Sunday, May 17, 2020

Tales from the Loop

 
I recently finished watching the series "Tales from the Loop". The show is based on the artwork of Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag, who is also executive producer.



The show is like a modern Twilight Zone, but very unique and thought-provoking in it's own right. The aesthetic draws from Simon Stålenhag's surreal paintings, which combine the look of the 1960's & 70's with futuristic, almost alien technology.

Check out his Facebook page with great examples of his art:


The series threw us threw a loop (pun intended) right off the bat - as the main character in the first episode has my wife's name, Loretta. The awesome thing about the show is that each episode is a self-contained story, but they all interweave the same characters and situations that take place in the same small town.

The town is built above an underground research facility known as "The Loop" which contains a mysterious source of weird phenomena that spills over into the residents above. Some of the strange effects include- alternate realities, time anomalies, machine consciousness, mind-swapping, and other bizarre ideas.

At the same time, the poignancy of our human experience is explored through the lens of these inexplicable happenings. The characters, although often awkward and almost humorously detached, are placed in circumstances that are deeply relatable.

Almost all the episodes had my wife and I talking extensively about the ideas presented, and were really fascinating & creative. I would highly recommend the series for anyone interested in sci-fi, mysterious phenomena, novel visual approaches, or just good storytelling. We really enjoyed it, and hope that another season is produced.

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