Right on the heels of Apple TV's Mythic Quest, Amazon Prime Video is soon releasing a new virtual world series with a pretty unique twist. This is Upload:
In the near future, people who are near death can be “uploaded” into virtual reality environments. Cash-strapped Nora works customer service for the luxurious “Lakeview” digital afterlife. When party-boy/coder Nathan’s car crashes, his girlfriend uploads him into Nora’s VR world.
As the trailer suggests, the uploaded dead can still interact with the living through a two way video screen -- or even better, the living can become avatars and log into the metaverse and interact with the dead in "person". (And apparently, even fall in love with one of the dead!)
The series is by Greg Daniels, who previously wrote for Parks and Recreation and The Office, so I wonder if Daniels was partly inspired by the Office episode partly set in Second Life... which let's just watch below for nostalgia's sake:
Though according to its Wikipedia page, the Office Second Life episode was written by B.J. Novak. (Yes, a single TV episode has a whole-ass Wikipedia page.)
More on the show's Amazon page, which starts streaming May 1st.
Black Mirror Season 3 episode 4 - San Junipero.
Living test out and visit virtual reality before deciding if they want their consciousness uploaded permanently after death. Main characters meet, fall in love in the virtual environment etc, etc.
One of the best episodes ever and sounds a source of inspiration perhaps. At the very least, the ideas in Black Mirror came first, and explored in other sci-fi stories.
Posted by: Mondy | Friday, March 20, 2020 at 07:09 AM