Just watched A Simple Plan last night - a story almost biblical in its lesson - if you lie and cheat, dreaming to grow old with friends, and share a drink on the porch, you may find a nightmare instead, where the only person alive to have that drink is yourself, tortured and alone.

I thought the show really started strong, and then maybe they didn’t quite know where to go with it. It certainly tailed off in my opinion.

Loved it, and it is the first sci-fi show since the Expanse I have enjoyed. I think that if they continue with it and give it 2 - 4 seasons... it might be in serious contention to be the best sci-fi series, along with The Expanse and Battlestar Galactica. Great acting, pacing, interesting ideas, absolutely 0 woke messaging... I really hope they give it another season. I found the central "villain" to be more compelling as the series went on... but, can't say anything for spoilers.

I hope someone is able to pick it up for a second season after Amazon dropped it. Deserves another chance.

William Gibson is an excellent writer. I read what has been called his "sprawl trilogy" (Neuromancer, Mona Lisa Overdrive & Count Zero) when the books were originally published. They were very inventive and the writing was excellent. The entire vibe of The Matrix was stolen from those books. It may be hard for a new readers to fully enjoy the sprawl trilogy because it was set in an imagined future which had roots in the '80s. A future where the Japanese seemed destined to rule the world economically and the internet was in its infancy. I also really recommend his collection of short stories called "Burning Chrome". Thanks Andrew for reviewing this because although I had vaguely heard of the series, I did not realize it was a William Gibson story

Thank you for your review of "The Peripheral" you have certainly whetted my appetite for the complete series. Kind regards, Graham.

I heard you mention "The Terminal List" which is my #1 show of 2022 but "The Peripheral" was definitely top tier. A couple other great shows that came out this year were "Jack Reacher" and "The Old Man". TVs been shit for about a decade but some of these shows give me hope for better quality entertainment.

I enjoyed the story. The Moretz girl can fight. It has the right kind of creepy. And reminds of what Dorothy said, “there’s no place like home.”

One of the best shows ive ever seen. Cannot believe it didnt get picked up for season 2.

I just recently stumbled across The Peripheral and was pleasantly surprised. I agree with the review. The acting and dialogue felt /sounded like genuine people especially those of the protagonists. I found myself really liking the character Cherise Nuland (T’Nia Miller).

The "carrot and the stick" scene was absolutely brilliant!

I agree with the review, although I've been pacing the remaining episodes (just finished #4). And I'm sorry to hear that budget ran short for them to wind up the season without an apparent gap in development. I guess I have to wait and see. Thank you.

That same finale cut was in Tulsa King. It resolved far too much in the last episode. Would have given anything for another episode to really enjoy it.

When "Dark" and "Black Mirror" meets and say ..... We The GOAAAAAAAAAAT

Try reading Dune for good character development

Wishing everyone a blessed Happy New Year praise God praying for everyone everyday God bless you all

I agree with you that the ending seemed rushed and could have had more content. I did enjoy the series. Hope they renew it.

William Gibson deserves a category of his own. His unique brand of literary voodoo captivated me early on, but with every subsequent work the potency of his incantations waned until they no longer produced an effect in me at all. Maybe it's because I became a Christian around that time and had no need for spells. Still, his work contributed to my being. He's also an interesting person; terminally leftist to be sure, but his eye is sharp and his mind can mangle those observations of his into impressions of something genuine and deep. He once said that only a tremendously privileged person could regard the Sprawl as dystopian, and that struck a chord with me. He has also said that he believes nostalgia, or longing for some golden age of the past, is so prevalent in humans because we are born, get old, and die. There's a lot of truth in that, but in that moment I felt that he had uttered another truth that I knew he, being a leftist through and through, wouldn't much like - that people only get nostalgic when they see death, the ultimate end of his brand of progress. Anyhow, thanks for reminding me of Gibson's existence.

Saw the first few minutes and it gave a "feminist force" vibe: the guys playing their VR Call of Duty, pinned down, then girl boss takes control, goes aggressive playing, all her idead success, bum, she gets done what the other guys couldn't do without hesitation. The guy comes in and is SURPRISED like a total noob they won so easily so fast with her intervention. Not even in videogames females have that "thing" that makes them absolutely superior. I wonder if this is gonna continue into making her like Westworld Dolores or Maeve.

I was trying to engage with the third season of Jack Ryan but had to quit after two episodes, it was so God-awful. Moved straight to The Peripheral which was a great surprise with how good it was. Always good to get the Klavendorsement though. I added a few 'e's. Sorry about that.

Sounds like the basic plot of "BRAINSTORM" starring Natalie Wood and Christopher Walken

I forgot the book this is based on exists and Gibson is one of my favorite writers. I'm a huge Neuromancer fan. A lot of my own prose is influenced by his style heavily. He's a huge lefty on Twitter but his stuff is 10/10 most of the time so I let it slide. It was badass that he was friends with Katsuhiro Otomo, the man behind AKIRA and met my creative idol Tsutomu Nihei.

One thing I respect about you Andrew, is that in these bludgeoned times of growing apocalyptic horror and previously unimaginable leftist idiocy, you still make time to step back from it all and care about art, specifically good writing. Bravo.

