The new Amazon TV series offers the viewer the grand mystery of what happens after we shuffle off this mortal coil and into the next plain of existence.
So what actually happens in the future, when we leave this world?
Apparently, our minds get uploaded in this very funny comedy in the latest series from TV veteran Greg Daniels (longtime Simpsons staffer, co-creator of King of the Hill, the US Office, Parks and Recreation, the list goes on), tech wizards have devised a network of virtual resorts into which a dying person’s consciousness can be imported at the moment of their passing.
Paradise, as such, waits not for the pure of heart but for the plump of wallet. Those leaving behind sizable estates or families willing to pay can retire to the tony campus of Lakeview, where residents enjoy plush hotel rooms and lavish buffets three times a day. Those unable to spring for the entry fee and the unlimited data required to maintain the lifestyle – er, deathstyle. Why anyone would find that preferable to dying the old-fashioned way remains unclear, but all the same, if you have the cash, then you are sweet, set-up for the eternal life that never ends. But, if you are poor, you may opt in to a 2GB plan, which amounts to a stay in prison, where every little actions cost you data, even thinking too much decreases your plan.
Our main character, and our go to guy is Nathan (Robbie Amell), having gained admission to Lakeview on the largesse of his spoiled heiress girlfriend (Allegra Edwards). He’s an inconsiderate boob upon his arrival, passive and content in his relationship on the grounds of sex and overall hotness. As in, let’s say, Netflix’s, The Good Place, his moral reformation will be the primary project of the series, as he’s bettered over the course of the season by his account service rep (Andy Allo, the series’ standout)). Referred to as an ‘Angel.’ The show gets mileage out of the absurdity of trying to have a long-distance relationship with a dead person. Nathan and his girlfriend Ingrid try to have sex, which involves real-life Ingrid wearing a ridiculous neoprene suit full of sensor fingers that can receive and transmit sensation.
Oh, right, she oversteps her professional boundaries by developing a close emotional bond to Nathan, which of course displaces his girlfriend as love rears its comely head. And in yet another instance of keeping with The Good Place’s example, the dramatic heft of whether two people will act on their mutual crush pales in comparison with its interrogations of the fabric of being.
To further gum up the works, a murder mystery has been thrown in as well. The grim joke of Nathan dying in an automated car crash he can clearly see coming eventually takes on the stink of foul play, leaving Nathan’s family and Angel to investigate.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
You can’t tell viewers how to watch something. Everyone will always come to things with their own needs and perspectives, and trying to police the way someone else watches the shows ‘YOU’ love, then it is doomed to failure. Watching this, isnt like watching The Good Place. You just have to go into Upload knowing that it’s grim, and that the best thing about the series is its ability to imagine some truly dismal things about humanity. The show plays best as a nightmare and its truly terrific.
5/5 STARS