Amazing Stories was originally a 1985 sci-fi anthology series created by Steven Spielberg. It ran for two years and later was syndicated on the SciFi (now SyFy) network. The reboot was announced into development by NBC in 2015 with Bryan Fuller executive producing. Originally Spielberg wasn’t to be involved, and for ~reasons, the show seemed to stall until 2017 when it was announced that Amblin and NBC Universal would develop 10 episodes. It was also reported that Fuller was stepping down as showrunner and Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz (LOST, Once Upon a Time) would be taking over.
The premiere episode, The Cellar was directed by Chris Long (The Mentalist, The Americans) and written by Jessica Sharza who wrote for American Horror Story and one of the most fun movies I’ve seen in a while, A Simple Favor. The cast and crew of this episode are all powerhouses in their fields; so what is it about “Outlander for millennials” that just doesn’t work?
When we begin The Cellar, Jake Taylor (Micah Stock, Brittany Runs a Marathon) is having a tough time. He took on a major job right on the edge of a derecho and his “cliché millennial” brother, Sam (Dylan O’Brien, American Assassin, The Maze Runner), would rather swipe right on attractive Tinder hopefuls, than you know… decide what he wants to do with his life. All Jake wants is for his brother to be happy. Jake himself is in the prime of his life with his husband Roger and their newly adopted daughter Alice, as well as his own business with the goal of one day procuring a house like the one they’re renovating. It’s a simple goal and one that is wholly attainable by working hard and not by daydreaming of get rich quick schemes like his brother.
This story, however, isn’t about Jake. It’s about good ole “Uncle Sam” and his journey as a dreamer, or more astutely, a searcher. Sam has no direction and he’s fine with that. He’s simply coasting through life, one meaningless hook-up at a time until he finds something he’s passionate about. That’s what the narration, at least, is trying to show us.
While clearing the rooms, he finds an old cookie tin that has a matchbook, and a photo of a bride to be. Jake jokes that he “can’t swipe right on that” and Sam comments that “She looks…”. We never find the end of that sentence and I think they may have been an early sign that perhaps this episode was just as aimless as Sam is. They’re in the middle of a storm… a derecho (which, stick a pin in that, because I have lots of thoughts), when the power goes out and Sam heads to the cellar to fix it. There’s an extreme drop in barometric pressure (y’all… stick another pin in this barometer, because what a mess) and it sends him back to the year 1919 where Evelyn Porter (Victoria Pedretti, Haunting of Hill House, You) lives in the house that Sam and Jake are currently renovating.
While Sam is trying to get his bearings, he comes upon Evelyn playing a jazz ditty on her piano. She’s a smart girl and coyly gives us a glimpse into her family’s economic strains by determining that the intruder is from the bank. She even goes so far to get a gun before her overbearing, one-note mother, Paula (Sasha Alexander, Shameless, Rizolli & Isles) shows up, causing Evelyn to force Sam out. Sam recognizes Evelyn as the inscrutable bride in the photo he’d found earlier and later shows back up to plead his case. She listens to him this time and he insinuates himself as a friend of Evelyn’s late brother Emmett. This all results in a few twists that are inspiring, but again, seem to miss the mark.
So what’s wrong with this episode? I mentioned above that all the right elements seem to be there. Excellent and experienced showrunners, a great director (Spielberg was even reportedly on set to help out!), a writer who has given us really fun content in the past, and today’s hot actors. Along with a reported $5M budget per episode, this show should have been a homerun.
In my opinion the missed opportunity lies in three areas: the story, the pacing and the direction. I mentioned that Sam and Evelyn fall in love and they do, but also, not really? If this episode is Outlander for millennials, does it present a future in which millennials are existentially escaping to pragmatism? Evelyn is thrust into a life of propriety. She’s to marry someone who can support herself and her family since the passing of her father and eldest brother. She apparently has dreams of being a musician (which were not well fleshed out), but it’s beyond her means given the time and her location. When Sam sees Evelyn’s wedding photo, it’s possible to end the sentence “She looks…” with something, romantic and whimsical like “beautiful”, or even ”sad”, but really Sam seems to be saying that Evelyn looks “trapped”.
Though the story has romance, the real passion of the story seems to lie in Sam being a savior for Evelyn. And that’s kind of… icky? Especially because the feelings of love don’t seem to be anchored to anything in particular and thus, seem forced. She’s a decision that’s been made for him and that seems to please him the most.
