Saturday, June 4, 2022

Night Sky On Prime Video a Refreshing Blend of Time Travel and Human Drama - Outstanding Performances by Sissy Spacek and JK Simmons Make it a Must-See for Sci-Fi Fans

By Suzanne Ordas Curry

If you're a fan of Outer Range, or Resident Alien, you'll probably like Night Sky.

I am a fan of time travel movies and shows. Some make sense and follow time travel principles, other's don't. Actually, that's a joke because time travel does not exist so really all these shows can just make stuff up as they go along.
But in Night Sky, the time travel aspect of the show integrates well into the human story of the show.  Veteran actors Sissy Spacek and JK Simmons are totally convincing as an old married couple, set in their ways, living in a country home. Some of their dialogue is just priceless.
 
(Note- a few basic spoilers ahead)

They find themselves out of their usual routine (shall I say rut) because they are the owners of a portal (in this show they call it a chamber) that transports them to another planet  - or at least we think it is now. And of course, time travel is two ways so they get an unexpected visitor in this first season. Chai Hansen plays the weary and beleaguered time traveler Jude.



There is another character of note, Byron (played by Adam Bartley), the Mrs. Kravitz-esque  neighbor who adds even more comic relief to this drama. I also appreciate the diversity of the cast.

 At the end of the first season, we also get a sense of the hierarchy of these travelers. So you have drama based in reality in this (focused around on the tragic death of a son), a bit of a mystery, time travel, great casting, dialogue worth a chuckle and a plot that you can actually follow. All that is a winner in my book.

I am not a fan of violence in sci fi content - really any content- so I was not pleased with the violence in a couple episodes, but it does pale in comparison to other sci fi shows. (Note - you would think that in the future there would be less violence because we have evolved, or the travelers had developed more human ways of keeping their rouge ones at bay - writers take note.)

News on the time travel spectrum is that Season 2 is in the works. Give Night Sky on Prime Video it a try if you like sci fi and a good story.

Photos Courtesy Amazon, Prime Video