Minority Report Season One

[Christopher]

I'm a bit surprised that this version of America closed its borders to immigrants and denied citizenship rights to children of immigrants, given what a diverse, nonwhite-majority population is featured in the show. I could've bought it in the movie, with its almost exclusively white cast, but it seems incongruous here. Granted, the US population is already trending toward nonwhite-majority and might continue to do so even without immigration. And the show is set in Washington, DC, which already has a nonwhite-majority population. Still, it's not what I would've expected. This show can't seem to decide whether it's a progressive, optimistic view of the future or a dystopian cautionary tale. But then, maybe that's a good thing, because realistically, any future is likely to be a mix of both. Anyway, given how much bigoted anti-refugee rhetoric has been coming from certain circles in the wake of the Paris attacks (even though the attackers are the ones the refugees are fleeing from), it's surprisingly topical.

It's good to see Blake more fully integrated into the story, and it was nice to see attributes in him worth admiring, the effective way he handled the case and empathized with the "Fourteen" kid. But I still think he has a darker side, and I don't trust him not to turn over the Precogs to the DIA.

I can't help but wondering if the flashback incident with Blake and his abusive stepfather was one of the instances with a minority report. It could've gone either way -- Blake was about to kill his stepfather, but it was the stepfather that the Precogs pegged as the killer. It seems like just the kind of ambiguous situation where the Precogs could see two possible outcomes. I wonder if that's where they intended to go with this plot thread, since Dash saying he remembers that prediction seems like more than just a throwaway. Maybe it'll come out that Precrime arrested the wrong person, that Blake was the one who "should" have been taken. That would be a storyline that was actually about a minority report, so it would justify the series title for once.

 

[davejames]

Um, this show does take place in the future, right? It seems like every time I click by and try to watch the show for a few minutes, they're either in some abandoned building or away from the city or out in the woods, and it basically looks like every other cop procedural on TV.

 

[DWF]

It was a foregone conclusion that Blake woulld find out eventually, I guess that's all part of Agatha's vision of what is to come. As for closing the borders, it's something that's been torn from the headlines maybe in that future Trump was elected president.

 

[kitik]

Um, this show does take place in the future, right? It seems like every time I click by and try to watch the show for a few minutes, they're either in some abandoned building or away from the city or out in the woods, and it basically looks like every other cop procedural on TV.

All the good stuff happens at Mile 62.

 

[Christopher]

Well, it seems like they're building toward a cliffhanger for next week. I can't be sure, but that's what it feels like. Well, at least they're billing it as a season finale rather than a series finale, though that's a flimsy thread of hope.

I like it that the episode took a mostly positive view of human genetic engineering, with the "Don't play God" Luddite being a fanatical terrorist. Although he was painted as a well-intentioned extremist, so I guess they were trying to show both sides, but at least for once an SFTV show wasn't blatantly siding with the Luddite point of view, and that's refreshing. Although I'm surprised there wasn't some kind of plot tie between the idea of human genetic engineering and the origin of the Precogs. Seems that would've been a natural.

Very visually stylish direction, by a director with the intriguing name of Olatunde Osunsanmi. I kinda liked it at first, but there was far too much horizontal smearing of light sources. Why do so many directors today go out of their way to make their actors hard to see by sticking a bunch of objects and lighting effects in front of them?

 

[Gryffindorian]

I liked this episode. The DIA came looking for the precogs in the name of national security, which had Arthur and Agatha in panic mode. It becomes an issue of personal rights and freedom vs. the government's duty to protect its citizens from terrorist threats, among other things. Would it be better for the siblings to keep even a lower profile, or should Dash risk exposure and continue to save lives? As for the Memento Mori extremist, all he demonstrated was that genetic manipulation could be used for bad while ignoring the senator's desire to use that same scientific knowledge to do good.

And Dash could sing karaoke?! Priceless.

 

[Christopher]

I didn't like the karaoke scene. It was too incongruous that Dash would be a good singer, and it was blatantly just written in so that Stark Sands could show off his singing ability. It's hardly uncommon for singer-actors to convince their shows' writers to give them scripts that let them sing, but it was particularly forced and implausible here. And this show has the usual contrivance of shows set in the future where every character is a fan of really old music or literature or movies and there seems to be no new pop culture created anytime between now and then. (I mean, "Sexual Healing"? Really? That's a song that lives on through the ages as a timeless classic?)

 

[Taylirious]

I have enjoyed every EP so far and it is a shame it did do better.

 

[kitik]

Very visually stylish direction, by a director with the intriguing name of Olatunde Osunsanmi. I kinda liked it at first, but there was far too much horizontal smearing of light sources. Why do so many directors today go out of their way to make their actors hard to see by sticking a bunch of objects and lighting effects in front of them?

After about 5-10 minutes, I was thinking that it was a bit much, but then a thought occured. I thought maybe the whole episode could be a dream or a vision, and I was almost a bit surprised when Agatha didn't seem to say as much at the end.

I'm half expecting a twist towards the end next week, where they all get captured by Blumfeld, and then one of them wakes up and says "And this is what happens to us if we try to stop Memento Mori." Of all the shows that could write off an entire episode or even entire season with a "Bobby in the shower" type of twist, at least it would be fully appropriate here.

 

[DWF]

It seemed odd to me that Dash's visions were in a muted color this week, not the normal B&W.

