Brief Story Line
Story was set in the future where humans could "live" in a virtual life referred to as Heaven by transferring their consciousness through process called "Upload" after their demise. Nathan Brown (Robbie Amell - Code 8, The DUFF etc) was a young man who recently died and was encouraged by his wealthy girlfriend Ingrid (Allegra Edwards) to upload into one of the most luxurious heaven called Lake View.
In Lake View, Nathan met with other people who also "live" there, including a war veteran named Luke (Kevin Bigley - Sirens TV series etc) who would soon became his best friend. Nathan's customer service representative (referred to as Angel) was a young woman named Nora (Andy Allo). In the real world, Nora worked with other Angels with one in particular named Aleesha (Zainab Johnson) who happened to be Luke's angel.
As Nathan tried to adjust his new after life, he soon find himself in an awkward position as he became totally under Ingrid's control and grew distant while at the same time grew close with Nora. So how would the story progressed? You could see them in this interesting and unique series.
End of Brief Story Line
At first when I watched the first episode, I thought to myself this one would be really interesting and I had few good laughs as well with few comedic situation. However, when I reached the second episode, I was surprised by 2 things. One the episode was only 20 over minutes (like sitcom series) and two by the more serious approach of the story telling. Through the latter episodes, I found it to be darker and had some heavier tone with some philosophical feel as well.
It was not until episode 5 that the story became lighter again with some funny moments, though it was short lived since the story then focus more on the mystery solving. However, the change of focus was still interesting with the 10th episode season finale having wonderful ending. It totally intrigued me to see how the story would continue in second season (yes it has been renewed, yaaay!)
The characters in the series were mostly interesting. Nathan's character development was wonderful, with Allegra Edwards performed her role as this spoiled rich girl Ingrid perfectly. I got a bit of mixed feeling though of Nora's character (despite Andy Allo's great portrayal). I felt that at certain times her passion and attraction to Nathan was nice to see, but at other times she could be a bit selfish & mean especially towards Byron (Matt Ward). There were also several guest stars in the series such as William B. Davis (The X-Files TV series etc) as David Choak, comedian Adrea Rosen as Lucy (Nora's supervisor) and few others.
What makes this series intriguing was definitely the premise where we were shown how it would be if we could do "upload" and live in virtual life after our demise. The use of ratings were also a nice touch, like it was real apps. The comedy was fun, but personally I would prefer more lighter moments than serious, especially with such lightness in the pilot episode. I also felt at first that the mystery element was just added value, so it was surprising seeing it was explored more as the story continued. But hey, it turned out to be a nice mystery to solve.
Overall this was an interesting series. Something that could give us things to think about, with a bit of comedy and romance. Having only around 20+ minutes per episode (except for the pilot) makes it very easy to complete. I spent half a night to finish it during my last holiday. Those of you searching for unique series with interesting premise should find this one a treat. I understand this series has a good critical rating and audience seemed to like it as well. As for me, I like the story, the characters Nathan Brown & Ingrid Kannerman, the premise and the comedy side (if only they were more). The cliffhanger ending was one of the aspect that made me look forward to future seasons. So if you are looking for the above qualities, then you should be entertained by the series. However, if you prefer a full sit-com, then you won't find it here. The choice is yours.
Mike's movie moments rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Note: As you could see in the poster of the series, it was created by Greg Daniels who has created the hit series of The Office, Parks and Recreation and was also writer for several seasons of The Simpsons
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