If your entire episode is a time traveling love story, then it would serve to reason that the entire episode should be focused on this. It’s a good 10 minutes before Evelyn is properly introduced, and in the grand scheme of things, that doesn’t sound like much, but in a 50 minute show including credits, that’s over 20% of your time dedicated to setup that ultimately leads nowhere. We see Sam on Tinder swiping through ladies, and then he goes on a date, coming back the next morning in the same clothes. It’s not clear what this is supposed to tell us about Sam and it ended up having nothing to do with the rest of the story.
If more time were given to the 1919 era, we could hear Evelyn truly talk about her love of music and desire to be on stage, two things that were seemingly handed to her by Sam. I feel like the writer was trying to flesh out the story in the script when it should have been fleshed out in the direction. I will say, the actors were more than fine, but clearly had very little to work with. Jake was great, and had a refreshing mix of an atypical character living a typical life. His accent was a bit perplexing, but his line of “Roger made empanadas. Let’s go eat some, smoke a bowl, and maybe eat some more.” really told me everything I needed to know about his character and I was delighted. He was however, the only fleshed out and nuanced character.
Everyone else had their boxes: The period typical misogynist fiancé, the overbearing mother. Even Sam as the Tinder f*ckboy and Evelyn as the girl who just wants to escape. The performances were perfunctory and the beats of whimsy the actors were given were not aptly displayed by the director. Dylan O’Brien is known for his understated acting so when he throws a sarcastic barb or quip, you need a moment for it to land properly. Said moments were cut from immediately leaving the viewer feeling like they were missing something. Victoria has a face that can tell a million stories without saying a word, yet it seemed to be blank for large swaths of the episode. There was little to no curiosity, just acceptance that she could escape, not even seeming to care to what, as long as she was with Sam.
Which leads us to the main problem and this is a major SPOILER so please stop reading and skip to “In Conclusion” if you don’t want to know.
SUPER SPOILERS
Evelyn makes it to 2019, but Sam has to stay in 1919.
This is the point in the show where everything went back 40 minutes to the beginning of the episode and completely fell apart. Listen, I get it, I really do! Deux ex machina and I are great friends! Suspension of disbelief comes over every Tuesday for tacos. I know how to step outside of reality to enjoy a show, but I can only go so far!
Sam ends up staying in 1919 while Evelyn goes to 2019. He’s written her a letter (that is in remarkable condition and makes me wonder why the Uneeda’s Fig Cookies tin was in shambles. We find out he’s the one who actually hid it there a century before, but this one was hidden in dirt and perfectly fine) a year later in 1920. He talks about how he waited hopelessly for another storm (guess the barometer wasn’t as great of a trade as he thought), but soon realized he had to live his own life and implored Evelyn to live her own. He says “I came from a world of too many choices and you didn’t have enough.”
This was the point that I looked at my device and said “is this what we’re doing?!”
This is terrifying. Bro, you’re in 1919! And it’s a good short decade before the great depression! And you didn’t know what rhubarb was, so I’m not entirely sure you get the breadth of what’s coming your way. Also, you presented yourself as Emmett’s medical school friend, but now you have a construction business that was never your dream in the first place? Additionally, did Evelyn’s mom die? How did no one accuse you of murdering Evelyn? Did anyone notice she was missing after the storm? How do you keep getting back into that house?!
ALSO! You had a family that you left behind and you’ve completely given up on seeing them. If you know there’s going to be another derecho in 15 years, why don’t you concoct a plan for Jake and future Evelyn to come get you? Because right now, you took her spot in hell. Yes, as a white man, the ‘20s will be much better for Sam, but it’s still not that great. Poor Jake lost his brother forever and never got to say goodbye. This ending was harrowing and the only way Sam can make peace with it is by saying “well at least I don’t have to worry about making the wrong decisions anymore, I don’t have any choices!”.
I think Amazing Stories can fix the problems going forward. The best sci-fi adventures are those that take a simple human situation and enhance it through some sort of sci-fi trope. That was here, but too little precedence was given to them truly using the time travel as a tool and reacting to the wonder of the science that it almost took a backseat in a story where it couldn’t afford to not be the star.
Also, I know I just spent paragraphs picking this apart, but give me Victoria Pedretti and Dylan O’Brien crying and running around and making out, and my TV is on. Both looked fantastic and there were several cute and sweet moments. Specifically Sam doing the Turkey Trot with one of the fiancé’s daughters. And the realization that comes to Sam’s face at a key moment near the end is truly heartbreaking and beautiful.
I don’t think The Cellar is an episode I will re-watch frequently, but I don’t regret it and it sets my “weirdness” bar for these eps. I kind of know what to expect for the rest of the series and I’m looking forward to the Robert Forster episode.
Ultimately, you get what you put in, so don’t put too much into it, and just sit back and have a good time watching your faves.
Amazing Stories is available for streaming though AppleTV+