# The Peripheral on Amazon Prime **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, amazon-prime\ **Created:** [October 21, 2022, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-peripheral-on-amazon-prime/973575 "2022-10-21T03:29:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hoops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoops/32/6408_2.png) [@Hoops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoops)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2022, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-peripheral-on-amazon-prime/973575/1 "2022-10-21T03:29:11Z")
Amazon Prime’s new adaptation of William Gibson’s novel The Peripheral begins tomorrow (Fri 10/21). Here’s a brief anticipation thread: > [@Trailer for The Peripheral (TV adaptation of the William Gibson book)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trailer-for-the-peripheral-tv-adaptation-of-the-william-gibson-book/971245): > > William Gibson’s 2014 novel The Peripheral has been made into a TV series for Amazon Prime. The executive producers are Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, the showrunners of Westworld, and it definitely seems to have that vibe–whether or not you think that’s a good thing! The show doesn’t premiere until October 21st, but they just released the first trailer for it which you can see here (some NSFW language): I very much like the book, and will be curious to see if they can get a good show out of i… But I thought I would start a new one for the show proper! The nature of the plot and world-building is likely to be such that spoilers from the book could become a stumbling block—those who have been around here a while may remember the _very_ contentious book-spoiler issues in some of the Game Of Thrones threads! As a first approximation, I humbly propose we spoiler-box any discussion of the book that reveals something about the plot or characters not yet seen in the show. Anyway, let’s watch and discuss! ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2022, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-peripheral-on-amazon-prime/973575/2 "2022-10-21T11:06:11Z")
I’m interested in this. Have not read the book, so I’m spoiler-free. One concern I have is that when streaming companies try these ambitious and presumably expensive projects, you get into the show, then they kill it after season one if it’s anything less than a smash hit. Mrs. solost and I got into ‘Night Sky’, an ambitious sci-fi mystery with a complicated plot also on Prime, and it was sent off to another dimension after S.1. Does anyone know whether ‘The Peripheral’ is intended to be a limited or an ongoing series? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2022, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-peripheral-on-amazon-prime/973575/3 "2022-10-21T11:54:01Z")
Thanks for the heads up. I might give it a look in seven weeks’ time when all of the episodes are available. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2022, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-peripheral-on-amazon-prime/973575/4 "2022-10-21T12:05:46Z")
Yep, I prefer to binge watch. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-peripheral-on-amazon-prime/973575/5 "2022-10-23T08:18:21Z")
I watched the first two episodes and am liking it so far. I’ll get my complaints out of the way first: the dialog is a little clunky in places, although nothing egregious. There was a little too much time spent on closeups of Flynne’s fluttering eyelids and scrunched-up face when she’s wearing the VR crown, and of Burton and his buddies’ eyes as they network with each other during the firefight. I wished they provided a little more backstory of Burton and Connor’s Haptic Recon Unit, elite weapons who were discarded when their service was completed - it wouldn’t have been as incongruous when drunk good ol’ boys suddenly take out a bunch of trained assassins. And I REALLY didn’t need to see the eyeball extraction, although I am particularly squeamish about eye things so maybe that’s just me. I’m familiar with the source material so I could follow what’s happening (although they’ve already diverged in some significant ways), but I do wonder if someone coming in blind would be frustrated by the first episode. It does start to come together better in the second, so I hope people stick with it. Things I liked: the feel and mood of the show are excellent. There’s none of the cheesiness I worried about in the first trailer. The effects are top notch for TV, the music fits perfectly, the cast is great. It’s too early to know for sure, but it seems like they’ve stripped down the plot a bit from the novel to remove some of the overly complex parts. I’m sure that will disappoint some book purists, but I think it will make for much better TV. The action sequences are well done, particularly the future fight with the assassin/abductor who is trying to question Alita. Most importantly, there’s a good number of characters who are likeable (IMO, the lack of likeable characters was one of the biggest problems with _Rings of Power_). I’m already invested in seeing what happens to Flynne, Burton, Connor, Wilf, Lev, Ash, and even the evil Corbell Picket. tldr; watch the show if you have any interest in sci fi. It’s worth it. And I hope at least a few here don’t wait for all the episodes to be released so we can have some discussions over the next couple of months. