Mickey Fisher
Executive Producers:
Brooklyn Weaver, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey
Mickey Fisher, Greg Walker, Steven Spielberg
Starring:
Hally Berry as Molly Woods, Goran Visnjic as John Woods
Pierce Gagnon as Ethan Woods, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hideki Yasumoto
Michael O’Neill as Alvin Sparks, Grace Gummer as Julie Gelineau
Camryn Manheim as Sam Barton
Premise:
An astronaut returns home from a year long solo mission in space.
She tries to reconnect with her husband and son in their everyday
life. Her experiences in space and home lead to events that
ultimately will change the course of human history.
Rating: 8/10 (B+)
The show takes place 30 years from now and centers around Molly who has just returned from space and tries to readjust to life on earth. The very first minutes feel like a family drama but it’s when John tucks Ethan into bed when you’ll realize that this is a science fiction show. The premiere does a great job at introducing us to John’s project “Humanics” and with John getting funding (from an unexpected source) we are bound to see more of them. There is also a short but extraordinary scene in which Gagnon perfectly portrays Ethan’s struggle to show human emotion.
Molly learns early on that she’s pregnant. We get somewhat of an idea what happens to Molly but it isn’t until the end of the episode until we see what exactly took place during “The Gap”. The visuals for the spaceship are exceptional for a television show and the general depiction of technology is very appealing, clean and sleek (Seriously, I want that garbage can).
You can also expect a very peculiar scene in which Yasumoto undergoes a very strange procedure which purpose remains unclear. If you are familiar with the recent works of O’Neill and Sanada, then you’ll know which side they are on. They become suspicious of Molly and they seem to have arcane knowledge about the bigger picture that is at play here.
Halle Berry delivers a nuanced performance for her first television role with a strong ensemble to support her.
The series premiere raises a lot of questions and though it is too early to tell if the show is capable of providing enough answers(I’m looking at you Under the Dome), I will say that it’s a great mix of family drama and science fiction that explores the potential threat of extraterrestrial life and the possibility of merging artificial and human intelligence.
“I think I need a flip.”
“It’s not a master/slave relationship. My partners and I believe:
If we want machines to be more human, we have to give them the
human experience. They have to learn like children learn. The
Humanics’ brain learn good from bad, right from wrong. The same
way we all did… for the most part.”
“Welcome back, Mr. Yasumoto.”
“It was like this when I found it. Your hair looks really pretty.”
“It’s me. I’m real. It’s not like on the Seraphim. You’re not hallucinating.”
Make sure to check out the series premiere of Extant on CBS, WED 9th July 9/8c.
