Upload
Created by Greg Daniels
Starring: Robbie Amell, Andy Allo, Allegra Edwards, Zainab Johnson, Kevin Bigley
Composer(s) Joseph Stephens
The first thing to say about Upload is that it is an absolutely amazing portrayal of a post-life existence, brought to you by the usual lumbering, callous, inept and irresponsive corporate behemoths. Imagine heaven, brought to you by Microsoft, Verizon, Frontier, Amazon and Google.
So it’s very slick, and very pretty, but ridden with glitches and a stultifying corporate ethos—imagine dying and going to Windows 8, and you might have some idea. Thank the gawds it’s an SF comedy, but live in fear that it is a near future—in this instance, 2033.
Nathan (Robbie Amell) and Jamie are two up-and-coming coders who have come up with something that can be provided free, one that threatens to upset a $600 billion corporate industry. But then Nathan’s self-driving car does the ‘impossible’ and plows into the back of a parked dump truck at speed, with predictable results. Nathan is rushed to the ER, where a choice exists: either accept medical care, and in all likelihood die, or be “Uploaded” to a digital afterlife. Ingrid (Allegra Edwards), Nathan’s possessive and manipulative but very rich girlfriend, rushes to his side and, intent on not letting him die, convinces him that she will pay to have him Uploaded to Horizen’s Lakeview, by far the ritziest and feature-rich digital afterlife on the market. Despite not being convinced that he’s dying, Nathan signs a ToA, and is uploaded, a surprisingly messy process.
Once there, he is assigned a Horizen representative who not only molds his avatar but oversees an orientation process. This representative, known as an “Angel” is like the ones assigned to all Horizon’s after-life clients, with a caseload around 50 per rep. His own Angel is Nora (Andy Allo). She notices a series of damaged files in his hard drive, all of which relate to his work during his meatspan. Nathan himself becomes aware when trying to describe what he did for a living to his new neighbors in the hyper-Overlook hotel that is the centerpiece of his afterlife. These are the first elements of a growing suspicion that Nathan may have been murdered.
In the meantime, Nathan is finding it hard to adapt to Lakeview post-existence, and realizing with dawning horror that Ingrid now essentially controls nearly every element of his continued existence, decides to end it all by committing virticide by leaping into the Torrent, the data stream between Lakeview and the master computers. Nora intervenes, and a friendship develops.
This all sounds grim, and it’s certainly dark. But the show is one of the funniest and smartest I’ve seen in a few years, downright hilarious in spots. The use of computer technology and futuristic life is unerringly plausible and frequently original. Nor does the show shy way from more profound elements. How is an elderly Christian, believing he will see all his departed loved ones in heaven, to feel about this very real but spiritually blank post-existence? What relationships are possible when people are on the opposing sides of existence?
But make no mistake: this is also hugely entertaining, laugh-out-loud, and populated with very real and very approachable characters. It may be the best SF show I’ve seen this year. Just by itself it justifies the cost of having an Amazon Prime account.
Now on Amazon Prime.
Warning: Review contains portmanteaus.