Continuous Continuum

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).

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.

My current Netflix obsession: #continuum

Another underrated series of recent years, Continuum.

What it is about: A cop (Rachel Nichols) from the year 2077 gets stranded in present time–making her the only one who can stop future terrorist group Liber8, with no way to go back home.

Why you should watch it: 

Kiera, and basically every other supporting characters

We have Rachel Nichols in cat suit. Need I say more??? Actually, yes, because Kiera Cameron (Nichols) herself is a very interesting character. She’s a very skilled and determined policewoman, but born in a time a lot different than ourselves so she does have different values. She’s also a mother and a wife, and that makes temporal separation from her original time a little problematic, to say the least. She’s not perfect, but she’s perfectly relatable no matter what crazy situation she’s in.

But the rest of the characters are incredible too–both in terms of the actors, or the way the characters’ stories are handled. Throughout its 4 seasons, all of the characters changes and grows a lot, and it’s a beautiful thing to watch. Alec Sadler (Erik Knudsen), the tech-wiz kid who helps Kiera out with her gadgets, has the single most interesting character trajectory ever written, but that’s like picking your favorite child. All of the characters are worth watching for.

No one’s a “good” guy

We thought we knew who the bad guys are, but we actually don’t. I don’t mean it in a doom and gloom sort of way, or in the “anti hero” sort of way–it’s just with Continuum, nothing has an easy answer.

Curveball, curveball, curveball Oh boy, those curveballs. Continuum has this amazing ability to give us twists that NOBODY SAW COMING. Repeatedly. They’re the kind of twists that don’t cheapen the story at all, instead enrich them. It’s damn good storytelling.

Those sweet, sweet tech Obviously, with Kiera and Liber8 coming from the future, we get to see some cool gadgets. Bulletproof suit? Cloaking device? Continuum got it all. We also get to see the future quite a bit, and learn why 2077 isn’t all fun and games.

But in the end, it’s all about humanity I might be a broken record, but I always say that the best science fiction are the ones that are, in its core, about humanity. This is one of those stories. Continuum never stray from the characters, never stray from how our decisions shape us, and never stray from the repercussions of time travel.

Who should watch it: Unfortunately, this is one of a few shows that I could only confidently recommend to those who are familiar with genre or science fiction. Not because it isn’t “good” enough for anyone else, but because it does necessitate the viewers to have a high level suspension of disbelief, a tolerance for timey-wimey plot, and willingness to be challenged about characters, plot, and even politics. I never want to be limiting about genre, it’s just that sci-fi fans are the ones I reliably know would love those qualities in their entertainment, but if it sounds interesting to you, definitely go for it.

Where you should start: It started out as a procedural, so I think anywhere in season 1 is okay. If you start too far into season 2 you’d miss a lot of its worldbuilding so I wouldn’t recommend that. But as with any show worth watching, I’d definitely recommend starting from the very beginning although the second season, for me, is when the show started to gel a lot better.

Yes, I loved it!!

It’s not as cheesy as some of Syfy’s other shows, (I guess since it was imported from a Canadian channel) so that had me a lot more into it. Literally every character has a great development arc over the series, even the supporting cast is really flushed out. One of my favorite things is how focused it is on platonic relationships. Great friendships get pushed aside too often to make room for romantic relationships, Continuum never does that.

The final season didn’t get a full episode order, so it’s a little bit rushed. But they did the best with what they were given, and it was still a good ending.

Who would like to talk about the Freelancers? Because I miss them. Well, I miss the whole Continuum show. I miss every character, but the Freelancers…I am still a little obsessed with them.