Created by Greg Daniels, Upload (2020 – ) is American Sci-Fi comedy TV Series that premiered on Prime Video. The story takes place in 2033. Uploading human consciousness to a virtue world before death is common. Ingrid Kannerman (Allegra Edwards) uploads her boyfriend Nathan Brown (Robbie Amell), a computer programmer, into a virtual world after his accident in a self-driving car. He lives in a luxurious hotel called Lakeview (owned by a company called Horizon) and develops friendship and romantic relationships with his tech support Nora Antony (Andy Allo).
It appears that this’s a romantic comedy in the beginning. The impression that the relationship between Nora and Nathan is the only thing that’s moving the story forward. It doesn’t show the forces of antagonism. No one planned to murder Nathan. Even he thinks that his death is just an accident.
The plot is simple until the use of foreshadowing appears on the scene, which strengthens the mood in the story. It also enhances how Nathan views his former and present deceased lives. The conversation between Nathan and David Choak (William B. Davis) at Lakeview, the missing profiles of Nathan Brown, and Fran Booth’s (Elizabeth Bowen) investigation reveals hidden clues of his death.
The discussion that Nora and his father Dave Antony (Chris Williams) doesn’t bring in the mood for a good laugh but a mood for tragedy. It portrays human behavior of their futuristic world without stirring up deep feelings. The exceeding advanced technology doesn’t bring a safer futuristic world. In episode 4, Nora shows Nathan the 2 Gigs floor, the lower quarter for Lakeview deceased residents who has 2 Gigs Plan. The limited supplies compared to what he has surprised him. He asks Nora why. She replies that Horizon, a company she works for, provides more supplies if they upgrade their plan. She also adds that “it’s called capitalism” as if she thinks capitalism is the cause of these poor residents, or that the definition of capitalism and greed go hand-in-hand.
Which is which? Nora doesn’t further her explanation, which leaves room for questions. Is it really capitalism (a system that offer equal opportunity for individuals to own land, businesses, and to pursuit their goal) or greed (human condition that exist in every system regardless)? It seems like greedy Horizon abuses the system and just want to get whatever they can get regardless of the system. Donation or empathy isn’t in Horizon’s interest.
In episode 6 and throughout the Season, audiences get to hear Dave’s view about the problem in the futuristic world and the exceeding advanced technology. Nora wants to upload his father Dave Antony at Lakeview because of his illness. She wants to be able to stay connected with him in a digital world. Dave refuses. He wants to die in a natural way and to be with his deceased wife. His isn’t in favor of the the use of advanced technology on human consciousness, especially after watching a failed experiment on TV. Also, his view about the problem in the world is contrary to Nora’s view. In episode 6, he says, “The problem isn’t capitalism’s unholy alliance with big data, no. It’s those poor weirdos who want to grow private vegetables.”
The absent of police officers and investigators brings up several questions. Where is the police? Why is Fran Booth, Nathan’s cousin and a teacher, and Nora are the only ones who’s investigating Nathan’s death? The absent of police officers and investigators brings up several questions. Where is the police? Why are Fran Booth, Nathan’s cousin and a teacher, and Nora the only ones who’s investigating Nathan’s death? Police, except one in the later episode, are nowhere to be found as if the future world doesn’t need police anymore because Nora has all his profiles. Still, police officers are important. They are trained to use specific tools to investigate murders cases. What happens to Fran after her self-driving car accident? No one knows at this point. Maybe she’ll re-appear later in the series.
Season 1 is fairly good. It contains 10 episode. The first episode is 46 minutes long, and the rest are 24-33 minutes long. Lakeview and the futuristic vehicles look great. However, the digital world isn’t the kind of heaven the Bible describes. Spiritual unfulfillment and status still exist.
Rating: 7/10
