Friday, March 13, 2015

Powers: PlayStation's First TV Show




Powers: PlayStation's First TV Show

Every major media group not associated with cable TV is developing and releasing its own series. Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO GO, Hulu, and now PlayStation. Powers is a show based on the comic book series created by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming. They are also producing the show which is a police procedural about two homicide detectives with the Powers Division. In the world of Powers superheroes are real and some are good and some are psychopathic murderers. That's where detectives Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim show up at the crime scene and do what they do best.

Christian Walker is played by Sharlto Copley who is best know for starring in all of the Neill Blomkamp movies (District 9, Elysium, and Chappie) as well as Disney's Maleficent. Also of note on the cast is stand-up comic genius Eddie Izzard. Playing some very serious roles lately (including a brief stint on the show Hannibal) he plays the biggest of all evil psychopaths, Wolfe who devours others in the most bloody and disgusting ways.


I had a chance to watch the show and I thought it was amazing. Bendis has an ability to create characters who feel real and grounded even when they are flying around the screen or web-slinging on page (he is most know for penning Ultimate Spider-Man). That comic translates perfectly into television form. The budget here seems substantial as well. Although most of the superhero action is seen form a distance the story stays grounded with how having superheroes around effects society as a whole. It takes the police procedural formula, which has been repeated time and time again on TV, and adds superpowers into the mix. I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys shows like Heroes or NCIS.

The first three episodes in the series can now be seen on your PlayStation device (Vita, PS3, and PS4) if you are a PlayStation Plus member. You can also watch it online (here) but it still requires you to have a PlayStation Plus membership. With a 12 month membership setting you back $49.99 that's still a lot cheaper than Netflix. Hopefully Sony takes the same route as all the other big-name content providers and continues to put out great shows like Powers.

-Demo

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