Recently I blitzed through 4 seasons of the excellent (and very underated) Canadian sci-fi drama Continuum.
An absolute gem of a sci-fi show, with twisting plot lines, well rounded characters and an unsettling look at what actually could happen in the very near future - Continuum makes you think, feel and think again about the larger society and ethics of technology.
I can’t fault much with this Canadian sci-fi; the city of Vancover is used beautifully, the ‘heroes’ and ‘villians’ are all shades of grey and most go through substantial genuine character development, the early seasons full of police cases are executed well (if not amazing, they cover everything needed), the main story arcs for each season are substantial and paced fairly well plus the show is not afraid to pull punches with characters making big decisions long before each finale or characters dying unexpectedly (but inkeeping with the show’s premise and story line). It’s a great sci-fi/crime drama with enough flair and originality to make it different and stand out a bit amongst its peers.
The main plot line follows Kiera Cameron after she unexpectantly goes back in time 60 years. She is soon joined by tech whiz-kid Alec and police detective Carlos who for series 1-2, help her stop Liber8 from destorying society, corporations and spreading their anti-capiltalist message. Kiera, Alec and Carlos form a great three pronged team, each with the different skill sets to get results and deal with the terroist threat from Liber8.
I was very pleased that the writers didn’t go to the usual infatuation between Kiera and Carlos because it really allowed the story to move with credibility. After all, people can love and work with each other and not be in a relationship! Their buddy cop friendship and mutural trust was a powerful force and really impressed me as the season’s went on as both Kiera and Carlos test each other’s friendship and partnership to the limit. Kiera and Alec have a more big sister/little brother type relationship, which comes with all the highs and lows of sibling camaraderie. A great bond between these three characters formed a strong set of perspectives for the show to approach challenges and different events from, and definitely kept it interesting!
Each character in the trio, and the members of Liber8 went through quite the character development, especially Kiera, Alec and Kellog. They all realised that the future is not written, they can be guided by others actions and they are in control of change. Sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worse (e.g. Kellog got too big for his boots by the end). The show deals with big questions such as the freedom of choice, free will, fate, destiny, ambition, sacrifice andth greater good with startling realism and a, not perfect, but good exploration of these themes with Kiera and Alec’s characters.
Continuum is full of great characters and well fleshed out backstories, often skipping backwards (or forwards) in time to explain why certain characters behaved the way they did. Although the flashforwards/backs were a little shoe-horned in at times, they did allow a larger perspective on certain events in the series and gave the time travel series an actual sense of time travel.
The time travel elements of the show are not truly explored until season 3 and 4, and they always seem to follow rules that are internally consistent (e.g. the show ignores paradoxes) Thankfully the 3 different timelines/time continuums featured in the show are explained well, with science jargon hiding the technicalities of some things, but in most respect the sci-fi elements are plausible and add excitement to the VPDs cases and credibility to Kiera’s quest to return home. Also the future technology featured in the show was awesome, who doesn’t want Kiera’s super suit or her collapsable gun?!
Possibly the most fascinating element of the show is the ambiguity of Kiera’s original mission. Are Liber8 a terrorist group or a revolutionary blessing? Are Kiera’s choices helping or hindering the future? Are Liber8 campaigning for what is right or is Kiera? Do Liber8 have a better plan for the future or should Kiera try to protect the future that already exists? Lots of questions about choice and changing the course of events in the future come into play in season 3 and 4 and it’s a shame season 4 wasn’t longer as the show was really starting to get into its stride about discussing and exloring such philosophical questions.
Although the special effects were limited (the budget can’t have been huge…) they were well slotted into the action and police cases, highlighting the future technology but not allowing it to take over from the crimes/police work of the VPD. Although the police department got destroyed almost every season which was always pretty realistic and full of nerve racking explosions (you’d think they would have relocated their base of operations).
Oh and I should probably mention that the show is funny; there are some fantastic one-liners in there as well as running jokes such as Kellog always eating breakfast food in season 1 (like Kellog’s the cereal company) and Kiera not being up to speed with 2010s pop culture knowledge or gadgetry.
All in all a great little sci-fi show, which although won’t make it’s mark on the genre as a whole, fills out a little niche very nicely and gives a satifying journey for all involved - characters and viewers with a good resolution to the main storyline, realistic ending and enough scope for a spin off (please please do one Syfy).
can i just ask you guys to give Continuum a try? It has it’s issues, but in a lot of ways it was so much more satisfying than certain ~other things. Kiera is a really fascinating character and is wish more people knew about and cared about her. the moral dilemma she is in is one of the better done i’ve seen in like, mid-level scifi. I don’t expect you to ship my ship (i’m not even 100% on whether I ship my ship sometimes). I’m not saying this to get more people to read that fic of mine (it’s a bit stalled anyway).
It’s just an interesting, well filmed decently acted show with a whole lot of very interesting ideas. And it’s a great distraction from said certain ~other thing. It’s also the tiniest fandom and seems virtually unknown which is a shame.
if you like female led, interesting sci-fi/action series that never once treats female characters like simple sex objects or rewards, then please try Continuum! It’s on Netflix!
Just finished bingeing my way through Continuum. Damn good show, handles “grey morality” and the like better than a lot of things out there with a subject matter relevant to my interests. Definitely something I’d recommend to folks.
Really enjoying Continuum on Netflix at the moment. Binge watching actually! I haven’t done any fan art for quite some time and felt inspired to do so.