"CGM hasn't really made it?" 🤣🤣 ok... She's only worked with the biggest directors (Tim Burton, Martin Scorsese....), and actors (Denzel Washington, Kiera Knightly, Jim Carrey, Blake Lively, .... way more too) ... within her career, she's accomplished A LOT. This wasn't really a review as much as a journal entry... however, ... I can't get past the first few peripheral episodes... good acting, but slow storytelling with not much to care about... should I continue the series?

4:23 Wait...are you saying cutting a story down for the screen is... not ALWAYS the right way to go? Perhaps...the would-be "law" that movies should only be two hours should be vetoed on sight. 🤔

Got "When Christmas Comes" for Christmas. Awesome story, couldn't put it down loved the ending. Am now most of the way through "A Strange Habit of Mind" and am loving it even more. The story is pulled right out of today's headlines. Really liking the revelation of Winter's background.

I loved The Peripheral from start to finish. I appreciated the callout to American culture that is usually demonized in Hollywood. The show did a great job of exploring how elites clamp down on people for their own gain. However, I did not appreciate the not-so-subtle criticisms of capitalism, as if that was the root of all evil that caused all the problems in the world. Like a lot of Hollywood these days, they have to throw in the "climate disaster" but it never sticks; in this show, this argument also fails hard. The premise that these oligarchic communists (making themselves rich and the rest of the world in abject mediocrity) are somehow the only solution to fixing the earth is laughable at best; the nonbinary detective near the end felt more like comic relief than scary; sadly, Gibson's politics over the last 20 years have just devolved and none of it helps his story plots like they used to.

good review. my fav show but i agree the ending was flawed and seemed rushed

Thanks for the heads up. I almost never use Amazon Prime video. This one is not too bad.

For the content we get these days.... It is good. Favorite episode... The doodad 😅

He's right about the villains being cliche. I was getting Power Rangers vibes from the female villain and her minions. 😆

Thanks for the recommendation.

William Gibson is a visionary

Lost interest at the third episode after understanding what was going on

That's okay. I ditched my Prime out of anger at Amazon. It looks good but not good enough to get me to reup.

Nope, nope, nope... They took a clean, elegantly written story and rubbed a bunch of Hollywood all over it. Terrible adaptation and actually insulting to the story.

I rather enjoyed "The Peripheral". Watched all of it in two sittings. It's well thought out. I, too, did feel like the end of episode 8 was a bit...rushed. Hope it gets a season 2.

I thought I would likely be disappointed but was not. Effects were great. Characters were great. Story pretty complex. Going to read the book now.

The writing for the plot is great, but man some of the dialogue is rough. Wilf was about as emotive as wet cardboard. Honestly Tommy was the best character.

Top shows I watched this year: Terminal list Peripheral Severance Night Sky Truth seekers

Entertained, not really, started watching several times but the cruelty and violence! For those not troubled by such fare (and to be fair this is similar to much TV Film output) , a good watch, maybe, but for Christians, Nah, not so much, the Spirit is grieved by such spectacles.

I tried to watch this show but each episode kept my attention less and less, so I had no idea what was happening by the end. also, was that detective in the future a man or a woman?

Watch "Severance" it's better.✌️🇺🇸

Watch and review "THE ENGLISH" 😊

2024 just watched it as a cyberpunk fan it reminds me of braindance

Drew im fully expecting it to go woke next season it is VERY intriguing tho!!

My oldest sister got me into the show and I really liked it. I agree that the season 1 finale was kinda rushed. If you want a serial that also predicted the future of the internet I recommend Serial Experiment Lain. That show weirdly enough was aired on PBS.

Does Kleven (gotta love that helpful little ditty. "There are two e's in Kleven!") plan to write a movie script for tDW?

I've been watching this and was excited to see your review! I love the brother-sister dynamic. I'm a couple of episodes from the end.

I finally finished this series and I kept wanting it to be better because the ideas were interesting. Unfortunately it felt so shallow and emotionless overall. I didn’t really care about any of the characters.

There should be a movie where they are in a play instead of VR or a Simulation and the actors have to die. I think that's what happened in Rome where they used slaves to die when a character died, but this time the actor has to die in the name of the Show.

I like Gibson but quit reading the book half way through. I just got bored of the same stuff from previous books. I enjoyed the show but I'm so tired of time travel dependant stories. And this one is particularly silly.

I couldn’t get past the gamer girl trope Andrew and surprised you did not call out the IP stuff imbedded in the story

I have enjoyed The Peripheral, but being from NC I take offense to the use of the term "hillbilly" by grandmaster Klavan.

I enjoyed it

They filmed this in Marshall, NC, the next town over from me. The best part of this is that they didn't make country mountain folks into dumb rednecks, which is so far from accurate.

I think that I will pass on this,my younger brother is all in.

And the matrix took from anime.

At this point what cud be 100 original. W.e anyone makes could remind you of some I. The past one way or another shut and enjoy unless u can do better 😉

The ruins was a f****** great movie In my honest opinion so maybe I got bad taste in movies

1 Timothy 4:10 - The New International Version (NIV) 10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. 1 Cor 15:22 for even as in Adam all die, so also in the Christ all shall be made alive

The peripheral was very good. I don't give a whole lot of new shows a chance, so it was great to find it.

