This cyberpunk series is set in a distant future where technology enables a person's consciousness to be stored on a spinal implant, known as a 'stack'. These stacks can be moved from one body, known as a 'sleeve, to another. Unless the stack is destroyed a person won't die and the very rich can make backups which effectively render them immortal.
When Bancrofts, one of these mega rich individuals, is found dead it is assumed he killed himself but his backup was made hours prior so he has no idea what happened; he is convinced he wouldn't shoot himself though. To solve the case he employs Takeshi Kovacs, a convicted killer whose stack had been in storage for over two hundred years. He is initially not keen to take the case but events lead him to begin an investigation. This will lead him, and those around him, into danger as he learns more about the society he finds himself in and certain details of his own past.
A second season, set thirty years later, sees Kovacs back on Harlan's World, the planet he grew up on, investigating another series of murders and searching for a woman he once knew.
I really enjoyed this series, especially its superior first season, it has a fine noirish feel, reminiscent of 'Blade Runner'. There was a fine sense of danger; just because people are harder to kill doesn't mean things are less scary... quite often things get intense as characters suffer. While I can see why people prefer the first season I don't think the second was all that bad. Both seasons look fantastic; I suspect it must have cost more than many big budget Hollywood movies to design. The cast is impressive; most notably Joel Kinnaman, as Kovaks in season one; Martha Higareda as Lt Ortega and Chris Conner, as an artificial intelligence named Poe. Anthony Mackie is solid as second season Kovaks even if the plot dictated change of actor took a little getting used to. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to sci-fi fans; I hope we get more seasons in future.
When Bancrofts, one of these mega rich individuals, is found dead it is assumed he killed himself but his backup was made hours prior so he has no idea what happened; he is convinced he wouldn't shoot himself though. To solve the case he employs Takeshi Kovacs, a convicted killer whose stack had been in storage for over two hundred years. He is initially not keen to take the case but events lead him to begin an investigation. This will lead him, and those around him, into danger as he learns more about the society he finds himself in and certain details of his own past.
A second season, set thirty years later, sees Kovacs back on Harlan's World, the planet he grew up on, investigating another series of murders and searching for a woman he once knew.
I really enjoyed this series, especially its superior first season, it has a fine noirish feel, reminiscent of 'Blade Runner'. There was a fine sense of danger; just because people are harder to kill doesn't mean things are less scary... quite often things get intense as characters suffer. While I can see why people prefer the first season I don't think the second was all that bad. Both seasons look fantastic; I suspect it must have cost more than many big budget Hollywood movies to design. The cast is impressive; most notably Joel Kinnaman, as Kovaks in season one; Martha Higareda as Lt Ortega and Chris Conner, as an artificial intelligence named Poe. Anthony Mackie is solid as second season Kovaks even if the plot dictated change of actor took a little getting used to. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to sci-fi fans; I hope we get more seasons in future.