When
I first saw the announcement of the series Upload on Amazon Prime, I couldn't help but do an article with my thoughts on the show's premise. I'm not really in favor of the idea of uploading
your consciousness into a computer before you die. It comes from the
transhumanist movement and the idea that somehow you're going to cheat
death. It's the age-old quest of mankind to replace God. One of the
concerns I voiced was that you would be giving up your free will and your soul
to whoever it is that runs the computer program, but I'm not going to get into that discussion here.
I finally sat down and
watched the entire first season of the series. Let me just say, it's
very good. I don't think this is a series that takes itself too
seriously. They have a premise, and they are trying to have some fun
with it. The lead character dies, and he has to make a snap decision at
the very last minute to either upload his consciousness to the computer
or die and experience whatever it is we experience after death. What I find
interesting is that we learn as the series goes on that maybe he wasn't really going to die. Maybe he was pressured into it.
Our
lead character Nathan Brown, played by Robbie Amell, is in a relationship with Ingred Kannerman, played by Allegra Edwards. It
seems like it's more physical than anything else. We learn
more about his life as the season goes on and he gets used to the simulated afterlife of Horizen. We
quickly learn that this is where people who have the money go in their
effort to cheat death. Life is made quite comfortable and cozy for them. They
don't have to worry about anything, or so it seems.
We do learn that
it's not cheap to live in Horizen. I like watching Nathan's friend Luke, played
by Kevin Bigley. Because of his military service, Luke was able to
be uploaded there, but based on the fact that he continues to try to
cheat the system, you get the impression that he doesn't really have a
lot of money to enjoy some of the perks that come with living there. Some things do cost extra.
As
the events unfold, we learn that somebody wanted Nathan dead. His death was definitely not an accident.
Furthermore, his fiance understood this. Remember I mentioned that his
decision to upload was kind of pushed on him, and maybe he would have survived his injuries? Well, his fiance Ingred was
encouraging him to consent to being uploaded. Apparently, she felt this
was the best way to keep him safe. Once uploaded, Nathan realizes that Ingred has control over him in this simulated afterlife. He can't do anything without
getting her permission.
In Horizen, you get an angel. This is the person who tends to your
needs. If you have a problem with how things are going, you can contact your angel. Nathan's Angel is Nora Antony, and I think Andy Allo does an excellent job in the role. We
learn that she doesn't really have very much money, but she aspires to
have her ailing father Dave Antony, played by Chris Williams, uploaded to Horizen. She's trying to use whatever influence
she has as an employee of the company and what money she has saved to get him
uploaded there when he dies, but he wants nothing to do with it. As the
season goes on, you start to wonder if he's part of the movement to
destroy Horizen. He definitely has more of a story that will probably be told in the second season.
An angel and
their client are not supposed to get intimate or too familiar with each
other. The company has rules against that. Of course, the series would be very different if Nathan and Nora didn't have romantic possibilities. They do get
closer as the season goes on, but it doesn't end exactly how you might
hope. People are anxious to see the second
season, which began filming at the beginning of the year. Nora's coworker Alesha, played by Zainab Johnson, is the angel for Luke, and this leads to some of the funniest scenes of the season. There's an adversarial thing going on between these two,
but it makes for some entertaining situations.
In
the first season, they did a good job of establishing the mystery. Why
did somebody want Nathan dead? What was it he was working on before he
died? It turns out he was working on uploads for people who didn't have the money to go to Horizen. Obviously, the competition doesn't want that to
happen. Where is the profit in that? All of this is plausible. If and
when uploading is rolled out in our future, it's going to be the rich
and influential who have the first opportunity, if you want to call it that.
The poor will be left out. No matter what the technology is, the poor are the last to see any of it until the cost is driven down.
Of
course, we do get an example of how poor people might be uploaded into the simulated afterlife.
At a point, Nathan gets tired of Ingred controlling his life and rationing him money when she thinks he needs it. He decides to go to a place
called 2 Gig. This is where people use a monthly plan. They get a basic
room with white walls and a bed and a table. When they use up their 2 gigs of memory, they simply freeze until the next month. The people who have
lived there for a while have learned to do almost nothing so that they can be conscious for the whole month. That's not a very appealing
way to live, and it serves as the backdrop for how the first season ends.
Among the noteworthy people in this show is Nora's boss Lucy, played by Andrea Rosen. She's a career woman who doesn't cut her employees any slack. You get a sense that she's a lonely woman, but it's hard to be sympathetic towards her with the way she's depicted in the first season. Nathan's cousin is Fran Booth, played by Elizabeth Bowen. She takes it upon herself to investigate Nathan's death, and there are some entertaining scenes with her. Sadly, it didn't go too well for her. There are some good performances by other cast members, but I can't ignore A.I. Guy, played by Owen Daniels. He's a bit annoying, sometimes funny and sometimes creepy.
We see a lot of little jokes about
how the afterlife is, but I'd love to see a few things explored a
little bit more. For instance, the people who are uploaded are not
supposed to be involved in the living world. They're not supposed to be
involved in anything business related or financial, although I get the
impression that people like David Choke, played by William B Davis, might stick his nose in matters of the living. This character is based on David Koch.
He's kind of a jerk, but he does give Nathan some useful advice from time
to time.
It still begs the question, what is
the economy of the after world? While they may not be involved in
finances in the living world, there is a currency of some
sort in the afterlife of Horizen. Luke, Nathan and young Dylan, played by Rhyes Slack, use it when they go off grid to take care of a couple of
things. They go to a place where you can get just about anything you want
for a price, which leads to a comedic situation for poor Dylan. There is a contest later in the season where the winner
gets so many tokens, while their angel even gets a little bit of
money too.
Basically, I can see them setting up a scenario where the less
influential are left having to work and wait on the more financially
secure people in this after world. For example, somebody wanting to be conscious for
the entire month who lives in 2 Gig might have to get a job to make that happen.
It still doesn't sound at all appealing to me. I'd rather go to wherever it
is after this existence and experience what I'm meant to experience.
However, as a series, there's no denying that this setting is fertile ground to tell a good story. I must admit that Greg Daniels had a good idea when he created this series. The first season
was better than I was expecting, and I look forward to what they have planned for the second season.
I know the story will have some interesting
twists and turns when Season 2 premieres, but I'd like to see the simulated world of Horizen explored a little
bit more. Overall, I would recommend it. Season 1 is 10 episodes, and if you're
a fan of science fiction with a dash of comedy and a little bit of romance, you might just like it. It helps that they
have good writing and a good cast. You can catch all of the episodes on Amazon Prime.
