A Preview of ‘Pantheon’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

There was a time, when science fiction stories were supremely sweeping and epic in nature and understandably so. For the titans of this genre, showed everyone how these stories could explore every single corner of the human condition and their grand examinations of who we are and what we could be, set amongst the backdrop of deep space or the future… motivated everyone to tell a similar story in scope and design. But somewhere along the line, the demands of viewers and readers for more focused entertainment, pushed this genre to abandon such grandiose plans and while that didn’t ruin the genre or make it unwatchable or unreadable, it certainly had an impact on the scale of these stories.

But as this era of peak television continues along, and the demand for new shows accompanies it, the time it would seem… is right for the return of the science fiction epic. Simply because television can indeed support the many concepts such a story would explore and it just so happens that a brand-new Sci-Fi epic is about to arrive on AMC+. For Thursday will bring forth the premiere of Pantheon on the network and well… we here at NTG thought it would be worthwhile to highlight what you can expect from this new series, in a spoiler-free manner of course. Because spoilers before the release date are the worst, but the majesty of this show needs to be celebrated.

Mainly because… this is a series that fools you regarding its epic nature. For it is at first, quite intimate. For we are introduced to a young woman named Maddie who is dealing with loss of her father and trying to go about her day in the future whilst reconciling her grief. But a strange series of messages that appear on Maddie’s computer, and the events that follow them, opens this story up to so much more. Such as grand concepts revolving around our reliance upon and love of technology and how that might transform how we deal with death in ways we never thought possible. Which is quite the grand exploration, one that really does ponder upon notions that are only barely being discussed in our world now and the wonder of this series doesn’t end with this particularly bold and big concept.

For this is a story that also ponders upon grief and its power and how we reconcile it at a time where memories are everywhere digitally, and it also ponders upon technology’s role in the household and our family life. Making this a grand and sweeping epic through and through, that gives us so much to chew upon regarding the strange crossroads that humanity currently stands at regarding technology. But what truly allows for this series to shine and accomplish wonders with its story, is the fact that it is animated. Because that allows for the future to come to life in ways, we never thought possible, and it allows for stunning visuals as well. Something that is evident early on in the premiere since it wastes little time in making use of this particular freedom to tell this incredible story.

Plus, the voice acting is simply top notch in this series. Which only adds to the engagement of the viewer, since they are drawn in and moved by acting that feels real in every sense of the word. With Katie Chang (Maddie) of course leading the way in such matters, and truly the best news of all… is that we are so close to sharing in the wonder of this new series together. Since Thursday is the big day, wherein AMC+ will drop the first two episodes of this phenomenal series, one that really does deliver as advertised. For this really is the return of the science fiction epic, and this is one that is going to take us on a powerful and thought-provoking ride.

---