TV Series Review: Continuum
Chris Kneipp reviews SF TV series–Continuum.
Continuum is a TV series which has continued to improve, and its third season is turning out to be the best yet.
The story follows Kiera Cameron, played by Rachel Nichols, a cop from 2077 Vancouver, Canada. Caught up in a plot by a terrorist group called Liberate, she is dragged back to our time, along with the anti corporate terrorists, leaving her family behind. In the future, corporations are the government, and the world is a scary place for anyone who doesn’t conform to their control. In a high tech, high surveillance future, it’s dangerous to be different.
In the present, Liber8 attempt to change their history by influencing the present. Kiera joins forces with the Vancouver police to stop Liber8 from destroying her future, which would take away her husband and son. Partnering with detective Carlos Fonnegra, Victor Webster, she fights to thwart Liber8’s plans, while hiding her time-travelling secret from the world. She also enlists the help of a computer genius teen named Alex Sadler (Eric Knudsen). In Kiera’s future, Alex is the creator of most of her neat gadgets, including the bio chip implant and her police uniform that doubles as a computer. (Not to mention it can render her invisible.)
Kiera’s loyalties are torn as she learns about the totalitarian rule of the Corporate Congress from its origins in the present. As the first two seasons progress we learn a lot about Kiera and the terrorists’ backstory, revealed through flash-forwards. The scenes set in 2077 are really well done and force the viewer to question their assumptions. Are Liber8 really the bad guys?
Now, I should point out that I wasn’t overly impressed with the first season, but as the series progressed, everyone seemed to find their groove. The third season is off to a cracking start and for the sake of those who haven’t seen it, I won’t give any spoilers.
There’s a lot to like about Continuum. The plot is well thought out, and the time travel paradoxes are handled well without bogging the show down in the geek speak. The tech effects are cool, especially her gun, which assembles itself when needed and stuns its target.
One thing I will bring up is the opening credits. The first two seasons had Kiera doing a voiceover, and I have to say that this is one of my bugbears. Buffy the Vampire Slayer did it for its first couple of seasons and, speaking to TV show creators here, DON’T DO IT. With few exceptions (it works with Person of Interest), it’s a bad idea. The third season of Continuum has a slick new opening, and it is a huge improvement. The original opening monologue attempted to sound serious but came out kind of cheesy. When I watched the first episode, I nearly didn’t make it past the credits, which would have been a shame.
This show has a lot going for it. It has a great premise and characters who become more three dimensional with every scene. It has a real world female lead who does well portraying a woman with shifting beliefs and a future to fight for. And of course, it has some neat gadgets and FX.
No-one is quite who you expect them to be, and by this new season you are asking yourself who the bad guys really are? The new season is off to a great start, and if you haven’t caught up with this show, go and get a copy of the first two seasons. If you make it past the credits, you’ll be glad you did.
