Altered Carbon - Season 1 - Netflix (1 Viewer)

[Walter Kittel]

I've been in eager anticipation of this show since I first heard it was coming to Netflix. I read the source novel by Richard K. Morgan back when it was first published in 2003 and I've revisited the novel at least two or three times in the past decade.

I watched the first two episodes earlier this morning / night and my first impression is that the series has done a fine job of capturing the novel. It is hybrid that combines SF, a gritty pulp detective story, and a mystery to be solved. The essential technology driving the storyline involves the ability to separate mind from body. Your entire being / identity / sense of self is stored in a cortical stack at the base of your neck, and can be transferred into another body or 'sleeve' to use the terminology of the show. This ability, the possibilities this creates, and societal impact of such a capability are explored in this work.

I'm pretty impressed with the production values of the show in terms of the FX and visual design. The first two episodes adhere fairly closely to the novel. The only big change I've noticed is a hotel that serves as one of the locations for the series. In the novel it was called The Hotel Hendrix (as in Jimi Hendrix) but I guess that the show either could not get the rights they needed or the cost was too prohibitive so it was changed. I suppose it could have been a stylistic choice as well, because they came up with a good alternative.

I like Joel Kinnaman, but he isn't quite what my mind's eye pictured while reading the novel. That's not to say that I'm not liking his performance; but I'm having to adjust my perceptions a bit. On the other hand, James Purefoy and Kristin Lehman match up more closely with my impressions of their characters from the novel.

Looking at the episode guide on IMDB I noticed that each of the episodes is titled after a classic noir film. That is a nice touch that reflects the non-SF aspects of the novel / series.

Really liking it so far. Definitely recommended.

Well, time for some sleep and then I'll hit the series in the afternoon or evening.

- Walter.

 

[Matt Hough]

Thanks for the recommendation. Netflix sent an e-mail this morning alerting me to the show's current availability, so I guess I will begin it today or soon.

 

[Matt Hough]

I watched the first episode today. Very involving even if it felt very Blade Runner-y in tone and look. Certainly, with only ten episodes, I'll be able to watch the remainder of it over the next week.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I watched the first episode today. Very involving even if it felt very Blade Runner-y in tone and look. Certainly, with only ten episodes, I'll be able to watch the remainder of it over the next week.

Amongst the things that reinforced the Blade Runner comparisons in the first episode were the following:

- Flying cars, and their flight paths.
- The street scenes with the wildly costumed extras, particularly at night.
- The pervasive advertising.
- And of course, the film-noir aspects.

All of these things were present in Morgan's novel, so yeah I think it is safe to say that Blade Runner was one of the inspirations for the novel.

Anyway, 'bout time to watch episode 3.

- Walter.

 

[mattCR]

The core concept of sleeves and a body-for-sell economy as a means to digitize and live forever is compelling cyberpunk. I've read all of Morgan's books and look forward to this

 

[DaveF]

This book has been on my Audible wishlist since 2012, when I first heard about it. I never quite got interested enough to buy it (against all the other books on my wishlist). But my wife told me about this new Netflix show, so we're looking forward to trying it at some point when the "TV" queue is shortened.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I fell asleep watching the first episode. My fault for starting it too late. The production values are feature-quality, but the execution feels very nineties sci-fi; lots of heavy handed exposition, not a lot of nuance, and not a lot of trust for the audience. I did like the way the premiere weaved in and out of the Will Yun Lee and Joel Kinnaman iterations of the main character.

 

[Josh Dial]

...lots of heavy handed exposition, not a lot of nuance, and not a lot of trust for the audience.

Maybe I'm misremembering the first episode, but my recollection is that almost nothing is explained to the audience. While Takeshi provides noir-like voice overs, they don't explain situations, motivations, or character development. The audience is left to piece together the shattered timeline and figure out who each character as they weave in and out without any explanation.

If anything, I would say there is no heavy handed exposition because the show's biggest problem is that it has very little to say. Unlike similar offerings in contemporary sci-fi (including adaptations of Dick), the comments on identity, the self, religion, politics, and (especially) technology are minimum at best. This isn't to say I think the show particularly suffers for this, I'm simply saying this is not Blade Runner meets Black Mirror by any stretch of the imagination.

That said, I am enjoying it quite a bit (five episodes in) for what it is. Joel Kinnaman carries every scene and his charisma and personality overcome the often clunky dialogue (which never seems to quite capture the noir spirit). Productions values are great, and the world looks very lived in.

The music is the real standout, though. Jeff Russo is quickly giving Bear McCreary a run for his money as television's best composer (though Bear is still tops in my book). The Night Of, Fargo, Counterpart, and of course Star Trek Discovery--Russo is absolutely nailing it these last few years.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The parts before I fell asleep were a non-stop string of exposition: We open with ethereal shots of an adult body floating in amniotic fluid, which is intriguing enough. But then the body's on the table, and the one tech is explaining the process to the other tech. After a brief action sequence, he's in orientation, where the episode grinds to a halt while a hologram explains exactly what sleeves are, how a person's memories and brain patterns are backed up and restored, despite the fact that this technology existed 250 years ago and Kovacs is one of oldest (if not the oldest) to be taken out of deep freeze so all of the "parolees" should know this already. Then we're exiting the prison, and the detective is explaining the moral stances imposed by the neo-Catholic Church. Then we're in the car, and the detective is explaining that the 1 percent of the 1 percent who can afford to be effectively immortal are call Meths, because they're long lived like Methuselah, and that they live atop towering structures above the clouds to avoid rubbing elbows with the unwashed masses on the surface. And then we're in Bancroft's study, and he's explaining the inciting incident that set our story in motion: That Kovacs was resurrected to solve his murder, the details of his murder, how he has been restored from a backup, the mechanics of that backup.