I am glad for the review. I started it but was afraid to invest hours in something not too good. I’ll watch it now.

Thank you Andrew, I started watching it but I stopped because I knew it was going to fail me but I wasn't sure how badly and how soon.

William Gibson's Neuromancer was the first book to win the hugo, the nebula, and the Philip K Dick award. Is an extraordinary writer and you really have to pay attention. The technology exists to make new romancer into a series or a movie. Maybe after a peripheral, they'll throw some money and get real Brave and do that book Justice.

I thought it was good, too, but, of course, it does not live up to the book.

I couldn't get past episode 4. Some of the acting is so cringey that I dreaded the next scene.

Turning the Matrix back into a toy.

We have The Peripheral, now we just need The Central.

Andrew Klavan should review Puss in Boots The Last Wish. I think he will be pleasantly surprised.

First episode hooked me in... for 7 more episodes of pure boredom

I am in the middle of watching this show. So far so good. I just finished Jack Ryan which was ok. The access to all the locations was impressive. Obviously shot before the current Ukraine war as I'm sure access to the Kremlin is a bit more restricted.

I liked Chloe in Equalizer. I haven't seen her other work.

I think the Peripheral is quite good. Can’t wait for season 2!

Thank Andrew, I will check it out

I enjoyed the series. I am also reading the first boot. Would you surmise we are living in the jackpot now?

Loved this show.

I started watching the show and it seemed ok for the first 5 episodes. A bit slow perhaps and the idea that the world was wrecked in 40 years was absurd, but then came the sixth episode and things really fell apart. First off, they brought in a dude pretending to be a woman as the most powerful character in the show. And people started speaking in tongues, complete gibberish. I am not sure if I'll even finish the rest of the season. This show is garbage.

Woke series and woke review

I saw A Simple Plan and hated it. I read The Ruins and loved it. As Andrew says, the movie was awful. The book was non stop start to finish. I also like The Peripheral. The one complaint I have is the prodigious us of the F word. Occasional use to make a point is one thing. It is way over used and most of the time detracts from the dialog. The young woman, Flynn’s, constant use of it is not necessary or helpful and is very off putting.

Unfortunately this series is boring.

The movie the ruins is great. Andrew Klavan is wrong on that one.

Uhgg I hated it.

Changed my mind, thank you.

Keep yelling in the void no one’s listening

Love sci fi and like Gibson, but I couldn't get into The Peripheral. The casting blows.

Seen the show, thought it was good, though perhaps missing greatness. The ending was a satisfying twist, even if I did see it coming.

It was fine until the end. Arguably ‘cleverer’ than the novel - at least less linear - but the solution is both a let down & cynically played for a sequel. Also, couldn’t get past the nonchalant way two invisible cars are just brought into the police compound without there being a ton of community interest.

I’ve been thinking about watching The Peripheral but unsure whether it was any good. Thanks for your thoughtful review!

This show 10 years ago: "what a wierd distopia, that lead inspector is an obvious transexual in a leadership position" Today: "what a stunning, brave future...that lead inspector is a transexual in a leadership position"

One of the major characters in the book is transgender... A major let down... The sequel was changed because Gibson needed an outlet to get past the fact that Trump won. I stopped reading about a third into the second book of the Jackpot series... Gibson is good at world building, and language building, but he absolutely sucks at story

Klavan’s takes are probably more anticlimactic from his standpoint because he’s seen everything.I bet Ill piss my pants filled with excitement after watching this 😂

Finished the series… is was well thought but poorly executed series

It's a pretty good show. But those southern accents aren't that great

Jesus Christ Died for Our Sins According to the scriptures and that he was Buried and that he rose again the third day praying for everyone everyday God Bless You All 🙏...

Agreed, The Peripheral is a very good show. It deeps in the middle, but the action scenes are fresh so are the stakes. At first I thought the southerners were the bate to lure in conservatives with a plot point MILD SPOILER !!!!! domestic terrorism attack, coming from prime turned me off but it was not that at all and was pleasantly surprised. The gender stuff is woeness with nuance done right. Good family dynamics with a fresh approach.

the MANdatory boring predictable woke plot-“twist” 🙄 will be the all american (toxic ) white (toxic) guy (also toxic) is a…. terr- 🤫rist OF COURSE duh because writers HATE their audience mark my words having said that i have watched the series and tried to pretend i didn’t see next season writers CANNOT risk angering Big Brother - they OBEY 100% WITHOUT FAIL

Yeah, this is good scifi, I've got to give Amazon Prime props for once. The vfx are also really well done, I'd call them movie quality, I can't imagine how much they spent on vfx. Haven't yet watched it all though, stopped on episode 3, I think that's because episode is kind of a drag and a bit boring since the show started off with a decent amount of action.

Great concept, terrible show. Maybe the book is good, show wasted the material. I was out after the two robots fought for no reason. The cop who NEVER calls anything in was bad enough.

A waste of time.