Amazon Prime has been pushing me to watch an episode of a series called
From, a one-word title that's impossible to research, but apparently it's about a small town where "you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave." LGBT people who grew up trapped in homophobic small towns can relate.
It stars Harold Perrineau, Michael on Lost, so doubtless it has some intriguing mysteries inside mysteries. And hopefully, 18 years since Lost premiered, more gay characters.
Only problem: this is a drug-dealer "first taste is free" setup. One free episode to get you hooked, and then you have to pay. I'm not paying, but I'll take the first taste.
Opening: MGM tells us that this is a MGM production, that MGM has always produced the world's best movies, that this is a MGM production, and that you need to subscribe to watch the other episodes.
Scene 1: A very run-down rural community, rusty cars, unpainted buildings. Michael from Lost walks down the dirt road, ringing a bell. People walk toward their houses. A waitress kicks two customers out of the diner -- closing time -- and touches a strange icon handing from the wall. Michael passes a terribly cliched little girl on a swingset holding a doll. She's obviously a goner, but the background song broadcasts it: "Little girl, so young and pretty, you'll be dead before your time is due."
In an old person's home, Deputy Kenny (Ricky He) tries to convince his eldery father, who has dementia, to go into the basement. The nurse pulls him down; Kenny flirts with her and leaves.
Some hippies are playing with a ball outside an old mansion. They drop it and go inside.
Deputy Kenny joins Michael from Lost -- I guess the character is named Boyd -- and asks if it is all clear. Yep. Sheriff Boyd goes into the post office -- "96 nights without incident."
Scene 2: A bearded guy tries to rouse the drunken, sleeping Frank. His boyfriend? No such luck -- he's the father of the swingset girl. Bearded guy can't rouse him, so he puts tarps over the window and touches his weird icon.
Meanwhile, Swingset Girl and her Mom are wondering what's keeping Frank -- it's getting dark! Mom sends Swingset Girl upstairs to say her prayers -- "If I should die before I wake," hint hint. Suddenly Grandma calls to her from outside the window: "Let me in! I'm so lonely!" The idiotic Swingset Girl opens the window, whereupon Grandma turns into a screaming monster.
Opening Theme: Ahh! It's most horribly sad, depressing song ever recorded! End of the world, end of everything, no hope, darkness, despair. Who in his right mind would use that song for an opening theme? Do they want the audience to commit suicide? I fast forward past, but still, I heard a few words... Now I'm going to be depressed all day.
No, I'm not going to tell you what the song is. That would require me to think about it.
Scene 3: Ok, on to the much less disturbing show. A nuclear family driving down the highway in a huge RV -- the behomoth actually has a hallway! Teenage daughter is torturing her little brother by claiming that one of his finger puppets is dead, killed by a monster.
Foreshadowing, anyone? Mom calms him down by pointing out that monsters don't exist, so the puppet must be alive.
Foreshadowing, anyone? Dad (Eion Bailey) congratulates her on her parenting skills.
Scene 4: Morning. Frank (Bob Mann), who was too drunk to go home, stumbles toward his house. Everyone is gathered round. Sheriff Boyd attacks him: "You're a Man! A Man takes care of his wife and kids!" How stultifyingly sexist. "Your wife and daughter were killed last night, and it's your fault!" How could he have helped? Swingset Girl let the monster in. Sheriff Boyd sentences him to lock-up, which will become a death sentence if he is detained overnight.
Meanwhile, the Nuclear Family is stopped by a giant tree blocking the road. Dad, who is a Man, tries to muscle it aside, but is unsuccessful. They have no choice but to turn around.
Scene 5: Sheriff Boyd visits the hippie commune. Head hippie Donna points out that he's not welcome there, but he asks to see his son. Ok, just this once.
Ok, the sheriff is hetero, but maybe the son is gay?No such luck: Son Ellis (Corteon Moore) is in his art studio, painting a lady's portrait. He points out how beautiful she is. At least his shirt is open, so we get some beefcake.
Son Ellis is shocked to find out that they lost "Lauren" to the monsters last night. "Lauren is..." "I know who she is!" Lost-style mystery for its own sake. Most of them were never resolved.
