Tales from the Loop Season 1 Review

Tales from the Loop (2020-)
Season 1 - 8 episodes

Watch Tales from the Loop with Amazon Prime Video
Created by: Nathaniel Halpern
Starring: Daniel Zolghadri, Rebecca Hall, Paul Schneider, Ato Essandoh, Duncan Joiner, Jonathan Pryce, Nicole Law
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer

Plot
The townspeople who live above "The Loop," a machine built to unlock and explore the mysteries of the universe, experience things previously consigned to the realm of science fiction.

Verdict
I love the concept of this sci-fi series that follows various characters in the town for an episode at a time. The first few episodes were nice, but told familiar stories, and thus the plots were frequently predictable. Because of that the series wasn't engrossing. The later episodes did a better job of making the stories unique, focusing on human stories instead of just sci-fi stories. By the last episode I really liked the series. To enjoy this, you need to like sci-fi.
I find it odd that no one questions all the oddities that happen in the town, and silly character choices make some episodes irritating.
The production design is fantastic. In each episode I was looking for clues as to when this is set. Parts of the town seem like '80s utility, but the time period can be hard to pin down.
Watch it.

Review
I wasn't sure what this Amazon Prime series was. The trailers didn't provide much information. Each episodes is mostly disconnected, focusing on one or two different characters at a time in this small town. It felt almost like '70s/'80s Russia a few years into the future at times with newer industrial mechanical towers fitted into a more dated countryside. Tractors have floating propulsion pads, yet the style of dress seems like it's from the '80s. There is eventually a reveal of when this is set.

Episode 5 - Control

This is a show that reminds me of Love, Death, & Robots, if only because they are both sci-fi anthologies with Tales from the Loop picking the same setting for the stories. They are both easy watch sci-fi stories that aren't serialized.

I liked how the episodes move from character to character. A side character in the first episode is the main character in the next. This world is ever expanding.

Episode 1 - Loop

It's strange all this tech is left out and about to be found each episode. This is a dangerous town. Are scientists just tossing broken equipment out wherever? The people in the town know they live above a weird device/research laboratory. Maybe that's why they don't react to this tech they find, but it seems careless that "The Loop" leaves these powerful devices where literally anyone could find them. In one episode discarded technology has devastating results.
It's annoying that the characters don't always ask obvious questions. In one episode in particular I grew tired of attributing silly plot choices to dumb teenagers. Their actions should have repercussions but they and the episode ignores it.

In another episode a young girl goes outside at night when she knows her dad has a weapon and is ready to pounce on anything that moves. That moves the plot, but it seems illogical.

The show uses a lot of common sci-fi stories, and because of that it doesn't pack much punch. These are stories I've seen and read before. While the show tries to put a spin on it, it can only do so much. The question becomes how will the show subvert this story I've seen before?

Episode 6 - Parallel

Episode six is a turning point where the stories feel more unique. The stories are less sci-fi, but about people, there just happens to be sci-fi elements used to build the world. Instead of time loops and body switching we get a look at human frailty, acceptance, and love triangles. Initially I wasn't sure about the series, but the last half crafts really nice episodes. Episode seven is my favorite episode. Part of what helps episodes seven and eight is that we've seen these characters before.

It's hard for me not to like this as I love sci-fi and anthology stories. This is such a neat concept for a show. A lot of these episodes are familiar, but when the show can step away from that it becomes engrossing. While I wondered about the setting, in one of the later episodes there is a library card that puts this in the '80s. I had to pause to get a glimpse of it.