Electric Dreams

I've read several critics' reviews comparing this show to Black Mirror as if it fails in comparison. I don't think that's accurate. Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams is visually, thematically and, most importantly, narratively interesting. What is real or normal? What makes a human? Meanwhile, there are at least 2 episodes from S4 of Black Mirror that don't measure up to what I've seen so far in Electric Dreams, and apparently I've been watching the dud episodes, per critics' reviews.

Does everything need to have some heightened level of abstraction to be interesting? I don't think so; straightforward storytelling with very good actors set in a world that's different than my own that makes me think is good enough for me.

Worth your time.

There can be no denying that on first look this episode of Electric Dreams borrows heavily from the likes of Blade Runner, Black Mirror, Children of Men... etc, but of course the source material for this provides inspiration for the aforementioned titles, and so it's get an originality pass in my book.

A key feature for me with sci-fi is the dealing with the creation of alternate universes, where key events change the course of evolution. On this front the episode succeeds within that premise. There have been many mediocre sci-fi presentations that have come and gone - set up with weaker writing and concepts, and possibly better acting (though I will give a special exception to Holliday Grainger, who put in a very good performance). If the future world is unconvincing, however, it drags the performances down. I felt it was convincing enough here.

In summary, is definitely worth a watch, and look forward to other episodes within the series - it's a short story and it's designed to make you think where the themes could possibly go within the world that's been created. And as such, it's succeeded. A test of it's success is that I'd have been quite happy seeing where the world would have progressed after the end scenes. A solid start.

This is an anthology series based on the works of futurist sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick. It's ten episodes switching back and forth between American production and British. Despite loving the Blade Runner franchise, I don't think I've ever read his work. This has a darker tone. Some of the British ones remind me of Black Mirror which was probably the original intent. It's a murky hit-and-miss proposition. I don't know about the Philip K. Dick part. His name is useful for selling this. It has some good sci-fi ideas. I like the darker tones but the lighter tones is awkward at times.

Philip K Dick's stories have been shown by films like Bladerunner and Minority Report to be brilliant source material to make great screen adaptations. Black Mirror has shown how great a science fiction anthology series can be. The first two episodes of Philip K Dick's Electric Dreams hint at how great the series could be.

There have been many adaptation's of P K Dick's stories into movies. The makers of Electric Dreams would do well to study those carefully. They would learn that the closer film makers stick to the spirit and intention of P K Dick the better the end product is.

Electric Dreams feels half true to the originals. As a spoiler free example of where they stray, the first two episodes change the endings of the stories. P K Dick is a master of the plot twist and the original endings are not only shocking but made you think. His signature themes make you question the nature of reality, of memory and whether people really have what they want. In the show, these themes are muted: replaced by the writers' own hackneyed ideas and messages.

The first episode looked really cheap. It could have been a cop show set in the seventies. There was no sense that it was the future. The second show was far better and looked believable as a vision of the far future. As a writer, P K Dick doesn't delve to much into how things look or the minutiae of individual's character's. There is so much space for film makers to fill with something incredible as Ridley Scott did in Bladerunner.

I'm excited to see the coming episodes and I hope there are future series. Most of all I hope the makers quickly learn that, as is shown by the first two episodes, P K Dick was a great writer and the further you veer from what he was trying to say with his stories, the weaker the adaptations will be.

I'm going into this without much knowledge of Philip K Dick and the whole Black Mirrors series (and really enjoying it). I have to say I really like this show. It has interesting stories, some could probably use a little more than 50 minutes to get a better grasp at the characters and the story to really make an impact. But with how they are, they are well done. The cast is amazing, full of well known actors and actresses. The episodes were beautifully shot, so from an aesthetic stand point, it was nice to watch. The stores are interesting sci-fi, leaving me with something to think about, rather than just thinking "well that's pretty cool." I think if you go into this not comparing it to Black Mirrors, you will enjoy it. If you compare, you will more than likely be disappointed, well, because it's not Black Mirrors. Both shows, in my opinion, are very well done, so I won't say one is better than the other. If you love sci-fi and the Twilight Zone feel, you will like this.