2 out of 5

Created by: Mickey Fisher

covers season 1

Extant is a combo of one timely but interesting idea and a sci-fi cliche idea.  Both could be a worthwhile premise for a show, but probably handled more effectively separately than smashed together to serve some Spielbergy family-friendly ideals.  Regardless, neither idea is executed all too well, leaving ‘Extant’ a pretty hollow, silly, and occasionally stupid show that sometimes gives us a peek of some cool concepts.  In the near future when we use see-through iPhones (the new sci-fi cliche of the last few years), ISEA agent Molly (Halle Berry) goes to space and has an out-of-this-world experience that she tries to erase from her ship’s memory stores.  She returns home to her husband, John (Goran Visnjic), and their ‘son,’ Ethan (Pierce Gagnon), who is actually a ‘humanich’ –  a learning machine created by Goran.  That out-of-this-world experience seems to start giving Molly crazy dreams and visions and… pregnancy, which is odd, because she was previously told she couldn’t get pregnant.  Thus: plot A, the humanoid robot adapting to the world, and plot B, the alien child.  Because the robot from plot A is a child, I understand the parallels, but instead of milking that, ‘Extant’ goes right for conspiracy theories by letting us know that evil government guys are all about this alien kid, and then they go ahead and speed through further frightening plot subtleties by advancing the progress of the pregnancy.  It’s hard to judge Berry’s and Visnjic’s contributions to the show as they’re frequently handed hammy, unbelievable dialogue, but Gagnon – whose part in proceedings is the most rewarding aspect of ‘Extant’ – is amazing as the mostly emotionless Ethan.  But when Hiroyuki Sanada, fresh from the (in my opinion) atrocious ‘Helix,’ steps in to add some more conspiracy subplotting, we get further and further away from focusing on anything substantial.  The production values – Molly’s house, Sanada’s office, the spaceship, the special effects – are honestly pretty solid, but the world never really feels alive.  Things look okay but feel really, really, empty, which further highlights the emptiness of the plot.  And there it went, for 13 episodes, consistently taking us away from the potentially rich Ethan story or the potential of a space-based plot for easy-access evil government stuff.  Blanket this all in a completely threat-free, sterile vibe, and it really starts to bum you out when, on occasion, the series will give us a solid episode or two without much clutter – hence allowing for the nudge above one star.