Solos

This is a fascinating and superb piece of experimental drama. I recall the first time I ever saw something similar as a child. Whoopi Goldberg did The Telephone in 1988. I was mesmerised, as a love of both screen and theatre, it was the perfect presentation and merging of both mediums.

Then in 2002 Johanna Lumley did Up in Town. It is seldom we see performers of this calibre doing theatrical work on screen like this and living in South Africa makes is difficult and expensive to travel. So now we get to see these performers at their best as well. This might be a product of Covid, but I sure hope that we get to see more of this in the times to come.

This series is not for the average audience, but for an audience who are more discerning and enjoys higher end drama. If during these times, if we can't have anything else, we can at least have some culture.

This series is hard to rate because there are separate dramas and some are absolutely wonderful and others are deadly dull. Episode 1 is wonderful; and one of the best things you'll ever see on TV or anywhere else, for that matter. It's a time travel drama with a big switch, and the acting is great to see. I won't go into the deadly dull episodes but they are there. FWIW - this series is better watched one at a time without binge watching. Try to appreciate each for its own value. Watching several in a row diminishes each of them.

The themes that echo through each episode, and there are so many, are perfectly timed and toned for an "almost at the end" pandemic release.

While Solos is an anthology-style series, it is not a series of standalone episodes. It is a comprehensive mini-series telling a single, self-contained story with a specific ending.

The writing is really stellar, and the acting is superb, both of those skills coming together to create something that is a series of monologues that rarely feel monologue-ish.

I'd love to go over each of the themes but it would get spoilerish, but I can say that for those who get this and understand what they were doing with it, the themes are poignant and meaningful and deeply emotional.

The tie-together at the end is almost perfect, except that the episode "Nera" is only vaguely referenced, and also didn't seem to share a mini-connection to any of the others, as the rest of the episodes all seemed to do. It is the most isolated of all of the episodes and has had me rewatching and pondering why. Was it editing that removed its connection from the rest or was it intentional? There is so much about it that doesn't fit with the rest. It does contain nearly all of the themes, but it has a really strong "one of these things is not like the others" feel all the way through it.

The final episode is so rich and full of meaning and reference... it's astounding. The acting is perfect. Morgan Freeman's subtle face changes are brilliant.

I think my favorite episode is the one featuring Constance Wu. The emotional journey she takes us on is a gut punch. It is also the first episode that really gives us a clue as to what is happening on the larger scale.

I loved the re-use of specific language in different settings, with different meanings, but meant to echo back to the things we'd previously seen, sometimes casting new light on them and bringing out different understanding.

Two things to watch for that you might not think of on the first watch: 1: listen to the narration Morgan Freeman gives for each episode. Once you realize he's not just a narrator but a character, and what his role is in relation to all of them, the narration takes on new meaning. 2: look at the pictures they selected to fill the letters that open each episode.

Oh, and this is not Black Mirror. It's not meant to be anything like Black Mirror. Comparing it to Black Mirror is like comparing ET to Arrival. Just because they're both sci fi and anthology series doesn't mean they're both apples. You can enjoy both equally without trying to compare them to one another.

Those of you who don't want to watch past episode 1, I say keep going. Anne Hathaway's ridiculous overacting along with I consider to be a poorly written story was a bad lead in. The second episode with Anthony Mackie was a nice, well written episode, but the third with Helen Mirren fell a little flat with me, but was not awful and was helped by Mirren's acting ability. Then we hot another speed bump with episode four. A nice concept, but poorly executed especially when we hit the main monologue by Uzo Aduba that is just so cringeworthy it ruined anything it may have been building to. Episode five with Constance Wu was well acted, but poorly written to me. And you could see the payoff coming from a mile away. It was not smart, it was not clever, it was just predictable. Episode six with Nicole Beharie was by far the worst segment. She gave a nice performance that was ruined by a bad story, with bad writing.... Then we have episode seven with Morgan Freeman which to me was absolutely brilliant. It made it worth sticking it out, because you have to watch it last. Why? Because regardless of what others have said in reviews, the stories are connected. Freeman does narrate the beginning of every episode after all, if you did not notice. So all in all, I say watch all the segments. The end if worth the journey, the good and the bad parts.

Not sure why people make reference to Black Mirror. The only similarity is that each episode presents a stand alone story.

Anyway. I thought these were mostly interesting tales that make you think. 7/10 is an honest review but marking it 10/10 just because I think the reviews achieved so far are undeserved. I also think where you are in life will change how you feel about each story. I would be curious to see the demographics of the poor reviews. Watch them. They really are entertaining and thoughtful.