Ever since I was young, I dreamed about technology and the prospects of the future, hoping that one day I would push the boundaries of humankind. As time went on, I found I wasn’t completely alone; the American people seemed to get more and more excited about what scientists would come up with next. Television shows and commercials touted the latest and greatest smartphones, robots, and online services. More recently, SpaceX energizes the public with live streams of Elon Musk sending his car into outer space to demonstrate reusable rockets. Boston Dynamics showcases humanoid robots capable of doing backflips. The HTC Vive puts users in the middle of the zombie apocalypse from the comfort of their living room. But today’s technology doesn’t seem to be satisfying enough to steal the entire limelight - people can’t help but look to the future for something newer and better than what we already have.
The Netflix original Altered Carbon is a prime example of the public’s curiosity for what the future holds. Set many centuries in the future, this show is about Takeshi Kovacs, a man who is released from his bodiless existence to help a rich man solve his own murder. Yes, the plot is as confusing as that. I had to do some research on the show before watching it to make sure I understood the story that lies beneath the flashing lights and flying bullets. Altered Carbon ties together two things that people are enthralled with: the newest technology and immortality. In the world of Altered Carbon, people almost never die. A person’s existence is stored on a device implanted in the spine called a “stack” that can be placed into a new body (called a “sleeve”) once that body is destroyed. The only catch is, if the stack is destroyed, then the person dies for real. While the first episode ends on enough of a cliffhanger to make you want to watch more, there was a fair share of things I didn’t like about the show.
Firstly, Altered Carbon’s dialogue makes you want to roll your eyes straight from the beginning. To keep a constant flow of drama, every character speaks as if he or she is the biggest badass on the planet. While this leads to some interesting things being said, it gets old almost immediately. Takeshi makes a stuck up and half witty remark, which provokes a similar one from whoever he talks to, and from there it’s lather, rinse, repeat. Each conversation left me annoyed at every character involved. I can only hope that the dialogue becomes less one-dimensional in future episodes.
Secondly, while the distant future can be a fun place to stage a story, I’ve never been a huge fan of plotlines that take place so removed from reality. A show like Altered Carbon is always a difficult one to make successful because the directors and writers need to find a way for viewers to relate to characters and situations that are unlike anything they experience in today’s world. This is why futuristic shows try and touch on the basics of human characteristics (love, greed, passion etc.) to highlight how even 300 years in the future, we will still be the same creatures that we are today. So far, this show has been doing a fine job of this, but I can’t say I have much of a connection to Takeshi quite yet. Other shows can leave me feeling for the main character by episode one, but between the futuristic distractions and Takeshi’s off-putting nature, it might take a few episodes before I feel the same way for Altered Carbon.
Nowadays I am still fascinated by the newest technology, and I appreciate the creative views of contemporary writers on future breakthroughs. But as of the first episode, Altered Carbon doesn’t give me the excitement that I usually feel with a good sci-fi thriller. Although the show wasn’t all that I had hoped it would be, I could settle in for a few more viewings before giving up completely.
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