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The Devil's in the RemoteJune 25, 2012

Will Continuum make it as summer sci-fi? TDitR weighs in…

Continuum premiered earlier this month on the Canadian network, Showcase and in what is fast becoming a fixture in futuristic sci-fi lore centers on a dystopian world. In 2077, corporations rule the world and though life is almost perfect (MP: gizmos and gadgets galore!) dissent exists, spearheaded by “Liber8” — a group desperate for their rights to self-determination. It isn’t a spoiler to say five minutes into the pilot, Liber8 is sentenced to death. Then it gets interesting; the group escapes, travels back in time and “accidentally” take CPS Protector Keira with them.

In the present (past?) her technology connects her with Alex Sadler, a tech wizard who is responsible for creating it in the future. With the help of the Vancouver PD and Alex, Keira must hunt these terrorists down before they begin to change the past and adversely affect the future.

As Alex points out to Keira, there are two theories about time travel: the first involves a change in the space-time continuum that has serious repercussions on the future (MP: one misstep in the past alters the future…gotcha!). The second theory suggests that the journey itself was an event that has already occured and people are once again going through the motions, the changes that occur were destined to be (MP: cue Fringe flashbacks…the First People, gaah!). Of course, Keira struggles because she needs the future to turn out a specific way. It’s been hinted (SPOILER ALERT) Alex is well aware of Keira’s role and created technology specifically to help her when she time-travels.The terrorists are content creating enough havoc to create a future they so desperately desire.

The broader themes the show wishes to discuss, in an age where corporations are getting more powerful with each passing day (hey, corporations are people too!) and the debate over the advancement of technology and its implications are heavy and will allow for it to expand its larger mythology and character motivations.

The first two episodes focus solely on Keira and Liber8, the writing and the action is tight and perfectly paced, but it all falters in the third episode, when the focus shifts away from them and into procedural territory. Liber8 operates around the edges of the episode and the show loses all the steam its beginning had given them. This will clearly be the challenge for the show. To create longevity, the show will have to integrate CoW into the larger mythology of the universe, but this is something very few shows have been able to do well. If Continuum manages to do that well and find its footing, it has all the elements to rise above the so-so sci-fi offerings of the summer.

  • Between Liber8 and Sadtech, the show seems to outsource titling to 13 year olds.
  • I quite liked the fact that the writers are willing to create glitches in the technology Keira has at her disposal. Old man Alex is less of a genius and more of a reverse-engineerer(?)
  • The blue-tooth hands free device made sense only for one episode. Its back to talking to the voices in her head now. Poor Keira.
  • Old Man Alex gets his perv on pretty frequently with Keira right? I mean in a weird weird way, she’s eternally youthful.
  • Sorry to all of you and mostly my editor for the confusing “past, present, future’ situation. Lets agree on one and stick to that. Otherwise we’ll be stuck with constant references to the “past flashforwards” and the “future flashbacks”.

 

Shazia is part bionic, part crazy (parts not mutually exclusive), and would be happy conversing solely in TV quotes, forever hopeful she’ll be one-upped in her obscure TV references. She blogs here and microblogs here.

Maryam “MP” Piracha is the Editor-in-Chief of The Missing Slate and, as a fellow couch potato, makes an occasional appearance in Shazia’s column, usually in parenthesized italics.

 

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2012Continuumsci-fisummer tv

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One last love letter...

April 24, 2021

It has taken us some time and patience to come to this decision. TMS would not have seen the success that it did without our readers and the tireless team that ran the magazine for the better part of eight years.

But… all good things must come to an end, especially when we look at the ever-expanding art and literary landscape in Pakistan, the country of the magazine’s birth.

We are amazed and proud of what the next generation of creators are working with, the themes they are featuring, and their inclusivity in the diversity of voices they are publishing. When TMS began, this was the world we envisioned…

Though the magazine has closed and our submissions shuttered, this website will remain open for the foreseeable future as an archive of the great work we published and the astounding collection of diverse voices we were privileged to feature.

If, however, someone is interested in picking up the baton, please email Maryam Piracha, the editor, at maryamp@themissingslate.com.

Farewell, fam! It’s been quite a ride.

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