Well, it was every bit as bad as I remember it being, and probably then some, as the effects that were bad in the late '90s are even worse nowadays. It's a rather mind-boggling proposition figuring out just how the main production team of “Tales from the Crypt” bombed so terribly translating their stories from horror to sci-fi, but lo and behold, they did it. Also curious is how toned down the show is: Whereas “Tales from the Crypt” wasn't afraid to let the blood flow, “Perversions” seems too cowardly a show to want to push the envelope in any direction. And that, more than anything else, is probably what led to its early demise.
Granted, it would make sense if the creators wanted to get away from the “Tales from the Crypt” formula, and that's why they let up on the violence. But the problem is that no time seems to have been put into any of the episodes on either side of the camera: the production values are nonexistent, featuring obviously-cheap sets and terrible computer effects; the writing feels very forced and rushed, with plotlines that are never given any time to develop; and even the network didn't seem to know what to do with it, barely spending a penny on promotion or awareness. Take any one of those things and you've got a problem; add together all three and it's pretty much guaranteed that your show is going to fail.
The only legitimate area where “Perversions of Science” is consistently excellent is in the casting department, and that acclaim should fall right on the hands of Lisa Beach, who served as casting director for all ten episodes (and who would go on to do her thing in some big name Hollywood productions, including Wedding Crashers, Horrible Bosses, The Wolverine, and the forthcoming Bad Santa 2). Just like “Tales from the Crypt” (which she surprisingly was not a part of), many of the installments feature a mix of established talent and up-and-comers, and just about all of them give solid performances. Or maybe they give average performances that just seem way better than they should be given the underwhelming nature of everything else...either way, I liked the acting.
The opening episode, “Dream of Doom”, tricks you into thinking that you might be watching a legitimately-good show. And as I stated in earlier reviews, it's no coincidence that it's the most effective of the entire series: it has a simple idea that can be easily executed within a 20-25 minute time frame, has no elaborate special effect requirements, and features the standard good performances (in this one the lead is the always reliable Keith Carradine). Why couldn't grown men, all of whom are experienced giants within the industry, realize this was the winning formula, and stick to it?
They do again a few episodes later with “Snap Ending”, and again create a good episode with practical effects and a simple story that doesn't require a whole lot of time to unfold. It also has quite an intense (for this show) intro that really sucks you in from the get-go, another solid plus that is missing from most of the installments. As mentioned in that review, it does lose its grip slightly with one final effects shot that is clearly computer-generated, but you know what? They waited until the end, and it's a rather brief shot, so I'll give them a pass on that one.
But the rest have the feeling of amateurs trying to make often bad ideas work. Even when they stumble on a good idea, such as in “Planely Possible”, the series' sixth episode, it's completely ruined by shoddy effects work, and a story that seems so hellbent on throwing us something we're not expecting, that it does so—at the expense of giving us something that is impossible to take seriously. Which is the other problem I've cited more than once in individual reviews: there is no “off switch.”
Everything has to be as in-your-face as possible, but that's to the show's detriment. With a little bit of subtlety, some of these episodes could have been stronger. But instead, there's always a build-up to something completely ridiculous, so as to ruin the entire build-up. In some cases, there wasn't much to ruin, but others, like “Panic”, are done in by stupid endings that immediately released the grip they had on me. And this series is sadly rife with such over-the-top examples...there's virtually one in every single one.
If you're a fan of “Tales from the Crypt”, I'd love to be able to recommend this to you, but I honestly can't do that. In fact, I'm hesitant to recommend it to anyone. Even sci-fi buffs will probably be turned off by the hackneyed premises and low production values—the show just never gives you a valid reason to really focus your attention on it, and rarely rewards you even if you do. In this day and age, it's kind of a curiosity that HBO refuses to release this to DVD, or at least a digital format, which wouldn't require much of an investment on their part. But that's also quite telling, as it tells us that not only does no one seem to care about it, but the cable giant seems to be flat-out embarrassed by it.
And they should be.
SERIES RATING: 5/10
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