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-peripheral-on-amazon-prime/973575/6 "2022-10-23T08:23:43Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Does anyone know whether ‘The Peripheral’ is intended to be a limited or an ongoing series? There are plans for at least a second season, although I doubt it’s officially greenlit at this point. Based on the pace of the first two episodes, I could see them getting through the material in the novel in one season (6 more episodes), or extending it to multiple. There are a lot of directions they could go depending on how closely they stick to the book. And Gibson already has a second book in the series, with a third book in progress, so there’s no shortage of potential content. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-peripheral-on-amazon-prime/973575/7 "2022-10-24T15:58:56Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > I do wonder if someone coming in blind would be frustrated by the first episode. I’ve only watched the first and am coming in blind. (Nothing spoiled for me, obviously Flynne and brother have enough plot armor, and we already know that the good ole boys have mad skillz from the confidence a drunk one armed double amputee had.) The not knowing exactly what is going on and where this is going is what I liked, not frustrating at all. Much better to drop us in and show over time than to spend any clunky exposition on it. Enough wasted there on Flynne’s stating her seventh grade crush (you showed us enough for us to figure that out). In terms of spoilers - I’m going have turn off before trailers for next ep I think - they really give away way too much for my taste. ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-peripheral-on-amazon-prime/973575/8 "2022-10-24T19:22:13Z")
I like it. And yeah, the eye-ball thing was heavy but effective. I find I’m not clear on what year it’s supposed to be in her present. But, she’s “visiting” 2099 or so I think. Overall, I’ll stick around for a while and see where it goes. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-peripheral-on-amazon-prime/973575/9 "2022-10-24T19:41:39Z")
> [@tullsterx](#): > > I find I’m not clear on what year it’s supposed to be in her present. 1. ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2022, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-peripheral-on-amazon-prime/973575/10 "2022-10-25T20:07:16Z")
Loving it but wondering, how could the motorcycle disappear as the girl in the guy avatar walked away from it since she/he was actually in the real world, not a sim ? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2022, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-peripheral-on-amazon-prime/973575/11 "2022-10-25T20:21:07Z")
It was nanotech - it deconstructed itself, not just disappeared. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2022, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-peripheral-on-amazon-prime/973575/12 "2022-10-26T12:30:11Z")
Also, if you noticed, the jacket he draped across the bike did not disappear and instead just fell to the ground. I have not read the book but I am enjoying this a lot so far. Seems very well done. While the good guys and bad guys seem to known to us now many mysteries still remain. ---
**Author:** ![BrianDime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ad7895/32.png) [@BrianDime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrianDime)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2022, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-peripheral-on-amazon-prime/973575/13 "2022-10-26T13:23:19Z")
I really enjoyed the book (I’m a big Gibson fan!), and after the first two episodes, I’m on-board. It’s been a few years since I read the book, but it does feel like they have either skipped a few things or re-ordered some stuff, but I’m fine with that if it makes for better TV. I like the casting, and I think they have done a good job overall, so far. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2022, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-peripheral-on-amazon-prime/973575/14 "2022-11-05T13:55:07Z")
Enjoying the show but this was the least strong episode. Mostly that Ash suddenly having opinions about Flynne’s moral right to know seems like an excuse to engage in a clunky exposition of exactly what Jackpot was and over how long. She’s not yet seemed the empathic type. Present day smal town hackers having those sorts of mad skillz? And Mr. Pickett just laying low for the whole ep? Questions: At what point does the opening scene, Wilf being told by child avatar of Aelita that they were going to try to “save a world” occur? Clearly not before he broached her with his offer from the Klept’s. Is a new stub branching off every time a polt makes a “trip” to and from the trunk future? If not why not? Seems to me that every time Lev sends teams kill his family he is leaving a branch with them and creating one without them. Likewise if Flynne and company were successfully murdered. This isn’t Doctor Who timey whimey not meant to think about it. Most of those branches of course go on to develop future technology as well, including no doubt the ability to create stubs of their own? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2022, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-peripheral-on-amazon-prime/973575/15 "2022-11-05T17:17:40Z")
