Detective David Hume (Michael Easton)
works for the Citizen’s Protection Bureau (aka CPB) in 2070, a world where the corporations rule and androids are proving
a threat to some while others look to use the or abuse new technologies. He is paired with a new partner- Farve, a plasma based android that is also
an Alpha prototype, after David’s partner is killed by an android. David
and Farve investigate many cases together that has them working with the big corporations such as Rekall, Uber Braun, and
Minacon while sometimes they are at odds with those same companies. Rekall
has memory technologies while every company is interested in the Alpha based android technology and the Assessor’s Office
is very interested in who made Farve. Meanwhile, David tries to balance his job
with the life he has with his wife Olivia (Cynthia Preston) and wondering who he can trust in this futuristic world. Can he trust his boos? Can he trust
Callie from the Assessor’s Office who has taken a particular interest in Farve and his origins.
TOAL RECALL 2070 blends elements from BLADE
RUNNER, TOTAL RECALL, and two of Phillip K. Dick’s works of fiction- Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep? (the basis
for BLADE RUNNER) and We Will Remember It For You Wholesale (the story TOTAL RECALL was adapted from), The TV series draws more from BLADE RUNNER than TOTAL RECALL in addition to mixing in paranoia
and themes of man vs. technology. The pilot isn’t the best
representation of the show, but the show kicks into full gear with later episodes as the writing continues to delve deep into
science fiction territory as it gives a preview of what we may face tomorrow in regard to our fight against big corporations
and the ever increasing labyrinth of laws that the companies try to use for their benefit.
It is one of the best sci-fi TV series ever made that I wished lasted more than one season In addition to the episodes which were better and better as the show went on, extensive use of CGI
(even though some of it was repeated during the course of the series, effective production design (I liked the production
values they put into VIRTUAL JUSTICE which featured new set pieces and lots of rain to add a different feel, and sometime
they had some good guest stars like Nigel Bennett, Martin Sheen, and David Warner.
The only drawbacks to the show is that it took a few episodes to find its voice, the limited production budget (hence
the reuse of sets and special effects), and the season finale feels rushed while the episodes leading to it were better developed.
The cancellation of the show left many questions unanswered.
MACHINE DREAMS is available in two versions:
as the two parter on this set and a full length movie version released by Dimension (released by Echo Bridge Entertainment
when they bought part of the Miramax and Dimension catalog). The MACHINE
DREAMS movie has optional English subtitles. Both versions come from the
same source while the TV release is a better release due to the disc compression technology being better than the Dimension
Films version. Both seem to come from the Showtime airing of it while the
rest of the episodes come from Canadian TV airings that they didn’t both to edit out the TOTAL RECALL 2070 logo that
plays every time the show went to break.
I wish this set wasn’t so barebones
because I wanted to have audio commentaries or featurettes on this set. They
didn’t even bother to put the episodes in story order because it is clear that that INFILTRATION was supposed to take
place before NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING since a guest character in both episodes is introduced in INFILTRATION and the other
episode is his second appearance.
FINAL ANALYSIS: If you missed this show when it aired back in 1999 or 2000, you missed out on one of the best short-lived
sci-fi shows ever made and you should check it out.
This DVD review is (c)7-10-2012 David
Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com
