Sweden has never been very good at genre filmaking(with very few exceptions) and therefore the announcement by SVT (Swedish public service, think PBS & HBO combined)that they had produced a sci fi TV series about AIs, androids etc was a surprise.
Personally I thought was that this TV-series was going to be bad....lacking especially in the screen writing, and art form that for many reasons have, shall we say, not reached it's full potentials in Sweden.
Either the scripts have been weak, ludicrous or just plain bad. But this TV-series has been interesting to follow, mainly because it has taken it's subject serious and tried to ask the right questions.
The story about a world were robots(or androids)co exist with humans is not new, look at Metropolis (1927), Westworld (1973), Blade Runner (1982) etc. Here is also the discussion about human value, definition of a soul, and also when does a machine become so human that he/she should be treated like one? Many ethical questions is raised during the course of this TV-series, many reminiscent of certain problem that we face in todays society. There are some flaws, some actors like Andreas Wilson feels very wooden, some dialogue somewhat forced, plotwists that are weak etc.
But those are just minor flaws and shouldn't stop anyone from watching this rare, Swedish sci fi series. Another surprise is the good handling of SFX & CGI, something that's quite rare in Swedish production and can look bad in certain sci fi productions, but here it blends in a very natural manner.
Granted, SVT, is not breaking new grounds here, we all seen it before in various sci fi films, but it's well made and should be seen anyone interested in serious sci fi. Also, the series is R-rated, with some sexual content, violence, foul language, which is very refreshing when Hollywood nowadays even turn there most beloved sci fi franchises, like Terminator into PG-13 entertainment.
Personally I thought was that this TV-series was going to be bad....lacking especially in the screen writing, and art form that for many reasons have, shall we say, not reached it's full potentials in Sweden.
Either the scripts have been weak, ludicrous or just plain bad. But this TV-series has been interesting to follow, mainly because it has taken it's subject serious and tried to ask the right questions.
The story about a world were robots(or androids)co exist with humans is not new, look at Metropolis (1927), Westworld (1973), Blade Runner (1982) etc. Here is also the discussion about human value, definition of a soul, and also when does a machine become so human that he/she should be treated like one? Many ethical questions is raised during the course of this TV-series, many reminiscent of certain problem that we face in todays society. There are some flaws, some actors like Andreas Wilson feels very wooden, some dialogue somewhat forced, plotwists that are weak etc.
But those are just minor flaws and shouldn't stop anyone from watching this rare, Swedish sci fi series. Another surprise is the good handling of SFX & CGI, something that's quite rare in Swedish production and can look bad in certain sci fi productions, but here it blends in a very natural manner.
Granted, SVT, is not breaking new grounds here, we all seen it before in various sci fi films, but it's well made and should be seen anyone interested in serious sci fi. Also, the series is R-rated, with some sexual content, violence, foul language, which is very refreshing when Hollywood nowadays even turn there most beloved sci fi franchises, like Terminator into PG-13 entertainment.