The names of Steven Spielberg and Halle Berry alone would make Extant, CBS’ new summer sci-fi drama, a must-watch. Their latest collaboration proves not only the magic of the talented duo, but also shows how delicate and inventive a summer series can be.史蒂文•斯皮爾伯格擔任擔任監(jiān)制,奧斯卡影后哈莉•貝瑞擔任主演,光憑這兩個人名就足以使CBS暑期檔科幻新劇《傳世》成為一部必追之作。該劇不僅展現(xiàn)出這兩位天才合作的魔力,更用事實證明暑期劇也可以如此制作精良、匠心獨具。The Spielberg-produced series begins when astronaut Molly Woods (Halle Berry) returns home after a 13-month-long solo mission in space. While she’s struggling to fit back in with her family — scientist husband John and their “son” Ethan, an artificial intelligence robot created by John — Woods’ doctor drops a bomb: she’s pregnant.電視劇圍繞宇航員莫莉•伍茲(哈莉•貝瑞飾)與身為天才科學家的丈夫約翰,以及他們的“兒子”——由約翰發(fā)明的人工智能機器人伊森展開。劇集伊始,莫莉剛剛獨自執(zhí)行完為期13個月的太空任務,回到家中;就在她努力想要回歸家庭時,她的醫(yī)生卻告訴她一個可怕的消息:她竟然懷孕了!
The show’s high-concept mystery at its center is quite intriguing, but judging by an early look at things after three episodes (the series premiered on July 9), what drives Extant isn’t the who’s-the-daddy mystery, but the show’s ideas.雖然《傳世》的高概念懸疑備受爭議,但是從前三集(該劇于7月9日首播)中可以看出,該劇的主線并非“誰是孩子他爸”這一謎團,《傳世》的理念才是重點。
First, it establishes with several quick cues that you’re looking at the future: driverless cars, bathroom mirrors that turn into television screens at a touch, and garbage cans that compact trash elegantly.首先,該劇提供了未來生活的諸多展望:無人駕駛汽車,指尖輕觸就能變成電視屏幕的浴室鏡,以及可優(yōu)雅壓縮垃圾的垃圾桶。
Extant also combines a lot of sci-fi premises we’ve seen before. For example, Woods’ predicament, explored through flashbacks to her lonely time working in space, is reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), with a touch of Gravity (2013) thrown in. There’s also the corporate conspiracy that recalls Alien (1979), and the series’ main plot is straight from Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001).其次,《傳世》還借鑒了大量其他科幻影片的元素,比如劇中關于伍茲在太空獨自工作的種種窘境的鏡頭,讓我們不由想起1968年的《2001太空漫游》以及2013年上映的《萬有引力》。而劇中關于集團陰謀的情節(jié)則讓人們想起1979年的電影《異形》,而整個故事的主線則直接來自斯皮爾伯格2001年的《人工智能》。
Those ideas may not be new, but the creators deserve credit for trying to revive this kind of classic sci-fi mystery, which it is hard to find new ideas for.雖然這些元素略顯老套,但是能再現(xiàn)這些經(jīng)典的科幻懸疑元素本身就可圈可點,畢竟要想到新創(chuàng)意實屬不易。
It’s way too soon to say whether the show will work out, but it’s promising that the early episodes seem confident enough to play it cool and create an atmosphere, rather than directly giving audiences many “wow” moments.該劇能否大獲成功尚未可知,它展現(xiàn)的絕不是單純幾處驚艷瞬間,僅前幾集就將氛圍營造得恰到好處,引人致勝。
Despite starring an Oscar-winning actress, the first three episodes don’t offer many shining moments for Berry, whose performance is reserved and quiet. But of course, Berry’s star quality is enough to keep us riveted and waiting for whatever twist comes next.盡管該劇由奧斯卡影后擔任主演,但前三集中并沒有給貝瑞太多出彩的機會,相反,她的表演平靜而克制。但是,貝瑞的高超演技足以讓我們繼續(xù)關注該劇,靜待劇情發(fā)展。
In the end, Extant may be going where many other sci-fi stories have gone before, but for a summer network drama, it’s at least trying to take a slightly different path. It certainly has the potential to be extant throughout the hot months.最后,《傳世》或許和許多科幻劇一樣,但是對于一部夏季檔網(wǎng)絡劇而言,它至少嘗試做了些微改變。當然,《傳世》也有可能在這個炎熱的夏季大放光彩。