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TV show review: CONTINUUM season 4
PHOTOGRAPHY

TOTAL RECALL 2070 The Complete Series

DVD Review by David Blackwell

 

DETAILS:  968 minutes (22 episodes on six discs), no extras

VIDEO:  1.33:1

AUDIO:  English 2.0, French 2.0 Stereo

Subtitles:  none

 

STUDIO:  Alliance Films/ Alliance Atlantis/ Showtime/ Screenventures XXXVI Productions LTD

RELEASE DATE:  2-22-2011

 

DISC 1- MACHINE DREAMS Part 1 and 2/ NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING/ SELF-INFLICTED

DISC 2- ALLURE/ INFILTRATION/ ROUGH WHIMPER OF INSANITY/ FIRST WAVE

DISC 3- BABY LOTTERY/ BRAIN FEVER/ BEGOTTEN NOT MADE/ BRIGHTNESS FALLS

DISC 4- BURNING DESIRE/ ASTRAL PROJECTIONS/ PARANOID/ RESTITUTION

DISC 5- BONES BENEATH MY SKIN/ ASSESSMENT/ EYE WITNESS/ PERSONAL EFFECTS

DISC 6- VIRTUAL JUSTICE/ MEET MY MAKER

Detective David Hume (Michael Easton) works for the Citizen’s Protection Bureau (aka CPB) in 2070, a world where the corporations rule and androids are proving a  threat to some while others look to use the or abuse new technologies.   He is paired with a new partner- Farve, a plasma based android that is also an Alpha prototype, after David’s partner is killed by an android.   David and Farve investigate many cases together that has them working with the big corporations such as Rekall, Uber Braun, and Minacon while sometimes they are at odds with those same companies.   Rekall has memory technologies while every company is interested in the Alpha based android technology and the Assessor’s Office is very interested in who made Farve.  Meanwhile, David tries to balance his job with the life he has with his wife Olivia (Cynthia Preston) and wondering who he can trust in this futuristic world.   Can he trust his boos?  Can he trust Callie from the Assessor’s Office who has taken a particular interest in Farve and his origins. 

 

TOAL RECALL 2070 blends elements from BLADE RUNNER, TOTAL RECALL, and two of Phillip K. Dick’s works of fiction- Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep? (the basis for BLADE RUNNER) and We Will Remember It For You Wholesale (the story TOTAL RECALL was adapted from),    The TV series draws more from BLADE RUNNER than TOTAL RECALL in addition to mixing in paranoia and themes of man vs. technology.    The pilot isn’t the best representation of the show, but the show kicks into full gear with later episodes as the writing continues to delve deep into science fiction territory as it gives a preview of what we may face tomorrow in regard to our fight against big corporations and the ever increasing labyrinth of laws that the companies try to use for their benefit.   It is one of the best sci-fi TV series ever made that I wished lasted more than one season   In addition to the episodes which were better and better as the show went on, extensive use of CGI (even though some of it was repeated during the course of the series, effective production design (I liked the production values they put into VIRTUAL JUSTICE which featured new set pieces and lots of rain to add a different feel, and sometime they had some good guest stars like Nigel Bennett, Martin Sheen, and David Warner.    The only drawbacks to the show is that it took a few episodes to find its voice, the limited production budget (hence the reuse of sets and special effects), and the season finale feels rushed while the episodes leading to it were better developed.    The cancellation of the show left many questions unanswered.

 

MACHINE DREAMS is available in two versions: as the two parter on this set and a full length movie version released by Dimension (released by Echo Bridge Entertainment when they bought part of the Miramax and Dimension catalog).   The MACHINE DREAMS movie has optional English subtitles.   Both versions come from the same source while the TV release is a better release due to the disc compression technology being better than the Dimension Films version.   Both seem to come from the Showtime airing of it while the rest of the episodes come from Canadian TV airings that they didn’t both to edit out the TOTAL RECALL 2070 logo that plays every time the show went to break.

 

I wish this set wasn’t so barebones because I wanted to have audio commentaries or featurettes on this set.  They didn’t even bother to put the episodes in story order because it is clear that that INFILTRATION was supposed to take place before NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING since a guest character in both episodes is introduced in INFILTRATION and the other episode is his second appearance.

 

FINAL ANALYSIS:  If you missed this show when it aired back in 1999 or 2000, you missed out on one of the best short-lived sci-fi shows ever made and you should check it out.

 

This DVD review is (c)7-10-2012 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com