Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams (2017)

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Philip K. Dick was a prolific writer, not just of novels but of short stories as well. I've read a fair few, and yet, probably only one that was adapted into Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams for television. It's obvious that this one-season anthology show was greenlit in the wake of Black Mirror's success, but the world-building and conspiracy vibes of most episodes would make them entire series in today's entertainment landscape. There's a good variety to these 10 stories, showcasing Dick's main themes of questioning reality, what it means to be human, and general paranoia, and a retro-SF feel that was prevalent in his stories - spaceships, futuristic cities and mutant powers - though in the choices and then adaptations, they actually say something about today's concerns. Some tales might remind you of Black Mirror, sure, but mostly Outer Limits, or occasionally, The Twilight Zone. For the most part, they have big-name actors - impressive - and are all worth the 45-50 minutes. The strongest for me were "Real Life" (with Anna Paquin and Terrence Howard), "The Commuter" (with Timothy Spall), "Autofac" (with Janelle Monáe), and "Kill All Others" (Vera Farmiga). "Safe and Sound" is a good example of taking a Black Mirror premise and subverting it with Dickian tropes. Sadly, "Crazy Diamond" (with Steve Buscemi) never quite comes together despite the more ambitious world-building, so it the weakest entry. 2 years 11 months ago