That's a half hour or more of pretty much constant telling with minimal showing.

 

[Josh Dial]

Thanks, Adam, I had forgotten all of that, despite only watching those scenes two days ago!

I agree that the explanation of stacks to the inmates was definitely an exposition dump. I thought everything else happened organically or at the very least made sense given the circumstances. Takeshi doesn't know anything about the Neo-C's or the Meths, so it made sense that Ortega would explain it to him. Bancroft was "hiring" (pressing into service/leasing) Takeshi, so it made sense to explain "the job" to him. In particular, this expository sequence felt the most "noir" (getting hired for a job) and the most excusable.

You're right that it was all more telling than showing--at least when compared to other contemporary sci-fi shows (except Person of Interest, which had to go down that path to survive network TV).

You may be happy to know that the show dials down the exposition as the season goes on.

 

[Edwin-S]

The denouement didn't ring true and I found it somewhat annoying that they start with a Japanese actor but the main body of the work has his consciousness transferred into the body of a Caucasian.

Still, I did watch the entire season, so there was enough in it to keep my attention. The brutality in North American TV series is getting to be offputting. It is starting to make me feel like we are only one step away from televised gladiatorial games where the murders and violence are no longer just make believe.

 

[Matt Hough]

I am now four episodes in, and I have to say I'm not loving it. I admire its craft deeply, and the actors are all doing wonderfully. There is a lot of creativity present, and the concept is rather fascinating.

But episode four was close to torture porn for me, and I almost checked out of the show. Every episode so far has contained severe beatings and great violence. I guess this will be a major component of every episode, but after awhile, it gets wearisome. It's hard for me to concentrate on the mystery/investigation plot when the main character is being beaten unmercifully every episode even if he does manage to prevail by the end of the hour.

 

[mattCR]

I think part of the concept of the book which is harder to get across in film is that torture/insane sex acts/etc. are a happening because no one respects physical flesh (sleeves) because they are disposable/replaceable.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I think part of the concept of the book which is harder to get across in film is that torture/insane sex acts/etc. are a happening because no one respects physical flesh (sleeves) because they are disposable/replaceable.

That is exactly the point. When you see Kovacs cutting himself, as a sort of variation on the interrogation he himself underwent, when asking Ortega who Riker is to her, he does this because he has no regard (or very little regard) for that sleeve. When one of Miriam's daughters takes a sleeve out for a ride at the party she doesn't care what happens because the sleeve isn't her. If you have the resources on hand the flesh is entirely disposable/replaceable. We see the disconnect yet again in that episode when Ortega spins up her grandma. Self and body are totally disparate entities in this world. Additionally, envoys had to develop this mindset to facilitate transfers into multiple sleeves as alluded to in episode one (although this may be less of an issue given the advances in transfer technology.)

The separation of mind from body is a fairly standard trope in SF and dates back to stories such as 1957's Call Me Joe by Poul Anderson in which minds are transferred into other physical entities. In 1983's Neuromancer the criminals who spend an inordinate amount of time in cyberspace have developed contempt for their own bodies and view them as 'meat'.

A buddy of mine is watching the series with me, so I've had to slow my roll, so to speak, and I will be viewing the series at a more leisurely pace.

- Walter.

 

[Matt Hough]

Episode five today, and the show is finally falling into place for me. Still uber-violent, but maybe after episode four, I'm just anesthetized to it now.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

I've just got caught up with the pilot and it's basically a standard noir pulp story dressed up with sci-fi elements (in other words, it's Blade Runner). I'll continue to watch for the time being. but I'm also concerned about what's been said here about the level of violence for violence sake. I somehow made it through The Punisher, but at some point you just have to admit that a show pushes the sado-masocistic envelope as if that's what you need to get a rise out of audiences these days.

It's so much more effective to dial it down, focus on developing story and character and, the more you care about the character, the less violence you need to perpetrate against that character to disturb.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Watched episodes five and six with a viewing buddy recently. Still enjoying the series in more of a guilty pleasure sort of way. It has been about five years since I last read the book so some of the plot twists surprised me just a bit. ( Either my memory isn't what it used to be, or there are more changes in the series from the novel - or perhaps both. )

While I do understand the concerns over the levels of violence in this series, for what it is worth - the book was incredibly violent. Of course reading about violence is a different experience than seeing it portrayed on screen. For those just getting into the series, the violence does not let up as the series progresses.

- Walter.

 

[Matt Hough]

I finally finished the series today. I found the wrap-up fairly satisfying though I was devastated to lose the wonderful Poe. Come back, Eddie!