 

[Morpheus 02]

did i hear right that Minority Report is cancelled? if so, i'm disappointed. even thogh it wasn't one of my top shows, i enjoyed it, and really grew on me.

 

[Christopher]

Minority Report has not been cancelled or renewed yet. However, its initial 13-episode order was reduced to 10, with the finale airing tomorrow. So its odds of renewal seem slim, but no, it hasn't yet been cancelled.

 

[Christopher]

Well, I was afraid that, with the shortened season order (and the probably slim chances of renewal), we'd get an unsatisfying cliffhanger. Turns out we got a resolution with a satisfying degree of closure. It's a bit open-ended, but no more so than the movie was. And it's a big climax that brings the season's arcs to a head and mostly to an end. If this doesn't get renewed, then we got a reasonably effective 10-part miniseries to supplement the movie.

The downside is that the big twist in the assassination plot was screamingly obvious the moment the staffers were evacuated to that "safe" bunker. They shouldn't have needed the precogs to tell them that was a trap -- although they needed Dash's vision to tell them where the bunker was.

Although it turns out that Dash's "minority report" vision was nothing of the kind. He wasn't seeing an alternate future, just a different angle on the same future, one that let them determine the location for the other two's vision. So it's a bit odd that his vision was more delayed than the others'. Maybe that's something that was meant to be followed up on in the remainder of the season. Now it probably won't be, unless the show somehow manages to get renewed.

 

[Corran Horn]

Shows are rarely formally cancelled with a statement by the network - sometimes there will be a 'final season'--think Castle or Bones as potential wearers of this badge soon.

When the ratings for Minority Report were such that it got an actual reduction that was the sound of it being canceled.

 

[Christopher]

^Yes, of course. Which is why I said "it probably won't be."

 

[Morpheus 02]

I too think that this was a great ending...open for a future if it happens, but also a nice wrap-up for the season.

FX or FXX should do a marathon for the show, but bookend with the movie.

Also...poor Wally... he didn't have to sacrifice himself like that. The 3 trusted him and certainly forgive him of his perceived sins.

 

[Christopher]

Also...poor Wally... he didn't have to sacrifice himself like that. The 3 trusted him and certainly forgive him of his perceived sins.

I think the season did a good job of establishing how conflicted Wally was about his role in Precrime, and the opening flashback here showed that he was aware from the start of what was going to be done to the Precogs and chose to be complicit in it. So he's dealing with a lot of guilt about that, and his decision to kill Blomfeld and his men was evidently driven by a determination never to let the Precogs be victimized like that again. So in his mind, what he did was motivated for ethical reasons. So I think that's why he chose to stay and accept whatever punishment comes with it -- because part of being ethical is accepting the consequences when you choose to do something wrong. Also, of course, if he takes the heat for being the killer, that means the authorities won't be hunting for the others, at least not as aggressively.

Although I can't help wondering: Why were those cradles even designed to permit lowering their occupants' heads below the waterline? That's some seriously incompetent safety engineering right there. Unless it was intentional on the DIA's part to include a "kill switch" for the Precogs for some reason.

I also have to wonder why Vega suggested putting the three bad guys into the milk bath, except to fulfill Agatha's prophecy. Why not just tie them up? Was she maybe hoping that the buyers would mistake them for the Precogs? That can't be, because they would've recognized Blomfeld. Unless they were some third party and Steven Williams's character was just the middleman. I suppose maybe she just wanted to leave them sedated long enough to get away, but it still seems a bit contrived to "explain" the fakeout in Agatha's vision.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Once you accept that Wally is in love with Agatha, everything else falls into place.

 

[Beagleman]

I suppose maybe she just wanted to leave them sedated long enough to get away, but it still seems a bit contrived to "explain" the fakeout in Agatha's vision.

That was the plan, Wally even states that they would be out 2 to 3 days which should give them enough time to run.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

So it's a bit odd that his vision was more delayed than the others'. Maybe that's something that was meant to be followed up on in the remainder of the season.

Perhaps that's how Dash's warning monitor works. It doesn't actually provide forewarning of a coming vision, but simply delays Dash's mental and physical reaction to it long enough so he can prepare for it. Since the others don't have them they react instantly.

I don't recall, have they shown them having a simultaneous vision in a room together since Dash has gotten the monitor? I've missed a few episodes. If they happen simultaneously, then disregard that idea.

Although I can't help wondering: Why were those cradles even designed to permit lowering their occupants' heads below the waterline? That's some seriously incompetent safety engineering right there. Unless it was intentional on the DIA's part to include a "kill switch" for the Precogs for some reason.

It's like that in the movie too. Agatha can lower her head completely beneath the water. Maybe when the Precogs are fully operational they fill it with oxygenated water so that it's breathable, but the DIA just hadn't gotten around to it yet.

Perhaps submerging the Precogs helps provide a sensory deprivation effect or calms them, like being in the womb.

I suppose maybe she just wanted to leave them sedated long enough to get away, but it still seems a bit contrived to "explain" the fakeout in Agatha's vision.

That was the explanation provided in the episode. Vega wanted to leave the DIA guys sedated for three days so that the Precogs had time to get away, but Arthur and Wally mucked up that plan.

Anyway, if this was indeed the final episode, I think that was a very satisfying and enjoyable ending. I never expected to get an expansion of the universe of one of my favorite movies, so that was nice, even if the show was a bit hit and miss at times (though usually pretty entertaining).