Written by John Edward Betancourt THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM. YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.Every sequel or reboot that arrives on the market on both the small and silver screen, endeavor to accomplish something that is quite difficult; be better than or equal to its predecessor. And while many fail at this particular quest, from time to time we are treated to something special from the follow-up/reboot and the 2020 iteration of Amazing Stories falls in that particularly wonderful category. For this reimagining of the 1985 TV series has done a fine job of distinguishing itself from the parent series by offering up some supremely unique and thoughtful tales over the course of its first season, with its only tie to the past being the sheer fact that it operates within the realm of the fantastical, week in and week out. However, while it has indeed worked hard to separate itself from the original and stand on its own two legs, the season one finale of this series decided that it was high time to pay homage to its roots with a story that quite frankly, felt as though it was an unused script from Steven Spielberg’s original vision. For ‘The Rift’ opens up by introducing us to a World War II soldier named Lieutenant Theodore Cole, who finds himself in quite the precarious spot. For his plane is going down, and he’s in unfamiliar territory with no way to get back into the air and immediately, this evokes thoughts of the 1985 episode, ‘The Mission’, wherein a WWII gunner had to draw his way out of trouble. Except, this time around, there’s a modern twist to this tale, and no magical art to save the day. For Cole has arrived in 2020 Ohio, somewhere near his hometown and of course, the authorities are hot on his trail because he’s come through some kind of strange rift in the sky and well, this is about as 1980s and Spielberg as it gets. After all, the feds come rolling in a la E.T. and there’s even the classic Spielberg concept of a broken family trying to get by, courtesy of the characters Elijah and Mary Ann Whitaker, a step mother and son who are trying to put the pieces back together after Elijah’s father passed away in Afghanistan a year ago, and they are the only people who seem willing to help Cole in his time of need. But the sheer beauty of this episode, is that takes quite the unexpected turn, about midway through. When it is revealed that the feds, are actually here to help Cole. For these rifts have shown up before and they stay hanging in the air for eleven hours, and if the person that came through one, doesn’t return to their time, with every single historical artifact on their person, everything within a ten-mile radius is destroyed. But some of the agents in this elite unit believe that this phenomenon goes beyond a mere restoration of history. They think that these people are sent through time to handle some unfinished business, and in another beautiful twist, it was revealed that the universe brought Cole to this point in time; so that he could say goodbye to a lost love and help the Whitakers heal. And by accomplishing his goals and returning to the past to face a brave and unfortunate fate, Lieutenant Cole exited this story as a hero, one that saved a great many lives and one that gave a broken family… a second chance. If anything, this was quite the engrossing story, one that moved at a breakneck pace and sucked you in by way of the surprise twist and turns that came about. But what mattered the most in regard to this particular tale, is that it was able to blend elements of the original series into the story in seamless fashion, and it was wonderful to feel the wonder of the original show while a more modern story played out and it would be quite delightful if season two of this series did more of this, since this was quite the slick episode. In the end the however, this was a magical way to wrap up the freshman season of this reboot and truly, its future is bright indeed. Because this season was fearless in its storytelling and it managed to create some memorable moments and now that everyone in the writer’s room has an idea of what they want to accomplish, the next season of this fascinating series will likely be breathtaking for certain. The only downside is, we will have to patiently for it, and that might be easier said than done. Until next year.
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