Extinct Sadly Deserved Its Destruction

It is with a heavy heart that I say I got bored watching the first episode of Extinct. I struggled to keep my attention on it, to keep my eyes on the screen, and, when it ended, I had to ask the crucial question: do I feel like Extinct is worth my time?

And, sadly, the answer is no. The worst part of that is the show’s ideas are stellar. Really and truly. If the show presented itself differently somehow, if the delivery was more on point—this would have been my jam.

The plot of trying to revive humanity 400 years after they went extinct via copies of already dead humans is interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a show with that core idea.  Additionally, some (but not all) of the acting is decent. Yorke Fryer’s character (named Abram) is fun and delightful. He’s not always handled well—I think it was on the directing side—but the actor charmed me quickly, and, as an old man now in a young body, he’s also the most interesting of the main trio.

But, with that, the praise spring dries up, and here we go to the negative aspects. While I can forgive a low budget, this is not a show that deals with it effectively. The props are not great, and the only gun we see is a joke. I’ve seen more convincing alien guns in a department store toy aisle. It is possible to write past financial limitations or bad effects—but this show continuously wants to go with big things they can’t present in a way a modern audience will accept.

I Wish My Complaints About Extinct Were Extinct

Again, I really hate to rag on this show so much. There’s earnestness—you can see the love. So, to avoid being cruel, or beating an already down creative crew, I will only hit on one more of the other major issues with the show and leave it at that: the cohesion is off. That’s a nebulous term, sure, but, you can feel what I mean. Actions and conversations and reactions just have the wrong timing. I don’t just mean the editing is bad—though it can be. I mean characters seem to pause or act oddly. There’s a quick scene in a trailer where the main character’s brother acts like he’s an NPC scripted to wake up when someone comes into the room.

It’s such a disappointment.

I like the ideas in the first episode, the concepts. Even the villains are a fun idea. I wanted to like it, I really did.

It would have made a good book.

But, as a show, it died after one season, and I see why. Unless it gets drastically better in episode two, it’s not worth seeking out. If you want deep sci-fi, just go watch Altered Carbon or Black Mirror on Netflix again.

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• Doctor Who Episodic Coverage: “The Well”
• Friday Fiction: The Last Flight
• The Magnus Protocol Reviews: “Circling Back”
• Doctor Who Episodic Coverage: “Lux”