One of the very few episodes of Electric Dreams that really involved me start to finish was this one, SAFE AND SOUND. This episode takes the cliché fish-out-of-water tale and expands upon it in fascinating ways. The protagonist is Foster Lee (expertly played by Annalise Basso), a shy, anxiety-ridden, but very pretty and sweet teen who has moved to the big city with her outspoken, rebellious mother Irene (wonderfully played by Maura Tierney in a tongue-in-cheek performance). Irene is basically a futuristic version of a hippie Earth mother who is a public figure that speaks out against conformity and technological innovation. Foster and Irene come from a "bubble", which I liken to rural folk moving to the big city. Bubble people don't have access to all the tech advancements of the metropolis, but the Lees do once they get a year long pass to reside in the city.
The school that Foster attends is one of my favorite sets of the series, a high-tech, futuristic facility that doesn't seem too far off in today's world. It's also an amazingly prophetic episode as the school is security laden due to relentless terrorist attacks in schools across the country. Foster's new school has already been prone to recent attacks. This is scarily prevalent because of what's happening in the U.S. today. The central plot of Safe and Sound involves Foster's acquiring a DEX, a high-tech wrist device that is connected to the web that facilitates Foster's school work. But as the episode progresses, all is not as seems as it shows that technology has it's pitfalls.
This bravura episode meshes several major distinct genres and subplots (peer pressure, teen angst, political intrigue, terrorism) together into a completely coherent, provocative, satisfying episode. It's arguably the best of the season.
The school that Foster attends is one of my favorite sets of the series, a high-tech, futuristic facility that doesn't seem too far off in today's world. It's also an amazingly prophetic episode as the school is security laden due to relentless terrorist attacks in schools across the country. Foster's new school has already been prone to recent attacks. This is scarily prevalent because of what's happening in the U.S. today. The central plot of Safe and Sound involves Foster's acquiring a DEX, a high-tech wrist device that is connected to the web that facilitates Foster's school work. But as the episode progresses, all is not as seems as it shows that technology has it's pitfalls.
This bravura episode meshes several major distinct genres and subplots (peer pressure, teen angst, political intrigue, terrorism) together into a completely coherent, provocative, satisfying episode. It's arguably the best of the season.