When I saw the commercial for this show, I didn’t really have any idea of what it was going to be like. All I knew was that I liked the premise of “future vs. past,” and felt that it was worth giving a flyer. I just watched the first episode, but haven’t yet seen the corresponding follow-up episode, but I have to say that I’m already a fan of what I’ve seen and to give it a little bit of praise.
Much to the chagrin of fully getting into the show, the likelihood of me actually watching the episodes as their air live isn’t very likely given my lack of commitment to any show, so I’ll never really be able to participate in the social media nature of the show, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t acknowledge and commend the creators of the show of its potential.
A nitty-gritty synopsis is basically two teams of people, all ultimately whittling down until there’s one winner who gets a large cash prize. However, one team (Team Chronos) lives in “the future,” which is full of luxury, amenities, conveniences and comfort. The other team (Team Epoch) lives in “the past,” which is pretty much a cave motif, that’s kept cold, bare, has no conveniences or amenities, and basically makes the occupants miserable. The wild card is that both eras are separated by a pane of glass, and that at any given time both teams are capable of seeing the other. Each episode, which I’m guessing is two-part pits the teams against each other in a challenge of some sort, where the winning team decides which team goes to which era AKA which team gets to live in the future for the next week.
The social engineering of this show is pretty much fucking brilliant, if I must say. Basically, they’ve created the perfect recipe of creating an ultimate David vs. Goliath conflict on multiple perspectives, and we’re just one episode in. Basically, Team Epoch all hates Team Chronos, because they’re living in luxury while they’re living in misery. Viewers like me essentially by default hate Team Chronos because everyone loves to root for the underdog.
Furthermore, it’s like it was deliberate, but Team Chronos’ construction seems perfectly orchestrated to have most of the types of people that nerdy broggers like me hate, from the steroid-monster gymbro, the wormy slimeball, the sassy black chick that celebrates too much, the questionable girl gamer that undoubtedly raises the ire of chicks on the internet, and the well, other douchebag. Not only is it obvious that Team Epoch resents them, it’s really easy for the viewers to really dislike them too. I can’t speak for anyone but myself, but I’d have to theorize that if there are people that think like me, they’re salivating for when the time comes that the roles have to be swapped and Team Chronos is sent into the past; this likely predictable desired expectation, I have to chalk up as sheer genius from the show’s creators.
On top of everything, apparently the viewers have the capability of making some of the show’s decisions, like deciding on whom gets to pick the combatants who will be up for elimination, which I’m sure is debatable on how legitimate it is. But the more intriguing thing to me is that apparently on an episodic basis, fans have the ability to determine the popularity or lack of, of all active players, and the show promises to reward the most popular, while punishing the least. Based on the events of episode 1, it’s pretty clear who is liked and who isn’t, and upon checking SyFy’s site, my predictions were validated. I’m actually excited at the thought of seeing what happens based on this aspect of the game.
Either way, one episode in, and I’m already pretty excited about the show as a whole. I found myself on the edge of my seat during the challenge segment, screaming at the television watching people opposing one another in a physical manner. I have to commend SyFy for making something that isn’t just something I can ironically laugh at like Sharknado or Ghost Shark, but something that I’m absolutely gripped by, and can’t wait to see more of it.
