Review Of Altered Carbon
The main character, Takeshi Kovacs, was something called an envoy. Envoys have incredible instincts and fighting skills. They were all killed off except for him. He was arrested and put in prison until 250 years later when a rich man named Laurens Bancroft has him put into a new body (or "sleeve") in order to help him solve his own attempted murder. Kovacs doesn't have much of a choice in the matter: If he doesn't agree to help he'll be put back into prison indefinitely.
It's a very interesting show and I don't want to give away too much. But I think it's interesting to think about how this kind of technology would change the world and the way the show has handled the topic is pretty brilliant. For instance, in the first episode, there is an 8-year-old girl that had been killed in a car accident. Her parents are understandably upset that she was placed into the body of a middle-aged woman. When they complain they're told that's the body their insurance would pay for. I don't think that's all that different from today's world. If you're sick or injured you get the best care if you are rich or at least have great insurance. But if you don't, doctors can refuse to treat you.
Later, a police officer uses the body of a gang member to bring her dead grandmother home for one night to celebrate Dia de Muertos. The actor that plays this role does an amazing job and you really believe that inside him there is an older lady enjoying a very over-due reunion with her family.
Religious people that are against the idea of "re-sleeving" can put some kind of "religious coding" into their stack so that they won't be brought back to life after they die.
Rich people that have lived for hundreds of years begin to think of themselves as gods and they also become bored with life. Bancroft often holds fighting contests where people have to fight to the "sleeve death". Another character bragged about putting a man's consciousness into a snake and talked about how when she put him back into a human body he just continued to stay on the ground like he did as a snake because he had gone insane.
It really makes you think about how different society would be if we could potentially live forever. What exactly is it that makes life so precious? It probably is the fact that we all know it will end someday. Without death, would life become completely meaningless?
Despite the fact that this society has such a high level of technology, it's still a relatable show. Humans are still often terrible people and do horrible things but there are good people as well. Police stations are still dark, dingy, and have few windows. Cars can fly but they can still crash. People still eat and drink. People still speak existing languages like English and Spanish and many people seem to be bilingual (which isn't that common in the real-life U.S. but it is in many other parts of the world). People even continue the tradition of gathering for holidays and family dinners.
Overall it's a very interesting show and aside from its unique plot, great acting, and visual effects, it also makes you think about the implications of technology and the problems we face right now in our real world. If you could back up your personality and memories digitally, would you do it? How many times would you want to come back? Would you bring a loved one back even if you had to put them in someone else's body?
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