A culture has evolved to embrace a technology where nearly every person on earth is hooked up to instant information. Books and other media have been eliminated or dismissed. What has resulted is a rather humorless culture where most people are about the same. One young man, one of the few that for some reason (a car accident, I guess) was left with the inability to hook up to the huge knowledge web. He is seen as retarded by his peers. Only the man who raised him really shows him kindness. We also find out along the way that only certain books could be scanned and the program had the others destroyed. The main character begins to investigate when a computer virus kills his guardian and begins to infest others (they seem to die of a kind of data overload). He realizes that the only hope for humanity is to shut down the program. This is hard because the program has gained an almost human status with all the pitfalls that this entails. He has a friendship with a young woman who is sympathetic to his feelings but who feels that the program is still the right way to make things better. This is quite interesting as we do miniaturization of computer produces (most recently, those glasses that contain a visual monitor). Will we someday implant a device that allows us to retrieve anything from the internet. It would probably be the end of Jeopardy.
3 Reviews
ROMANTIC AND CALMING
asalerno1031 May 2022
We are in the future, the libraries are closed and their content has been uploaded to a database to which all human beings are connected through a small device grafted on their temples, this technology has turned people into terminals of a single master computer that provides them with the necessary information. A young man is the only one unable to be connected due to the neurological consequences suffered after an accident. But he ends up being the only one who realizes that the computerized terminal has taken on a life of its own and is eliminating people he believes to be a threat to his total emancipation, overloading them with endless information at a speed their brains can't process. A very interesting episode that shows the danger of man's absolute dependence on technology.
Clear Consciousness
hellraiser710 November 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Warning do not read unless seen episode.
Computer technology to me I never felt was the solution to everything or even something to make books extinct. To me it was just an alternative way of acquiring knowledge and also most days I just like to sit down, relax at a good spot with a book in my hand to read and not just read text on a screen. It's just a different and satisfying experience.
This is another of my favorite episodes of the show. I'll admit seeing this really made me grateful that we still have books around and we still have the opportunity to read.
The concept in this episode by today's standards I think is plausible. With some of the rapidly advanced tech we have now from the cell phones, touch pads, etc; who's to say one day we won't come this far. Man and machine are about one in the same as everyone in this society is neurally linked with an mainframe interface called the Stream. It's almost like something from the "William Gibson" stories which always featured human and technology accessed by blurring the lines; whatever you think of it will download it into your brain.
I really liked Ryan played well by George Newborn (Justice League) he's a guy that is an underdog the typical outsider that doesn't fit in because he wasn't born with their ability, so he has to do everything the old fashioned way by reading and studying from actual books. Despite all the knowledge he's acquired throughout the years he still feels like he's miles behind in the race which makes him frustrated and envious of others.
This makes him sympathetic because he believes he weak because of the lack of the technological ability but he's just being human, that's like with all of us we all do the best we can to acquire knowledge but we can't know everything and it happens on our own speed. That's just part of life and to me that's part of the joy in the pursuit of knowledge.
I even like the supporting characters from his dad, both have a good re pore between each other which in a way makes what happens latter in the episode all the more heart sinking. Cheryl is solid whom is a sweet compatriot and even she has an interesting developing arc as well; we see despite being one of the people of the stream she can't help but have a fascination with Ryan and his old fashioned ways and she does feel something more for him but she doesn't know what they are yet.
What really makes this character stand out is how much he slowly evolves, much like in a Howard Hawks film he becomes more of a man as he takes action in dealing with the situation. We see him constantly using the only way he knows how to finding a way to save everyone which of course is reading and research.
I like how we see the contrast in the acquiring in knowledge despite being old fashioned it all the same got results; where as the technology everyone is using is telling them something but not everything as we see the Stream entity is feeding everyone false info to manipulate the masses. The fact that Ryan is outside the stream means he has true free will he is able to make his own decisions, form his own opinions, draw his own conclusions, acquire whatever knowledge he desires, and most importantly feel things. Unlike everyone at the stream whom lets an intelligence program dictate to them what to think and feel.
Ryan also throughout the ordeal begins to realizes his worth, that he weakness is actually a strength and we see him become a little more aggressive and confident. From taking on the stream to even exercising the feelings he's long kept dormant from Cheryl, making him not just more of a man but human.
This tale has good messages about the importance of literacy, old fashioned ways still being the best ways, but also to not let technology take total control of our lives.
So as you plug in and out of your devices, remember to look up at the sky every once in a while.
Rating: 4 stars
Computer technology to me I never felt was the solution to everything or even something to make books extinct. To me it was just an alternative way of acquiring knowledge and also most days I just like to sit down, relax at a good spot with a book in my hand to read and not just read text on a screen. It's just a different and satisfying experience.
This is another of my favorite episodes of the show. I'll admit seeing this really made me grateful that we still have books around and we still have the opportunity to read.
The concept in this episode by today's standards I think is plausible. With some of the rapidly advanced tech we have now from the cell phones, touch pads, etc; who's to say one day we won't come this far. Man and machine are about one in the same as everyone in this society is neurally linked with an mainframe interface called the Stream. It's almost like something from the "William Gibson" stories which always featured human and technology accessed by blurring the lines; whatever you think of it will download it into your brain.
I really liked Ryan played well by George Newborn (Justice League) he's a guy that is an underdog the typical outsider that doesn't fit in because he wasn't born with their ability, so he has to do everything the old fashioned way by reading and studying from actual books. Despite all the knowledge he's acquired throughout the years he still feels like he's miles behind in the race which makes him frustrated and envious of others.
This makes him sympathetic because he believes he weak because of the lack of the technological ability but he's just being human, that's like with all of us we all do the best we can to acquire knowledge but we can't know everything and it happens on our own speed. That's just part of life and to me that's part of the joy in the pursuit of knowledge.
I even like the supporting characters from his dad, both have a good re pore between each other which in a way makes what happens latter in the episode all the more heart sinking. Cheryl is solid whom is a sweet compatriot and even she has an interesting developing arc as well; we see despite being one of the people of the stream she can't help but have a fascination with Ryan and his old fashioned ways and she does feel something more for him but she doesn't know what they are yet.
What really makes this character stand out is how much he slowly evolves, much like in a Howard Hawks film he becomes more of a man as he takes action in dealing with the situation. We see him constantly using the only way he knows how to finding a way to save everyone which of course is reading and research.
I like how we see the contrast in the acquiring in knowledge despite being old fashioned it all the same got results; where as the technology everyone is using is telling them something but not everything as we see the Stream entity is feeding everyone false info to manipulate the masses. The fact that Ryan is outside the stream means he has true free will he is able to make his own decisions, form his own opinions, draw his own conclusions, acquire whatever knowledge he desires, and most importantly feel things. Unlike everyone at the stream whom lets an intelligence program dictate to them what to think and feel.
Ryan also throughout the ordeal begins to realizes his worth, that he weakness is actually a strength and we see him become a little more aggressive and confident. From taking on the stream to even exercising the feelings he's long kept dormant from Cheryl, making him not just more of a man but human.
This tale has good messages about the importance of literacy, old fashioned ways still being the best ways, but also to not let technology take total control of our lives.
So as you plug in and out of your devices, remember to look up at the sky every once in a while.
Rating: 4 stars
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