Counterpart (Starz) | The Boneyard

Counterpart (Starz)

Marat

The Champ Is Here.
Joined
Aug 29, 2011
Messages
3,387
Reaction Score
13,299
This is supposed to be good, but its on Starz which is no longer available on my Optimum ....

Its a science fiction spy series where an experiment went wrong 30 years ago during the cold war and split the world into 2 alternate universes. There are identical copies of people that have branched off (counterparts) and the people/agents travel back/forth..... first episode was good.

 

HuskyHawk

The triumphant return of the Blues Brothers.
Joined
Sep 12, 2011
Messages
31,859
Reaction Score
81,473
This is supposed to be good, but its on Starz which is no longer available on my Optimum ....

Its a science fiction spy series where an experiment went wrong 30 years ago during the cold war and split the world into 2 alternate universes. There are identical copies of people that have branched off (counterparts) and the people/agents travel back/forth..... first episode was good.



If you have Amazon Prime, you can add Starz to it. Cheaper than adding it to cable anyway, and more useful, as the whole catalog of every show is there. There are some very good ones.
 

Husky25

Dink & Dunk beat the Greatest Show on Turf.
Joined
Sep 10, 2012
Messages
18,505
Reaction Score
19,477
Giving it a shot if only because of J.K. Simmons.
 

HuskyHawk

The triumphant return of the Blues Brothers.
Joined
Sep 12, 2011
Messages
31,859
Reaction Score
81,473
Started watching yesterday pre-Superbowl. Very good. Intense, and provides a constant tension. Definitely looking forward to more episodes.
 
Joined
Aug 26, 2011
Messages
4,070
Reaction Score
11,657
Haven't gotten to it yet. Will have to check it out "On Demand". But, from the OP's description , it sounds like a multidimensional remake of FRINGE, which was one of my all time favorite shows.
 
Joined
Aug 26, 2011
Messages
647
Reaction Score
1,572
Haven't gotten to it yet. Will have to check it out "On Demand". But, from the OP's description , it sounds like a multidimensional remake of FRINGE, which was one of my all time favorite shows.
Just watched the first three episodes and it is very much Fringe like but the story is spy espionage based. Simmons in the dichotomous role is fantastic, plays both versions extremely well. Plot twists aren't bad either. Interested to see if they can hold the intensity but I have a hard time finding flaws in these sci-fi multi-dimensional shows anyway.
 
Joined
Aug 26, 2011
Messages
4,070
Reaction Score
11,657
So, I caught up with this show on demand. At the end of each episode, after the preview of the following week, the producer gives insight on what just occurred. Watching the show live last night, STARZ didn't give that vignette. So, I fast forwarded through last night's episode On demand to see what the producer's thoughts were. (He focused on Claire.)
 

jleves

Awesomeness
Joined
Aug 27, 2011
Messages
4,253
Reaction Score
15,065
Just started watching and I'm three episodes in. I've never seen Fringe mentioned above, but Counterpart has me hooked. Simmons is really good, well maybe excellent in that you know which of the same characters he is. The woman playing Emily is kind of weak - she's actually better playing the coma Emily rather than the Emily prime.

There are definitely plot holes you have to accept like (spoiler alert) Howard prime running through a hospital in a suit with a gun shooting at someone and then a few minutes later Howard alpha without a suit walking back into the same seen without anyone making any difference about it other than he wants to see his wife.

It definitely reminds me of Man in the High Castle in the alternate reality genre but the idea of the same/different world is very unique and actually makes you think/imagine something different.

Totally on board with this. I just hope it doesn't gone down a rabbit hole like Lost (which had such a great start and then crapped out by about episode 4 for me).
 

Dove

Part of the 2%
Joined
Aug 26, 2011
Messages
15,722
Reaction Score
45,177
We did first two episodes last night. So far loving it.

I am guessing Tough Howard's world is slightly ahead in time than meek Howard's world. I think meek Howard becomes Tough Howard. And Coma Emily comes out of it and becomes agemt Emily.

There was a cityscape scene where buildings diappeated that has me thinking this.
 
Joined
Aug 26, 2011
Messages
4,070
Reaction Score
11,657
Every week on this show, a plot curveball is thrown. The producers show justification for each character's move. Baldwin is a villain, no she's a heroine. Ditto for Claire. Viewpoints change with each plot twist.
 
Joined
Aug 26, 2011
Messages
857
Reaction Score
854
I am really enjoying the show so far. Not sure I can say that about many Starz shows. Best premium cable show on the air right now, sorry HBO and SHO.
 

HuskyHawk

The triumphant return of the Blues Brothers.
Joined
Sep 12, 2011
Messages
31,859
Reaction Score
81,473
I am really enjoying the show so far. Not sure I can say that about many Starz shows. Best premium cable show on the air right now, sorry HBO and SHO.

I like it a lot, and I do tend to like several other Starz shows. Outlander, Black Sails, White Queen/Princess. They mangled American Gods though.
 
