The first episode of "Stitchers" is a guide-book on how to write television that will be popular with a tiny youth segment and considered insufferable by anyone else. While I applaud that sci-fi movies and TV shows are beginning to center more on the mysteries of the brain, this pseudo-crime show about entering dead people's brains to glean memories and impressions that will solve the case-of-the- week, annoyingly comes right on the heels of iZombie, which has an identical basic premise (plus a zombie). And while I dropped iZombie after two episodes (it was already becoming formulaic), Stitchers is not even as good as that.
Kirsten, the main character, is appallingly arrogant. I kept waiting for a big reveal that she was really from the future or another planet or something, because she didn't seem like any kind of believable person at all. Turns out she's basically got a variant of Asperger's Syndrome, which for no reason that makes sense is here called "temporal dysplasia" or "dysphasia" or something. There is potential in a show about a protagonist who is emotionally challenged (watch Scorpion to see a fair version thereof) and must gradually discover what emotions feel like, but this just seems to be a throwaway element, included only to feature a somewhat stylish and distinct main character (reminding - and not in a good way - of the Bionic Woman remake, and, of course, Dollhouse. What is this fad with having human women look and behave like robots?). At the end, when she talked about waking up to emotional experiences, I thought there could be a cool idea in there, but then they go an ruin it with a sudden wild coincidence about her long- lost father being the next case. Sheesh. When will current writers and producers learn that sci-fi is mainly about ideas and doesn't have to be about character all the time? Character-driven stories are mainstream, and we don't need to impose the tired dictates of mainstream material on intelligent genre plots. Intelligent characters and audiences care about IDEAS and ISSUES and not just about their sodding family members or old flames (of course they care about their family, too, but THAT'S NOT THE STORY! In sci-fi, the story is about some "novum"; something new and unexpected and unusual which commands the attention of the protagonist).
The other aspects of the show were quite awful as well, from the hilariously unrealistic motormouth dialog and to the ridiculously attractive and ridiculously young cast that occupied every role, incl. those of authority. This stuff is just nowhere near halfway believable.
Kirsten, the main character, is appallingly arrogant. I kept waiting for a big reveal that she was really from the future or another planet or something, because she didn't seem like any kind of believable person at all. Turns out she's basically got a variant of Asperger's Syndrome, which for no reason that makes sense is here called "temporal dysplasia" or "dysphasia" or something. There is potential in a show about a protagonist who is emotionally challenged (watch Scorpion to see a fair version thereof) and must gradually discover what emotions feel like, but this just seems to be a throwaway element, included only to feature a somewhat stylish and distinct main character (reminding - and not in a good way - of the Bionic Woman remake, and, of course, Dollhouse. What is this fad with having human women look and behave like robots?). At the end, when she talked about waking up to emotional experiences, I thought there could be a cool idea in there, but then they go an ruin it with a sudden wild coincidence about her long- lost father being the next case. Sheesh. When will current writers and producers learn that sci-fi is mainly about ideas and doesn't have to be about character all the time? Character-driven stories are mainstream, and we don't need to impose the tired dictates of mainstream material on intelligent genre plots. Intelligent characters and audiences care about IDEAS and ISSUES and not just about their sodding family members or old flames (of course they care about their family, too, but THAT'S NOT THE STORY! In sci-fi, the story is about some "novum"; something new and unexpected and unusual which commands the attention of the protagonist).
The other aspects of the show were quite awful as well, from the hilariously unrealistic motormouth dialog and to the ridiculously attractive and ridiculously young cast that occupied every role, incl. those of authority. This stuff is just nowhere near halfway believable.
