ABC's Masters of Science Fiction's first program, A Clean Escape, provided me with a clean escape. . . into sound sleep. Luckily I taped it, so I watched the rest today. I'm glad I did. Prof. Steven Hawking did some voiceover work ala Rod Serling, then the first part was very slow, and I wasn't sure where it was going. The last part of the show picked up quite a bit. Most of the show took place in a psychiatrist's office of the future. No Tony Soprano in sight however. And instead of Dr. Melfi, we get a rather suicidal woman with a lot of anger issues, and a dubious politico with amnesia.
SPOILER ALERT: (Don't read any further if you don't want to know what happened that made her so angry.)
Accountability for one's actions is the theme, and it is on a Presidential scale. Premptive strikes and nuclear technology... what could go wrong here? A lot, and it is on a catastrophic scale. 871 people left in the world according to last count. (Well, actually if you wait till the very end of the program there is 870.)
As a society our collective attention span is shorter and shorter. Perhaps that is why I fell asleep
during the show. But, similiar to the vintage Twilight Zone shows, the formula is straightforward: Setup the audience a bit and make them feel unbalanced, not sure where it is all leading... and then throw in the twist at the end that makes it worthwhile. On a low budget.
The show strives to be intellectual, thought provoking, if you will. Not overpowering or taxing for someone such as my friends or myself, but certainly a strain for the entertainment president of ABC, who is axing it in favor National Bingo Night and Wife Swap.
There are only 4 episodes that will air, and it will be gone forever. And I'll be back to watching
Soprano's reruns or Public Television.
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