Altered Carbon - Season : 1

Altered Carbon - Season : 1

Set in a future where consciousness is digitized and stored, a prisoner returns to life in a new body and must solve a mind-bending murder to win his freedom. Society has been transformed by new technology: consciousness can be digitized; human bodies are interchangeable; death is no longer permanent. Takeshi Kovacs is the lone surviving soldier in a group of elite interstellar warriors who were defeated in an uprising against the new world order. His mind was imprisoned -- on ice -- for centuries until Laurens Bancroft, an impossibly wealthy, long-lived man, offers Kovacs the chance to live again. In exchange, Kovacs has to solve a murder ... that of Bancroft himself.

Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy

Network: Netflix

Premiere Date: Feb 2, 2018

Creator: Laeta Kalogridis

Exec. Producers: Steve Blackman, Nick Hurran, Laeta Kalogridis, James Middleton, Mike Medavoy, Arnold Messer, Ralph Winter

The show's horizons expand in the second half of the 10-episode season as it becomes clear that Altered Carbon is more than merely an intricate whodunit. Big issues of body, mind, identity and technology shuffle around the "Altered Carbon" universe, but the show often drags its feet in order to fill its individual episodes' running times. The sheer amount of imagining, both borrowed and original, accumulates into a vast, dirty world and gives Altered Carbon the feel of a proper cyberpunk novel: big, baggy, ambitious, trashy, funny, gruesome, clever, cheesy, and hyperactive. All this unbelievably adds up to a compelling, binge-worthy show. This is a universe packed with weird, fascinating, unsettling ideas and imagery, and I can't wait to see more of it. Unfortunately, all too often the series feels akin to the villains in the world it's creating-awash with cash but in need of a soul. Altered Carbon, in short, is set in the future where your inner-self, your awareness, everything that makes you, you, is digitized, stored and given a new body for the right price. Prisoner Takeshi Kovacs (a ripped Joel Kinnaman), is serving an indefinite sentence for a capital crime he claims he did not commit. Lying in a state of complete inertia for 250 years, he is awakened and purchased by wealthy businessman Laurens Bancroft (an awesomely creepy James Purefoy). Kovacs is promised a new lease on life, with a complete pardon for his crimes, if he can catch a killer. Bancroft's killer, in fact. Sound trippy? It is. In this future, one never really dies if one can afford to buy a new "sleeve", as it's called, or a body.

One's consciousness, memories and all, can be stored and moved to a new sleeve should they face an expected and/or premature death. So in this world, one can be sixty-seven years old and look like a teenager, or they can have their mindfulness put into a body of their choosing - an enemy, perhaps, or even someone of a different gender or race. However, this "live, die, repeat" foolishness is under threat of being destroyed by a group who will undoubtedly surprise you. Each episode is packed with valuable information that will slowly unravel the complex story. It's told through present tense and by Kovacs's flashbacks; it's as layered as an over-sized onion. There is mind-bending plot twists and mind-blowing CGI worthy of a $200 million blockbuster. It's well written, well directed, swell shot. Netflix's first sortie into an original Sci-Fi series will leave you wanting more. I binge-raced through this one, because I had to. Altered Carbon is another addictive show and well worth the 3:00am wake up call to be among the first to see it on day one.

Two things you'll LIKE about Altered Carbon: 1) The action and fight choreography is awesome. 2) It's got a great eerie soundtrack and includes an excellent version of a Rob Zombie song. Can you guess which one before you hear it?

Two things you'll DISLIKE: 1) You may feel like you have to take a break after the 5th episode because there is so much information to absorb. 2) You'll have to wait at least a year for Season 2.

I would rate the series 3.9/5. I really liked the series. #seriesreview #Blogging #vigalcollective.