Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams. Episode 7, A Father Thing.

Directed and written by Michael Dinner. 

Starring Greg Kinnear as The Father, Mireille Enos as The Mother and Jack Gore as Charlie Cotrell. 

Production and Design.

Something fascinating happened when I started to watch this new episode of Electric Dreams. It was the first time I had gotten everything I expected from this series. I am glad the story is set in America, as it felt authentic and set a great tone for the story. I guess the familiarity is that the story is being told in our current timeline. The set design and locations in this episode are beautiful and crafted well together. This episode reminded me of The Wonder Years, Stranger Things and The Twilight Zone, all in one. The visual and special effects are pretty much up there with the rest of the series, perfect. The costume department deserves praise for Charlie’s Marty Mcfly style body warmer, which was a nice touch. The music is used sparingly, but when it plays out, it’s quite effective and sets the scene perfectly with its atmospheric synthesizer fragrance. And finally, the rain. I’m from England and I love the rain, and it always looks impressive on screen. So, yeah, I am already happy with this episode. 

Story.

Loving father Matthew, and son Charlie are doing everything a Father and Son should be. Enjoying baseball together, and camping in the wilderness as they talk about, more baseball. That’s until they notice a meteor shower in the sky, and think nothing more about it. On their way home, Charlie has a bizarre encounter with a hunter, who will not stop staring him out, giving him proper evil eyes. It’s raining and the hunter has a dead reindeer in his trunk, but a good hotdog wipes those moments clean away. After the pair return home, you feel that everything isn’t as rosy as first thought, as Charlie’s Mother asks Matthew if he has told him yet. But he hasn’t, and yet again more meteors begin to fall from the sky. The following day, Charlie goes to school, but half of the pupils are missing and the teacher, Mr Dick looks a little spooked and starts talking about the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Back at home, Charlie has made the baseball team, and as a bonus, he is going to get the shit kicked out of him. Finally, his Father returns home and Charlie can’t wait to tell him the news and runs down to the garage to greet him. Unfortunately, his Father is busy getting the life sucked out of him with something words can’t describe. 

Things start to become even stranger, as Charlie’s Father walks into the house like nothing has happened, but Charlie is having none of it and makes a run for it. He later tells his friend and brother that his Father has gone, and has been replaced by an alien or something. Unable to avoid his capture for long, Charlie is returned home by his Father and heads to his room to learn that this is happening all over the Country, and people are saying their family members are not the same anymore. Back at school, things take a turn for the worst, as Mr Dick throws himself off a school building. Not before telling a police officer that his wife has also gone to a place that she is unable to return from. Charlie is back at home, and he can go and look in the garage to find out what has happened to his old man. Unfortunately,  all he finds is his Fathers’s remains dumped into a steel bin. Well, what’s left of him?

Do you know what’s good for a World Invasion, baseball? Charlie finally speaks to the alien in his father’s body, and they pitch a few balls. The alien admits to Charlie that they will be taking his World, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Charlie runs off again, and after a series of unfortunate events, he realises the only thing he can do is kill whatever has taken over his Dad. Charlie, with the help of his friend and brother, set up a trap for the alien. Unfortunately, the myth that you can kill someone with a piece of string and a garden fork is busted. Everything must come to an end, and Charlie has nowhere to run. He finally finds himself in the woods, alone with his father and a clutch of alien eggs containing one that is ready to replace his Mother. That’s until his friends run over and splat his Dad.  I can’t think of what else to call him, as he shows himself in his true form, some kind of space shrimp. Charlie and his friends grab some petrol and set fire to the eggs, and this is where the War begins. Charlie will never forget the love of his Father, and he will strike fear against those who have taken him away. It’s time to get on the internet, spread the word and resist.

Conclusion. 

Sometimes I watch something I am going to review and think, how do I explain that? Luckily enough, That Father Thing is not like that, and it felt like a perfect episode of pure entertainment. I mentioned earlier that the episode reminded me of The Wonder Years, and Michael Dinner was a producer on that show. This story leaves you thinking long after the episode has finished, and I love that. It’s okay to come and conquer the human race and there will be benefits, but there will also be some setbacks. Humanity has the capability of love, and you might not be able to erase that so easily. Charlie is now an alien, but the only problem is that he doesn’t know it yet. The love for his Father will never die, and it can never be diminished. It could be so strong that the shrimp may have set fire to his own family in those eggs. If that happens all over the Planet, the aliens can never win. I must admit, I was feeling anxious the night I first watched this episode for some reason. Luckily enough this was the perfect time to watch it. The uneasiness in my own skin helped me appreciate the beauty of life and each other. I don’t know how that works, but it does somehow.

Thank you for visiting today, it really is appreciated. If you enjoyed this review, please leave me a like or comment below. Also, if you would like to follow my journey on this site, please subscribe for future posts.

The Philip K. Dick Vault.

My Projects.