Continuum - Season One

I didn't want to extend my weekly television post through the summer just for one show, but I've been watching the first season of this new Canadian sci-fi series on Showcase, and in general I enjoyed it.

Continuum follows Kiera (Rachel Nichols), a cop from the year 2077 who is transported back in time to present day when a group of terrorists she helped to imprison coordinates a time-jumping escape, taking her with them. Stuck without a way back to her time, she joins the local police force and uses their help to try and stop the terrorists from wreaking havoc on the past.

For a Canadian show, it was better than I expected. The special effects actually looked great, and while not quite up to the quality of American acting, the performances were adequate. I do have to say that it suffers from a problem The Cape used to have: Kiera's family back in the future is boring and without chemistry. Kiera herself is likable, and so for her sake I'd like to see her get home because it's what she wants, but I think the show wants me to care about her family and I don't because they're underdeveloped - though at least her son isn't nearly as annoying as The Cape's, and we don't spend 30% of the episode following her estranged family for no reason. Actually, I found the terrorists to be uninteresting villains as well. They're not really scary, despicable, or awesome, they're just...in Kiera's way. But I do enjoy Kellog, the one who defected from the terrorists, because he is like the Gaius Baltar of this show: a morally ambiguous ladies man who occasionally provides comic relief and acts mostly in his own interest.

I've said numerous times on here that I'm a big fan of time travel stories, but a protagonist coming to present day from the future isn't done as often as other scenarios. In a way, it's not that different from a past dweller coming to the present - they still have to deal with unfamiliar technology and societies - but Kiera has brought some futuristic technology with her, embedded in her head and suit, so she has to keep that secret in addition to her anachronistic origin. It made for an interesting dynamic between her and her partner at the precinct, but even more interesting is her arrangement with Alec, a young tech geek with whom Kiera found herself in contact on arrival because he was on the same frequency as the one she used to communicate with HQ in the future...or something like that. He serves as almost a deus ex machina, always there to hack into things and retrieve information for her (I don't recall him not being able to do something), but it's also funny watching his nerd fanboy reactions to the fully realized fantasy of an ass-kicking femme fatale who actually needs his help. The show is not perfect, but it's entertaining and has a few likable characters, as well as an intriguing conspiracy running in the background that we'll probably get more of if there's a second season. Also, well done on the casting of older and younger versions of certain characters; actor resemblances are something I'm always paying attention to if two characters are supposed to be related, or the same person at different ages, and in more than one case here, it was believable.

Best Episode: Most of the episodes were fun, including an amusing one where Kiera and the terrorists attempt to gain leverage over each other by threatening the lives of each other's parents/grandparents, though there was one episode involving a virtual reality game that was a little on the ridiculous side. I think "Family Time" was probably the most entertaining, but "End Times", the season finale, was the best in terms of quality.