Continuum Discussion: “A Minute Changes Everything”

Continuum continues as the show fueled by excellent, plausible SF concepts—- and marred by uneven execution. While we have no true review, we are posting discussion points, and inviting you to contribute your own.. People who wish to avoid spoilers probably shouldn’t click to read further.

If you’re watching on the U.S. schedule, check out our past review of Minute Man instead.

“Does this seem a little Kent State to you?”
“The Ohio Student Revolution?” replies Kiera, who only knows the history taught her by corporation-dominated education. It’s clear the students at Kent State, in her mind, were neither outgunned innocents nor spoiled protesters (the two popular interpretations), but the vanguard of a highly dangerous rebellion that needed to be put down to maintain order.

This week, Kiera realizes that she’s being misled by a frame-up, while Carlos converses with a corpse, Theseus talks to the media, Alec is beside himself trying to take control of his company, and Betty gets exposed. We don’t see the members of Liber8 this week, but their influence has started to permeate radical culture and revolutionary chic. The popularity of Liber8 becomes an excuse for government-sanctioned oppression and police-orchestrated conspiracies. We’re seeing the early steps towards Kiera’s future world, and the developments seem chillingly plausible.

Not too long ago, a show even remotely like this one would have been the gem of the SF/Fantasy TV line-up. In the era of Orphan Black and Game of Thrones, however, uneven writing, acting, and production make it seem a minute or two behind the times. Nevertheless, Continuum does something no mass-media SF show has done before– it shows us both the bleak future and a credible path that could lead to it.