As Episode 1 of "Station Eleven" (2021 release; 10 episodes of about 45 min each) opens, we are at a Broadway show in Chicago where the lead actor of Shakespeare's King Lear suffers a heart attack on stage. Jeevan, who is in the audience with his girlfriend, tries to save the actor's life but fails. It's not long before things really go south, as a super-flu of some sort is bringing the world to a halt. We then go to "10 Days Before"... At this point we are less than 15 min into Episode 1.
Couple of comments: this is the latest from producer/creator Patrick Sommerville ("Made For Love", "Maniac"), adapting the book of the same name into a TV mini-series. I haven't read the book and hence can't comment how closely the TV mini-series sticks to the book. What I can tell you is this: Episode 1 (called "Wheel of Fire") is absolutely riveting from start to finish. There are a LOT of things happening plot-wise that I obviously don't want to spoil. But more than that, the overall atmosphere is eerily remindful of these first weeks of COVID-19 in March 2020. Of course the book was written years before that (2015), and even the filming started before that (early 2020, then was halted when COVID broke in March). Himesh Patel plays Jeevan and is the lead actor in Episode 1, but as it turns out the real central character is Kirstin, an 8 or 9 yr child in Episode 1, who we then find as a grown woman in Episode 2 ("A Hawk From a Handsaw"), which finds us in "Year Twenty" and we start to understand how the world is coping in the aftermath... But Episode 3 ("Hurricane") is the BEST episode as of yet, where we learn the backstory between Arthur (the actor who dies in Episode 1 from a heart attack), and Miranda, whom we see briefly in that opening episode, and we now find out what links both of them. Absolutely riveting viewing, and hence not really surprising that "Station Eleven" is currently rated 97% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. As to the 1 and 2 star "reviews" on here, they wouldn't know quality if it hit them in the face.
The initial three episodes of "Station Eleven" premiered last week exclusively on HBO Max, and 2 new episodes are released on Thursdays in the weeks ahead. I have seen 4 episodes so far. I must admit that I', surprised how deeply invested I've become in this TV mini-series. I can't wait to see how it will all play out, but of course don't take my word for it. If you have any interest in sci-fi that now happens to be eerily timely, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.