Scene 6: The Nuclear Family driving back the way they came. But it looks all different. Where's the highway? They end up at the town, where everyone is gathered for the funeral of Swingset Girl and her Mom, with a priest giving the eulogy (tv tropes: all Christians are Catholic). They all glare at the newcomers and scatter. Sheriff Boyd gives them directions back to the highway.
They drive, but end up back at the town! They stop to ask for directions again, and are ignored. A girl in a 1930s sun dress complains to her overall-wearing brother that it's always bad for the new arrivals, who think that they will be able to leave. He goes out to the barn to feed the animals. I was wondering how they eat in this town.
The Nuclear Family ends up back in town a third time! They argue. Mom criticizes Dad's ability to follow directions, a major insult for a Man. They turn around and head out again, while the townsfolk watch. Deputy Kenny: "You think they're ready?" Sheriff Boyd: "Go get the strip." Comic strip? No, he means a spike strip, used to stop cars.
Scene 7: During their fourth try, they hit an oncoming car and crash into a ravine! They are all ok, except for the preteen boy, who has a table leg through his thigh! (Another inch, and he'd have been castrated, which might have impacted his chances of growing up to be a Man).
The driver of the other car (Tobey), dazed from a head injury, stumbles toward town. Deputy Kenny takes him to the clinic, while Sheriff Boyd investigates. A passenger, Jade (David Alpay, left), is unhurt but obviously high. "You have an amazing face," he tells the Sheriff, who recoils in homophobic disgust and handcuffs him to the car door. So Jade is gay? No such luck: Jade says that all of his rescuers are "so beautiful!"
The Sheriff then tries to rescue the Nuclear Family. Son Ellis, Town Priest, and an EMT help.
Meanwhile, at the clinic, 1930s Sun Dress girl approaches Tobey, the driver of the other car, and reassures him that the accident wasn't his fault. She kisses him, then stabs him through the jaw!
Scene 8: The Nuclear Family is all rescued, except for the preteen son: it will take two hours to extricate him from the table leg, and the sun will set in one hour! The Sheriff tries to convince Dad that a Man takes care of his family, so his wife and daughter should go into town, where it's safe. Ok, but Dad is staying. So they block the windows and put up the weird icon (gee, even upside-down, that RV is the size of a house!).
Meanwhile, on the way back with Mom, Daughter, and "You're all so beautiful!" Jade, Son Ellis and the Town Priest accidentally run over the spike strip! And it's almost dark! They have to run to the hippie commune: "No matter what you see, no matter what you hear, do not stop!" So the monsters have to lure you? They can't just grab anyone outside?
Scene 9: Back in the RV, Preteen Son has a seizure. While Dad and the EMT try to help, Sheriff Boyd looks out the window. "They're coming," he says, as the monsters converge. They look like people: a blond woman in a dress, a guy in a workman's suit, an old-fashioned lady librarian-type. The end.
Beefcake: Just Son Ellis semi-shirtless.
Heterosexism: Two nuclear families, two boy-girl flirtations.
Sexism: Male-female gender polarization everywhere, with a lot of patriarchy, strong, powerful men protecting weak, passive women.
Drinking Game: Every time someone says one of these phrases, you take a drink. You'll be drunk by minute 45: each appears about 20 times per episode.
1. Can I ask you something?
2. Are you alright? Not really.
3. It's not your fault.
Also closeups of people holding hands.
Gay Characters: The town doctor has a girlfriend back home. Fatima makes out with men and women both. Daughter Julie has a crush on Fatima. Lots of lesbian/bi women, no gay men.
My Grade: I might continue watching, just for the mystery, and it might be interesting to see the characters' lives before they were trapped on the Island (um,..I mean, in the small town). If it weren't for the horrible sexism. And the paywall. And that depressing theme song....
Update after three episodes: Jade and Deputy Kenny have a little spark, but they both express heterosexual interest as well. No beefcake except a guy having sex with a woman, and she's on top. I think the monsters decide to bring people into the village that they think will be fun to hunt; like when the nuclear family mom and daughter got killed, they immediately brought in a new pair.
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