Amazon’s Upload: Swipe Right?

Amazon has been knocking it out of the park with their original series recently, and as much as I’d love to watch Jeff Bezos’ empire crumble, I really can’t tear my eyes away. Upload, however, didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

While the premise is totally up my alley (we love a good utopia/dystopia situation) there were a few moments of “comic relief” that were just a bit too silly, calling too hard on the intended millennial audience and potentially narrowing the viewership just a bit too much and at times, isolating the same people it wants in on the jokes. Those “in the know” either laughed or cringed, those out of the know — well, did they even get the joke?

Creator Greg Daniels isn’t new to the television world, and he’s contributed to several feel-good favorites including Parks and Rec and The Office. There are definitely glimpses of his comedy background in Upload, but it doesn’t seem to correctly ride the line between drama and comedy quite yet. Is it just the first season woes? Is it still finding its footing? Anyone who’s seen The Office or Parks and Rec knows the curse of the first season, so in short, I actually have faith that Upload is going to find the balance if it gets the opportunity.

Either way, it’s an entertaining way to kill a few hours and it doesn’t require as much thought as other shows in the genre (like Amazon’s Out of the Loop, or Netflix’s Black Mirror). This is an easy watch and it has pretty good potential. On to specifics. Today’s rating system is the fried shrimp.

Character Building 🍤🍤🍤

Characters in this show started to show a little bit of depth around the middle, but got muddled by the end. They were cursed by poor decision-making skills that led them down all of the wrong alleys and a lot of the choices that they’re making just don’t make sense. Sometimes this is realistic, but in this case, it seemed a bit slapstick.

One of the primary “love to hate” characters turned a corner and then re-turned that same corner enough times that I have no idea how to feel about them. I don’t think it was intentional.

Bechdel Test 🍤🍤🍤🍤

Alright, the main topic of conversation amongst the ladies seems to be the men. We don’t love it. Admittedly, I struggled with this one. When the women aren’t discussing men, they’re often discussing their clients (who are men) or family (men).

That said, there are so many women, and the women drive the storyline. This could have been done better, but I’ll give it a pass. It’s hard to avoid talking about the men when you’re controlling their lives I guess.

Representation 🍤🍤🍤🍤🍤

Great! Not much more to discuss. I know this is a touchy subject for some people, but our characters are mostly living in New York City. There seems to be diversity to represent that. The show is partially a commentary on wealth ( really, Bezos?) so we’re not just focusing on a group of white LA socialites, though they are a part of the whole.

Overall 🍤🍤🍤

If I could figure out how to add a half shrimp emoji, I would.

Upload has a lot of potential, but it’s lacking in a lot of ways. There’s some cool worldbuilding happening here, but it’s missing a lot of necessary background and some very smart characters are making some very stupid choices.

Does this make it more realistic, or just a bit…annoying?

Upload is a fun watch but it’s not a must-watch. If you’re quarantined right now, definitely turn it on and see what a future without actual death for the elite can look like. I’ll be waiting for the next season to see where this thing goes.

Originally published at https://chwrites.wixsite.com on May 5, 2020.