The Twilight zone meets the old west! What if you took the show Yellowstone, added the Twilight Zone, and mixed it in with a little X-Files… You would come up with the show Outer Range. That’s not an insult, that’s just the best way that I can describe this show. Some fans won’t get it, but fans of Sci-Fi, you definitely want to check out the new Amazon drama. Starring Josh Brolin, Lilly Taylor, and Imogen Poots, the show takes us to the last of the American frontier where nothing is quite what it seems when a mysterious hole opens up on a rancher’s land. And yes, you will feel like you’re in the Twilight zone at times. This show might feel like a western, but it very much is a Sci-Fi show bringing the audience the mysteries of time and space. It’s a slow burn as you unravel the mystery, but mixed in with great drama, just when you think you have it figured out, another mystery unfolds. The first season does leave you with a lot more questions than it does answers and that’s not a complaint, but great sci-fi leaves more mysteries than answers. It’s the unknown that drives those kinds of stories and makes them worth watching. However, I would say that for fans of Yellowstone who are looking for a similar show on amazon, this is not it. Outward appearances would make you think that this is a show like Yellowstone, but far from it.
First, let me say that I do like the show, and I think fans of sci-fi should definitely check it out, but it is one that I feel fans will have to watch more than once. There’s a lot to unpack. There are lots of questions but mixed with good performances from Josh Brolin and Imogen Poots. The story really takes off when a rancher just trying to survive finds a mysterious hole that gives off more life-changing mysteries than he would probably care to know. The main characters are the Abbott Family, and they are already dealing with heartache, then a mysterious figure shows up played by Imogen Poots who seems drawn to the land. You won’t really find out why until the last episode. It is one of the few mysteries that are solved. But this show is a slow Burn and little by little it builds up to one hell of a ride in the last episode. It’s only eight episodes in the first season and in a lot of ways that’s kind of perfect. While at times I found the show to be a little slow, please realize that every little thing is connected to something else and keeps building for the audience to understand the mysteries surrounding this hole, which is the heart of the story. Josh Brolin is magnificent in Outer Range. It’s hard to know whether he’s a bad guy or simply just a guy trying to protect his family, but no matter what you feel sympathetic towards his character. And I have to applaud the performance of Imogen Poots. Her character may be the most serious of them all and while you look at her as kind of an enemy disrupting the life of the simple people, her character too is sympathetic and it’s hard to pick which side or the other as her character goes head-to-head with Josh Brolin’s. I do like the pacing because you get this great family story, again, they’re just trying to survive and you’re dealing with this mysterious thing that nobody can explain on the land while also dealing with a so-called murder. There’s many layers to the story and often at times, you feel like the hole, which is supposed to be at the center of the whole thing, takes a back seat to all of the other little stories going on. It’s kind of brilliant.
As much as I liked this show, it’s not without its problems. It is a Sci-Fi show, but sometimes you feel like it’s trying to be something else. This show could have easily been a murder mystery thriller without any sci-fi elements. Sometimes that part of the story is distracting as the characters are trying to figure out what’s going on with the whole especially when you’re dealing with visions of the future. And let’s face it by the fifth episode all the way to the end, you’re wondering if this story is in another time or dimension. Yes, that’s brilliant for the Twilight zone or the Outer Limits, but this is where I am confused when the show is trying to be something it may not be. I won’t give away any spoilers. When it comes to the whole mystery of the first season, everybody should experience that and have the same bewilderment I did. That’s not a bad thing, it does make us yearn for season two which I hope we get because there are too many unanswered questions. I like the fact that more shows are going to 6 to 8 episodes even 10 episode seasons. We’ve proven that you can tell a great story over this length. I also feel like the slow Burn is a little much by the time you get to the last half of the show. I do warn watchers that it will take a few episodes to get into it before you start unlocking a lot of the mysteries that will keep you going until the end. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s hard to keep an audience vested especially when you can’t binge-watch the entire season. That’s really Amazon’s biggest downfall with this show is only getting to watch two episodes at a time. My recommendation is to wait for it to be done and just binge-watch all eight episodes over a weekend. Outer Range is strange and intense, leaving you wanting more. The first season does a good enough job to create an overall mystery that will keep you coming back because your curiosity demands it. I stand by my analogy that it’s Yellowstone meets The Twilight Zone and this is what makes the show Good. It’s not a perfect sci-fi and the writers do a good enough job to give you a linear story with a slow Burn over eight episodes instead of drawing out everything of 20 like you’re watching a season of Lost. Amazon has always been known for great drama and sci-fi. Man in the High Castle is one of the best original Amazon shows, Outer Range may not be as good, but it is worth checking out. Josh Brolin, Lily Taylor, and Imogen Poots have standout performances that will make you want to watch the next episode. 8 episodes were perfect because of there had been any more without any answers, this show wouldn’t have been as good, but unfortunately, it is a show that you will want to binge all at once and that’s the biggest problem with Outer Range. For fans of The X-Files, this is a modern X-Files type of story that is certainly better than the last two seasons of The X-Files. For fans of sci-fi, I highly recommend Outer Range and hope they get a season 2 because that would certainly do the first season of disservice
