(Drivebycuriosity) - Can science fiction on TV be intelligent? "Counterpart" on Starz shows that it is possible to make a scifi TV show for a thinking audience ( imdb).
In
the year 1987 the world (the whole universe) suddenly split into two separate
worlds, which were almost identical. For every person on our side exists
a similar counterpart, called "shadow", on the other world. Both
persons look almost the same, like perfect twins. Since the
separation both worlds - and their inhabitants - have been developing differently and the differences have been growing over time. Today the
counterparts have not much in common, even though they are based on the
same person and their genes - and fingerprints - are identical. The
other world, called Prime, had no 9/11 terror, but there happened a deadly flu epidemic
in the 1990s which had ruined their economy for years and there are many more differences.
The show follows Howard, called Howard Alpha, a quite gentle office worker, who´s ways cross the paths of his parallel world counterpart Howard Prime, who has a very different personality. Over the run of 2 seasons more and more counterparts will meet each other (this is a spoiler free blog. You can find synopses here wikipedia ). The plot is set in Berlin - a good choice because the German capital was once split in two cities which belonged to different political systems and developed differently.
Both
worlds need to communicate and to trade in order to benefit from each
others accomplishments but there exists envy & mistrust. Therefore not only diplomats and traders cross the strictly guarded borders, also spies, assassins and other dubious elements infiltrate the other side which makes a thrilling story of course. Counterpart doesn`t have much action and special effects. There are no cosmic disasters and no lightsaber fights, instead the show "delivers espionage thrills alongside philosophical musings on identity, choice and fate" ( tv). Counterparts, created by Justin Marks, reminds me of John Le Carre, Philip K Dick & Franz Kafka. One commentator calls it spy-fi ( arstechnica).
I
enjoyed the show very much - and I cared about the Howards and some other
characters - even though the plot was somewhat challenging and sometimes I had
problems to identify which counterpart I was observing. J.K. Simmons incarnated both Howards convincingly and I liked other characters/actors as well.
Alternate worlds - and parallel universes - are a popular sub-genre in science fiction but the plot is also inspired by science, which makes good science fiction. Some physicists claim there could be an infinite number of parallel universes, the Many World Theory, and they base their claims on quantum physics and string theory. According to them "these universes are entirely connected with our own; in fact, they branch far away from our own, and our Universe diverges from others" (wikipedia). The world of atomic particles is bizarre and unpredictably and some particles can indeed jump of of nowhere and disappear in a split of second.
Being an economist I am fascinated by the economic implications of 2 parallels worlds. The number of scientists, artists, physicians and so could double which would vastly expand human knowledge and push advances in sciences, art, medicine, technology and so on. The differences in technology, art and economy could create huge gains for trading, both worlds could benefit from the achievements of the others.
The existence of counterparts - and their encounters - has enormous philosophical & psychological implications and Counterpart is based on parts of them, including romance, adultery, murder, terrorism, threesomes and more.
Unfortunately Starz discontinued the show after two seasons and MRC, the production company, did not find a new buyer. If Jeff Bezos would really love science fiction, as he claims, he would revive "Counterpart" in his Prime universe and foster it with a bigger budget. Fortunately Counterpart is still streamable on Prime with Starz subscription.
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