi with a major Life on Mars vibe. But as usual just when it's getting really good it's time to wrap the story up (reminds me a lot of Doctor Who in that way). I really wish the episodes were tele-movie length.
 
That was a really good episode, a proper science fiction fable with a lovely twist at the end. Good performances from the leads and a pretty intriguing story to boot.

Its the Cranston episode next!
 
Kill All Others - Solid but predictable. Dark ending.
Autofac - Great episode.
Safe and Sound - Solid episode. 60 minutes felt a bit rushed.
 

Grinchy

Banned
I've watched the first 3 episodes so far. I am enjoying this series, but I've only felt overly attached to the first episode. When it ended, I just wanted a full season of that. The next two episodes were fine as standalones to me, but that first one set the bar so high.
 

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
I can't find the energy to finish this, the writing is just too sloppy. I get the feeling they're doing a lot of very literal adaptations of the stories because it doesn't seem like they're being "translated" to tv. It isn't a "This isn't Black Mirror..." feeling, the actual pacing and beats of the episode feel outta whack. It's weird. And surprisingly bad production values given the cast.
 

Kadayi

Banned
I've seen the first four episodes. My favourite so far was still the first episode.

I didn't realise that Dredd was inspired by Philip K. Dick. ;)

If anyone's interested, there's a podcast about the show at http://www.goldenspiralmedia.com/category/electric-dreams

Cool. didn't know about that. I always enjoy TV podcasts.
Only watched the first few episodes. Much like black Mirror, I think it can be a little uneven, but I'm ok with the odd dud if the ideas themselves are kind of thought-provoking even if the end result doesn't quite hit home, and unlike Black Mirror the series isn't solely fixated on technology, versus broader Sci-fi themes. The first episode was standout, though in large part I'd hazard that knowing it was the opener they probably put a tad more money into production. Hoping it gets a second season because I think there's a lot of scope for Sci-fi anthologies like this as they are quite digestible and make for good water cooler talk.
I would love to see someone adapt for TV some JG Ballard short stories such as the Vermillion Sands collection for instance. Ballard much like Dick really taps into some fascinating spaces that are skewed takes on reality and a lot of it is still pertinent today.
 
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