Dispatches from Elsewhere

If you look at the breakdown of voting for this show, you will see sharp divisions between people who thought it was wonderful versus terrible. Lots of folks gave it a perfect "10" and lots gave it the worst possible "1". That's exactly the kind of show or movie I seek out. It shows the filmmaker is taking huge chances to make something truly unexpected and different. I love to see filmmakers NOT playing it safe.

Did this experiment work? I can't say it's the best thing I ever saw. But I was definitely entertained, and I looked forward to each episode. It would help, by the way, to go seek out the documentary about the real "Jejune Institute". I found it on Amazon Prime.

So as of yet, I don't know what to think of this one. As to what star rating I'd give this, my place holder is a 7. I hope it turns into something interesting and different, but I don't know right now. Watching this, for me, is like making a wrong turn down a road I've never been and seeing some interesting things that are a bit off and make absolutely no sense.

Do I turn back, or do I keep going? That's sort of how I feel after watching the first episode. I think I'll keep going a bit further and see where this leads.

If the story delivers, or doesn't, I'll re-edit this review. But I'll watch the next episode and see where that leads. If you like off-beat fantasy type stuff you might like this one. It's certainly off-beat. It kind of reminds me of movies like The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Brazil, and maybe even a little bit like a modern take of Alice in Wonderland thrown in. At this point. I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing just yet. The writing is ok, and the story is at least intriguing, the characters are somewhat cookie-cutter at this point, but hey Sally Fields is in it playing Sally Fields again, so there's that.

Everything about this felt like it felt to "play the game" in San Francisco". We went to the "jejune Institute" ~10 years ago for "Nonchalance" and played 2 rounds of the game and never quite figured out what was going on, but it was amazing and fun and quirky, just like the show. Very well thought out and imaginative. I'm hoping the show continues and we can finally reach an understanding of what on Earth we were doing and where it was leading...

After watching the first episode I found it intriguing yet chaotic. I kept wondering where it was going but at the same time wanting to find out. I can however now see why David Lynch loved Philadelphia so much as the city comes off as quirky as this presentation. The jury is still out for me as maybe I should smoke something before I watch the next episode?

I need to confess that I've put off writing a review of this limited series because I'm really conflicted about how it is crafted. It begins with a decidedly sinister narrator (or is that just the real life vibe of Richard E Grant?) telling us that they are going to break all the rules of storytelling in a limited series. The first character is written and performed to be emotionally flat and yet we are told to identify with him. Once I got to the relationships, I began to enjoy it (Eve Lindsey's and Sally Field's characters and performances are fantastic) but the last episode turns everything on it's head when it breaks the fourth wall (again) and turns into the creator's existential catharsis, which really unravelled the whole experience for me. (FYI, the series was inspired by a 2013 documentary called THE INSTITUTE about a group of people who fashioned this alternate reality game in San Francisco.which was also a trippy experience) I give the six episodes in the middle of this series an 8 (great) out of 10, but the others a variety of 5 (meh), 6 (fair) and 4 (poor). {Fantasy Drama Mystery} >See why this was a difficult review to write<