Sunday, June 9, 2013

Continuum - Second Chances


Time Travel can be a tricky bitch. The Canadian sci-fi series stars Rachel Nichols as Kiera Cameron, a cybernetically-enhanced cop from the year 2077 who is accidentally transported back in time by a group of eight failed terrorists fleeing execution in hopes of changing the future which is controlled by a Corporate Congress. Over the show's First Season Kiera attempted to track down the various terrorists with the help of Vancouver Police Detective Carlos Fonnegra (Victor Webster) and genius young designer Alec Sadler (Erik Knudsen) who will grow into the man responsible for the most impressive technology from Kiera's time period.

Following Kagame's (Tony Amendola) suicide mission at the end of last season, Sonya (Sonya Valentine) attempts to kill Travis (Roger R. Cross) to take control of Liber8. Although she's not able to get the job done, Travis is picked up by authorities leaving Kiera to reach out to Liber8 deserter Matthew Kellog (Stephen Lobo) in an attempt to discover what else the terrorist group may have planned. Following the assassination of the mayor, Carlos reaches back out to Kiera to look into the murder which has Liber8's fingerprints all over it.


While Inspector Dillon (Brian Markinson) does his best to keep Agent Gardner (Nicholas Lea) away from Kiera, the future cop enlists the help of Alec rebuild at 360-degree model of the shooting to lead her to the gang who she believes framed Liber8 for the assassination. The truth however is even more complicated as Liber8 is behind both the shooting and the double frame that sends the head of the rival gang to prison and puts the politician (Tahmoh Penikett) in the terrorists' pocket on the fast track to the mayor's office.

Without seeing much of the show's First Season there are certainly gaps that I thought were hard to follow (especially the scenes from the future involving Kiera's nightmares, which may have been caused by the older version of Alec played by William B. Davis). Nichols is able to keep the show afloat even when things get too complicated for its own good, and the CGI showcasing her future tech is actually pretty good. What "Second Choices" does deliver is an even murkier look at the true motivations of all those involved continuing to ask the question whether the future that Kiera is so determined to protect is even worth saving.

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