Incorporated

I had to stop and pause the show 8 mins and 49 secs into to fully absorb one of the shots.

I don't know if the cameraman had freedom to focus on what ever he wanted or the scene itself was carefully scripted right down to camera angles and elevation but it was a very remarkable and memorable series of frames.

I must have seen millions of frames like this over the years but never has my attention been focused like it was on this actor.

I look forward to some other interesting shots over the length of what I would like to think will be a long season.

"Incorporated" is about Ben Larsen, a young boy who grows up in the squalor of the Red Zone, an area far removed from the glamorous excesses of corporation compounds in this futuristic vision of the world. We see Ben mostly as a grown man, but flashbacks fill in the blanks of his past.

While most corporate employees are driven to succeed in their jobs, Ben has a secret agenda, a purpose that guides his every move.

Since almost every character is written as desperate, willing to do what is necessary to survive, and inured to the harsh realities on life, it would be easy to write off the acting as one-dimensional. Also, the CGI can be distracting. But the story lines are convincing. And they expose the moral dilemmas that are created by this dystopian world.

Though I don't find much of this show "enjoyable", it is engaging. As long as the writers don't inject too much of the left-liberal bias that infects many shows--and allow the story to focus on plot points and twists that capture the imagination--I will continue watching.

Update 1/12/17: After a few episodes, the worlds inside and outside of the corporate walls are being fleshed out, as are the stories of the characters. I am raising my grade to "8".

This show is a rare gem in the recent TV shows. From the beginning you might be put off by sci-fi's familiar theme of dark dystopia and big bad corporations, but please give it some time. I was hooked in just 3 minutes after the news says "Canada construct a new wall to stop illegal immigrants". See? There are so many small details you can find. It depicts a dark picture of future corporations run amok, and unfettered capitalism results in extreme polarization between rich and poor. It's a future that we don't want to have, but also possibly end up with.

Although there are other shows having the same idea, but only "Incorporated" dares to go far. Not only it shows the dramatic difference between "Red Zone" and "Green Zone", but also different ways of thinking and surviving. In "Red Zone" you will see people fighting for scrubs, selling their own bodies and committing crimes to make ends meet; in "Green Zone" you will see people being afraid of losing their life style, stabbing other's back to get promotion, and the appalling methods of corporations use to maintain the order. In both zones there are no clear good guys or bad guys, only people struggle to survive their environment. All these make this show more believable than other Sci-Fi series.

The acting is top-notch. Many emotions are expressed with subtle facial and short words. No drama queens, no over-acting. The main story surrounds a young couple which both have their secrets. The husband appears to be a loyal corporation ladder climber, but has anti-corp agenda. The wife in the beginning seems like a spoiled rich brat but in time you will see she has a good and strong heart. Both of them experiences very difficult situations in their own way, but they did their best to keep calm and being normal. Sometimes I wondered. "That's it? But both of them had such a tough day!" In many ways "Incorporated" share similarities with "The Americans", which I also enjoyed tremendously.

The special effects are also high-end. From the refugee camp to the splendid "Green Zone". Every scene seems fit the description, and not cheap. The devil is in the details. Rich people drives very futurist cars and "Red Zone" people ride shabby ones. Rich people have expensive exotic dinners and "Red Zone" people eat rats. I really appreciate how much attention they paid in every little thing. Sometimes I pause the screen, just to see what's in the scene, and admire how much effort they must have put in for even a short clip.

However, even the show's script is great. Some pot-holes are still there, like why some "Green Zone" people took great risks to go to the "Red Zone" for fun. Then they later ended up being kidnapped. It seems not reasonable to me. But overall this show has much less holes than other Sci-Fis.

In conclusion, this is a great sci-fi show. It touches many social issues, very suspenseful, and sometimes deeply emotional. It should worth your time.

After getting so used to un-original and predictable story-lines in most TV shows, I was blown away by this. I am a science fiction and fantasy fan, in fact I write it (not well:)) and this is one of the best TV shows I have seen in a long time. Part of the reason I started writing myself was due to the lack of original stories out there. Again and again I would start to watch something and be shocked at how thin the plot was and predictable the characters and choices they made were.

Incorporated has depth, it has real storytelling that takes the viewer in unexpected directions. In directions that even though are set in a dystopian future, not so subtle hints of current real world issues come to mind. At the end of each episode I would be grinning with the sheer brilliance of the direction. I am flabbergasted beyond belief that this was canceled. When I see, time and time again, films and TV shows that are so lacking in depth, and I wonder how on earth networks throw money at them and then something as original as Incorporated comes along and it is canceled? Gutted.

For anyone with imagination, any of you reading this who end up writing stories yourselves because you can barely find anything with enough depth to capture your curiosity and appreciation, this is a must.

I just hope that a movie based on this will be developed because it is too good to just stop where it leaves off. S A Strongheart. Ps, don't let the fact there is only one season put you off, it is brilliant.

Maybe I'm just a nerd but I liked the pilot. Promising story,interesting characters, good actors (some better than others but this doesn't bother me at all... I mean, this is a sci-fiction TV show not an Oscar nominated drama...) and cool effects. I don't know how much money they had but it looks great, the sets, the cinematography, the gadgets... It's creative and at the same time believable. The tiny crystal cellphone... wow! I want the cool stuff in our near future! LOL!

I read someone who didn't like the main actor. I liked him. He's not the standard white dude and this is refreshing. He was pretty convincing for me. Let's see how it goes in next episodes but now I'm already hooked!