Time After Time/Soap World

We’ve reached the last four episodes in the first season of the web series Downsized.  The relationships between many of the characters have been established.  Everyone is suffering in one way or another because of the affects of the current economic climate.  What we have learned is that Maura the woman who laid off Beth is in the process of a divorce with Conner who has made an unlikely acquaintance with a his office janitor.  Beth is struggling to make it and her future beau is forced to take a low end job to avoid to paying off college loans.  Pricilla's ex husband is desperate to for cash help start his own business.  While, Pricilla and her new husband Hank try to woe their evicted tenants back into the rental property to avoid foreclosure. In other happenings Astrid has double booked herself and is experiencing humiliation at the same time.  All this makes for very uncomfortable confrontational moments. 

Downsized is a like financially chaotic mystery taking youth rough the twist and turns of the lives of people who have went from the topto the bottom and struggling to deal with a new reality.  It's an interesting take and kind makes you think of what it would have been like if the on slot of the Great Depression had been filmed for an audience to see. 

As the series starts the video's appear to be more random and you have no idea that there is going to be a connection.  I did not have a problem with this even though I'm more of a fan of serials verses episodic scripted programs.  Yet after the 4th episode they began to return to certain characters and each episode expanded into more details of the lives of what I would now come to know as the series core characters.  Much to my pleasure the series ends up having a feel that is akin to movies such as Crash and Magnolia where a series of unrelated stories start to interweave into one another. 

Storyline wise Downsized gives viewers just enough of a window into the lives of each character to keep you interested and angling for more.  There is a sense that as each character deals with the psychological state of their financial situation youare getting window into who they were when they are on the other side ladder.  You also are able to foreshadow the future to an extent.

Yet when desperation sinks in you get to see what lengths people really go to try to and make ends meet or crave a future out of nothing.    

Production Values: A +

Downsized is produced with the quality of a primetime television series.

Creativity of plot: A

A series about the plight of once financially prosperous peopleon the financial downslide ingenious for a web series.

Acting: B

The first episode was little spotty in the acting department, yet from there on it was smooth sailing. 

Overall Average: A-

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