Joined
Aug 26, 2011
Messages
4,070
Reaction Score
11,657
Watched the season finale last night. Lots of cliff hangers to carry over to next season. Here's what I've gleaned from Season 1. As much as the build up for the series featured the Howard character(s), the central character is Claire. We have watched how she was manipulated since childhood to become the person that she is today. She has survived on wits & cunning, killed off her counterpart & inserted herself into the life of said counterpart. She is once again in charge of her own family. Her turning point, in her own words, was the birth of her child. She has reestablished her husband's protective instincts. She has connected with her counterpart's parents: witness the scene from the finale where she asks "Mom" for advice, & the subsequent scene when her husband comes home for the evening.
It is striking how the Howards are slowly taking on the personality of each other.
So Management Prime has issued the directive to ferret out the sleepers & eliminate them. How will that play out with the tether closed off?
Baldwin: Will her character fade to black, or will she return & use her nest egg for nefarious reasons? This character is a conundrum. Her identity was compromised, yet she showed mercy to her lover & to the friend of "Nadia" who spoke & "Nadia's" funeral. She was ruthless in her escape scene, protecting both herself & her prime directive.
The finale has me asking these questions:
-The fate of Howard
-Are the Managements some unseen board of directors or a centralized computer?
-Is there more than one nexus between the dimensions?
-Who is going to take on the roles of primary hero & antagonist?
Finale, this series take me back to psychology class. It shows the internal conflict of each character's personality. In the cases of Baldwin & Claire, the Dark side was nurtured since childhood, yet each shows traits of inner good. The Howard's started out as opposite ends of the bell curve & are now trending to the median.
 

jleves

Awesomeness
Joined
Aug 27, 2011
Messages
4,253
Reaction Score
15,065
Finished watching this week. I really like this series. One of my favorite things is they almost never take the obvious or easy path. Each turn is plausible (as much as it can be in such a concept) and almost always unexpected.

My thoughts/questions from the final episode:
- Really like that they introduced the very vague and secret 4th floor management. Unlike the above, never thought they would be computers particularly because of when the split happened and the fact that the prime world hasn't developed technology to the extent of the alpha world. I do really like that the created something that we really want to learn more about. I wonder if that is the focus of the second season or they are playing the long game and we'll only get bits and pieces over many seasons.
- How long will the crossing be closed and the Howards stuck? Can't imagine this will last for very long but then again, they have enough folks on the other side and the way the show does the unexpected it may be longer than I imagine.
- Again referencing the above post, I thought about the possibility of another crossing but I don't think it exists or Pope would have known about it and used it. Maybe there is a secret crossing on the 4th floors that is only used by management?
- Does Quayle have the chops to take on the newly acquired status? I think not but I do think Clare has the means to use his increased status. Maybe Howard prime uses him too.
- I'm amazed at how many primary characters they killed off in the last episode - almost Game of Thrones like.
- What is the deal with the targeted attack on the offices in the alpha world? It will be interesting to see why they went after who they did and purposely bypassed characters like Roland.There is definitely a story there.
- Finally, the one plot hole that continues to bother me. The crossings are so procedural and documented it doesn't make sense that others can stay so long without raising red flags. Clare spent weeks or months studying her other before taking her place and obviously never went back. You would think when Roland's secretary's other crosses for an extended time warning bells and whistles should have been blaring. I get they have to do it for the plot, but it's that one thing that bothers the crap out of me.
- Really happy to read that they are already in production for season 2. Don't draw it out for too long like GOT or WestWorld.
 

intlzncster

i fart in your general direction
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
29,094
Reaction Score
60,516
I like it a lot, and I do tend to like several other Starz shows. Outlander, Black Sails, White Queen/Princess. They mangled American Gods though.

Agreed. Blacksails and the White Queen/Princess were great. Didn't watch Outlander.

I enjoyed Spartacus as well.

Wanted to like American Gods so much, casting was great, but it was all style and no substance. Kind of a tough book to adapt in retrospect.
 

intlzncster

i fart in your general direction
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Messages
29,094
Reaction Score
60,516
- Really like that they introduced the very vague and secret 4th floor management. Unlike the above, never thought they would be computers particularly because of when the split happened and the fact that the prime world hasn't developed technology to the extent of the alpha world.

I think the tech is just advanced or behind in different areas based on what happened. The side with the flu epidemic has advanced medical tech, whereas the alpha has better (smart) phones and PCs and such.

- Finally, the one plot hole that continues to bother me. The crossings are so procedural and documented it doesn't make sense that others can stay so long without raising red flags. Clare spent weeks or months studying her other before taking her place and obviously never went back. You would think when Roland's secretary's other crosses for an extended time warning bells and whistles should have been blaring. I get they have to do it for the plot, but it's that one thing that bothers the crap out of me.

I kind of saw it as keeping a tight lid on things PR wise. Most people in the world don't know the first thing about the split; and the prime directive is to keep it that way.

If someone goes to the other side and disappears, a relatively few people on each side know them to be a fugitive. Management might send small numbers after them, but it's not really all that difficult to disappear, if that's what you are trying to do. You can't put an APB out on these people.

Howard Prime's job is to go over for extended periods and retrieve rogue persons. But every extra person you send across is another 'risk', so to speak. And he's to be 'decommissioned' as a growing risk.

They assume, and understandably so, that the people crossing have different personalities and skills, so 'infiltrating' the opposition isn't really something they'd consider imo. Look at how much work it took to get the trained kids across.

It's tenuous, and obviously done to forward the story, but I can kind of see it.
 
Joined
Aug 27, 2011
Messages
6,927
Reaction Score
17,124
Haven't gotten to it yet. Will have to check it out "On Demand". But, from the OP's description , it sounds like a multidimensional remake of FRINGE, which was one of my all time favorite shows.

Loved Fringe. Folivia and Walternate ;)
 

Online statistics

Members online
357
Guests online
2,846
Total visitors
3,203

Forum statistics

Threads
155,757
Messages
4,030,508
Members
9,864
Latest member
leepaul


Top Bottom