I thought the latest episode was the slowest so far. Maybe they needed an episode to lay some groundwork for the future. Not sure. Were the hackers ex-military like Burton and his friends are and that is where they got elite skills? I need to re-watch to answer your questions. I did not pay close attention to this episode. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2022, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-peripheral-on-amazon-prime/973575/16 "2022-11-05T18:07:21Z")
The hackers were the goofs who worked in the printer shop, who read the order wrong and printed up two grooms. We’ve had no indication before that they were ex-military computer hacker experts. The opening scene I referred to was the opening of the first ep, labeled 2099, shoeless Aelita walks up to him on the bench. The branching question is more just based on the premise. I’m going to make up an explanation though - stubs only form when a specific future interacts with a past line that would otherwise have led to _it_, avoiding the paradox, grandfather or otherwise. Interfering with a stub branch that otherwise leads to a different future branch creates no paradox, it is part of the events of that branch’s v.1 events, and therefore no stub gets initiated … The interesting bit at this point is that Aelita stole something by putting it into Flynne’s mind by way of that pointy RI machine in her peripheral’s eye during the break in. Cherise knows what it is, obviously. Lev does not know what was stolen or that Flynne’s mind holds it (and is likely the cause of her hand clenching and seizure like activity). But he had sent Aelita to steal … something? Obviously whatever it was is something that Aelita believes could save the world of the stub she created by interacting with Flynne, but what would be serving the Research Institute’s ends that could do that? (No one who read the books and knows respond please, only those as blind as I am!) ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-peripheral-on-amazon-prime/973575/17 "2022-11-08T05:47:56Z")
Just got through Ep 4. Really enjoying it so far (haven’t read the book(s)). Production values are top-notch and all of the main cast (and most of the supporting actors) are really handing in great performances. I agree with the comment above that Ash’s turn was a little too abrupt. Does anybody else get a serious _Expanse_ vibe off the opening credits? Someone on this show has to have been involved in that show (or deliberately calling out to it) and/or the same design company was used. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-peripheral-on-amazon-prime/973575/18 "2022-11-08T17:03:38Z")
I agree that Ep 4 wasn’t as good as the others, but it certainly wasn’t bad. I thought the biggest misstep so far was the death by bees in Ep 3. That seemed more appropriate for a cheesy Bond villain than this show. In the latest episode, Cherise was more delightfully villainous than cheesy. > [@DSeid](#): > > Mostly that Ash suddenly having opinions about Flynne’s moral right to know seems like an excuse to engage in a clunky exposition of exactly what Jackpot was and over how long. She’s not yet seemed the empathic type. I don’t think it was a moral decision by Ash. I think she figured her choices were let Flynne take off on her own, or give her some reason to stick with Ash. That said, I agree it was clunky and unnecessary exposition. > [@DSeid](#): > > Is a new stub branching off every time a polt makes a “trip” to and from the trunk future? If not why not? I believe a new stub is created when contact is first established to a past timeline. Once that connection is established, its future has diverged from the future’s timeline, and subsequent visits back and forth do not create a new stub. Lev doesn’t need to send assassins to kill his family every time another trip is made back and forth, which would be the case if a new stub were created. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-peripheral-on-amazon-prime/973575/19 "2022-11-08T17:09:18Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > The hackers were the goofs who worked in the printer shop, who read the order wrong and printed up two grooms. They haven’t specifically called it out yet but I am under the impression that Flynne was the one who messed up the order on purpose so she could have that 3D-printed groom for herself. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2022, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-peripheral-on-amazon-prime/973575/20 "2022-11-12T02:02:38Z")
Any thoughts on today’s episode? Random thoughts from me: Too bad the new bad guy seems to be a one-and-done, he was interesting. The scene in the bowling alley was tense. And Billy Ann is a total badass. So Flynne has decided to stop being a puppet. Is the bacteria the information she took? Certainly that conversation will have her thinking about it. Although directly confronting Cherise seems rash. Wilf is now keeping the peripheral at his apartment? Seems…creepy. Is Zubov fading into the background now that Cherise has her little assembler swarm queued up? Speaking of peripherals, what’s up with the ones for Burton and Conner? That plot line seems to have taken a break. Aelita West is one singularly focused person, ain’t she? So how did she know about the Stub before her ex told her everything? It was obvious that she did. 3 eps to go, but it’s certainly holding my interest. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-peripheral-on-amazon-prime/973575.md?page=2)