|
Charlie Jade is a rogue private detective in a world dominated
by greedy multinational corporations. While on an investigation,
Charlie explores a secret desert facility. A massive explosion
propels him from his own universe (Alphaverse) to a strange
parallel universe (Betaverse). Soon, Charlie is drawn into
a conflict that involves these two universes and one other
pacifist universe (Gammaverse) with unsuspected terror at
its heart...
Series
1 - Part 1 of Charlie Jade contains the first 10
episodes of this groundbreaking sci-fi show. Now, I don't
use the term "groundbreaking" lightly here. This
show has an ongoing story arc that is more cerebral than just
about every other sci-fi show made to date, as well as production
values that put some Hollywood sci-fi movies to shame.
The
series spans three parallel universes' - three alternate versions
of Earth. The Alphaverse (where Charlie Jade lives and works
as a private detective) is a dystopian futuristic world very
similar in style to the universe seen in Ridley Scott's Bladerunner.
This universe is dominated by a number of gigantic multinational
corporation - the main one being Vex-Cor. Betaverse is very
similar to our own universe and the show actually promotes
this universe as "one half hour from now". And finally
we have Gammaverse, which is a more idyllic version of planet
Earth - the sort of environment we'd live in if we were more
environmentally friendly and actually gave a sh*t about anything
other than a convenient and easy lifestyle.
The
show opens with Jade working on a strange investigation, which
leads him to a secret desert facility. A massive explosion
propels him from his own universe (Alphaverse) to a strange
parallel universe (Betaverse). Here he gets involved with
Karl Lubinsky - a sort of South African Fox Mulder of the
Betaverse - who has spent his life investigating the paranormal
and is a big believer in UFOs and government conspiracies.
The
explosion that propelled Jade into the future was actually
set off in the Gammaverse by two terrorists - one of whom
is killed while the other, Reena, is also thrown into the
Betaverse. Renna had no idea that the explosion at the facility
in her universe would kill so many people across three parallel
universes - she was simply trying to protect her planet from
Vex-Cor, who are attempting to gain a foothold and drain the
natural resources of her world.
As
Jade and Reena struggle to come to grips with what has happened
to them, another person is thrown into the equation. Known
simply as "01 Boxer" (who we later discover is also
called Owen) this mysterious, and apparently unhinged, individual
is the son of the head of Vex-Cor and the only human that
can travel between all three universes at will. But, as the
series progresses, we soon discover that not everyone is who
they seem to be.
And
as the show unfolds, we discover quite a lot of Jade's back
story - about his childhood and that he was once apart of
Vex-Cor's heavily armed security division. And Jade's girlfriend
from the Alphaverse also seems to be alive and well in the
Betaverse. And while she has a different name, it's odd that
there seems to be hardly anyone else who has a personality
in at least two of the universes.
It's
also interesting to see that certain things from our past
and present are very much alive and well in the Alphaverse.
It was good to see that Jade drives a British Aston Martin
DBS6 (which were manufactured between 1968 and 1973 and most
famously portrayed on the big screen in the 1969 James Bond
movie On
Her Majesty's Secret Service) while in the
Alphaverse.
While
many critics have understandably compared the Alphaverse to
Ridley Scott's Bladerunner, the creators have on numerous
occasions stated that Derrick Jensen's book The Culture
of Make Believe was their main inspiration for the series.
The
show is not afraid to tackle subjects that most TV series
would shy away from. For example, showing a more sympathetic
side of terrorists - to the point where they have made one
a hero; and tackling large multinational companies instead
of the government. Everyone knows that it's not the governments
that run western countries, but large multinationals who control
everything these days.
As
the show's first series was originally broadcast in April
2005, the chances of a second series being commissioned are
next to nothing - which is a shame as this is one sci-fi show
that truly does break new ground.
Extras
include Charlie Jade: Behind the Scenes (22 min "Making
of" featurette); Promo (2 min promo for the show);
16a (45 min episode which seems to be a recap on the
show so far with some new linking scenes with Karl. Nowhere
on the packaging does it go into any explanation of what this
was made for - although I'm guessing it was aired between
episodes 16 and 17 to allow people to catch up with what had
gone before); and Recap (18 min short recap segments
that would have been placed at the start of each episode on
its original transmission).
My
main complaint with the DVD release of this series is the
high retail price, which will see you having to splash out
£70 for the entire season. And, as the show won't be
concluded, a lot of people will not want to pay £70
to be left hanging in the lurch.
But,
having said that, I still feel that this is possibly the most
intelligent and aesthetically pleasing sci-fi show you'll
ever see.
 
Darren
Rea
Buy
this item online
We
compare prices online so you get the cheapest
deal!
Click on the logo of the desired store below
to purchase this item.
|
|
|
£24.98
(Amazon.co.uk) |
| |
|
|
|
£24.99
(Play.com) |
| |
|
|
|
£32.99
(HMV.co.uk) |
| |
|
|
|
£29.74
(Tesco.com) |
| |
|
|
|
£25.93
(Asda.co.uk) |
| |
|
|
|
£25.93
(Thehut.com) |
All prices correct at time of going to press.
|
|
