As soon as the security guard called in to say the girl was looking for her mother named "Alma" I realised they are the same person. The plot is really nothing new in the world of sci-fi, but I still found the whole run quite enjoyable with its splendid cinematography and haunting ambience. I also think these are the best child actors I ever saw - their acting is amazing, even though at some times they appear unrealistically grown up, as if the writers forgot they are writing script with children as main characters. I honestly can't believe how many bad reviews because of the slow pacing, it looks like people nowadays think sci-fi is all about lasers and shooting robots. I prefer much more the ambience that fills you with an otherworldly impression and the emotional depth of a slow burning show than a thousand action packed blockbusters.
26 Reviews
Lured in under false pretenses
ginger-11127 August 2020
The best of the 'science fiction' bits are in the trailers and promos. If you're in it for the sci fi, don't get your hopes up.
I waited until the end of the series before submitting reviews because episodes should be a part of a whole. This one (Episode 1) was enough to get my attention and keep me going because I naturally expected an arc to develop and the storyline to continue. Um... no.
I started out wanting to care for the girl in the center of this episode. It quickly became clear that I was the only one who felt that way. The writers certainly didn't, nor did the other characters, or even the girl herself. Is this really just a day in the life of these people?
I'm not one of those people who feels every question should be answered, so i'm okay with things left to the imagination. As far as this episode being part of the whole, it certainly was if you consider the overall depressing tone that carries on throughout the series.
This is a village of Stepford families. If the affect got any flatter, no one would have a pulse.
It has a nostalgic feel, like it's set in the 70's or 80's. This does a few things: it appeals to the people who grew up in that time; it adds a mystique for the people who grew up after that time; and it lowers the bar for the science fiction bits one might expect.
But this isn't really a science fiction series. It isn't even a human nature series, because there is very little natural behavior about how any of these people act or react to make then relatable as humans with human issues. It's just people having absurd reactions to absurd situations.
So maybe it should be called Stories from the Absurd instead.
I waited until the end of the series before submitting reviews because episodes should be a part of a whole. This one (Episode 1) was enough to get my attention and keep me going because I naturally expected an arc to develop and the storyline to continue. Um... no.
I started out wanting to care for the girl in the center of this episode. It quickly became clear that I was the only one who felt that way. The writers certainly didn't, nor did the other characters, or even the girl herself. Is this really just a day in the life of these people?
I'm not one of those people who feels every question should be answered, so i'm okay with things left to the imagination. As far as this episode being part of the whole, it certainly was if you consider the overall depressing tone that carries on throughout the series.
This is a village of Stepford families. If the affect got any flatter, no one would have a pulse.
It has a nostalgic feel, like it's set in the 70's or 80's. This does a few things: it appeals to the people who grew up in that time; it adds a mystique for the people who grew up after that time; and it lowers the bar for the science fiction bits one might expect.
But this isn't really a science fiction series. It isn't even a human nature series, because there is very little natural behavior about how any of these people act or react to make then relatable as humans with human issues. It's just people having absurd reactions to absurd situations.
So maybe it should be called Stories from the Absurd instead.
Interesting blend of ...
TheTruthofItIs10 May 2020
Sci-fi and prosaic life. "Tales from the Loop" S01E01 "Loop" has the feel of a Twilight Zone or even a Black Mirror ep but at the sacrifice of sllllloooowwww pacing. This may be fine for a feature length film but it's gawd awful for a series. I think I fell asleep twice, had to rewind, rewatch, it's a chore and watching a show shouldn't be a chore. This first episode had some kind of time-travel element to it but you're just not sure how/why. Maybe it'll be explored later in subsequent eps, who knows? And I'm close to "who cares?" but I'll stick with it to see if it improves.
A wonderful, touching pilot
robytdd5 April 2020
The fascinating creations by Simon Stålenhag are the artistic fields and foundations of this tv adaptation. This is a wonderful and touching first episode, that perfectly introduces the audience to the surreal and dreamlike tone of the show. Wonderful cast, inspired direction by Mark Romanek and great music by Phillip Glass and Paul Leonard-Morgan. - Vote: 9
All the best parts of The Leftovers, Stranger Things and Interstellar
drpunkrock2 June 2020
I really loved this start to the show. It is absolutely beautifully shot with so much eye for asthetics. I also love the score. You can see that Philip Glass is behind this. This is a show that uses the sci-fi undertones to create a narrative that is about human emotions. So people who liked the new Star Wars are wrong here. I just really like the tone of the show, the slowness, the beauty of this. Acting is really good and authentic, it feels real. As the title already says it: it has a setting similar to Stranger Things, has the subtle sci-fi elements that are a part of Interstellar or Arrival and it has the emotional depth of The Leftovers. I do not know what is not to love about this!
Not sure how much to rate this episode, great if you are in a mellow mood but also confusing
wagnerfrederick14 November 2022
Not sure what to rate this episode on the one hand it's visually stunning and a work of art that opening sequence alone when the workers are walking in straight lines is something straight out of a painting!
On the other hand the pacing is very slow. There is very little dialogue and nothing is explained. Which would be fine if it weren't so god damn confusing..! The actors all did a fine job, I really appreciated the attention to detail when it comes to capturing the innocence of the little girl and the frailty of her situation. Normally I would be also fine with it being as abstract as it is except it was trying so incredibly hard to be more intelligent than it actually was. At least it felt like that. I have to say I loved the score from Philip Glass although it seems a little too familiar (sounds an awful lot like Truman Sleeps) and the cinematography is otherworldly.
I just wish they would've had concentrated more on telling a story and less on the sci fi mumbo jumbo. Without giving anything away I think the story would've worked fine without the Sci fi setting.
Still though I'd say it's a solid 7.5 out of 10 it would've been a great feature length movie.
On the other hand the pacing is very slow. There is very little dialogue and nothing is explained. Which would be fine if it weren't so god damn confusing..! The actors all did a fine job, I really appreciated the attention to detail when it comes to capturing the innocence of the little girl and the frailty of her situation. Normally I would be also fine with it being as abstract as it is except it was trying so incredibly hard to be more intelligent than it actually was. At least it felt like that. I have to say I loved the score from Philip Glass although it seems a little too familiar (sounds an awful lot like Truman Sleeps) and the cinematography is otherworldly.
I just wish they would've had concentrated more on telling a story and less on the sci fi mumbo jumbo. Without giving anything away I think the story would've worked fine without the Sci fi setting.
Still though I'd say it's a solid 7.5 out of 10 it would've been a great feature length movie.
Meh.
W011y4m529 September 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The cinematography from David Fincher's usual director of photography Jeff Cronenweth is noticeably beautiful here but besides that, Tales of the Loop's opening offers very little which is either evocative or even slightly original. All we're given is monotonously slow pacing & a rip-off of Netflix's "Dark" - handled less effectively & with far more plot holes.
Outstanding and unusual
pakhi6665 August 2020
Every episode is a piece of art. It evokes different emotions in different people. It is what you take out of it, somehow it mirrorsones iyernal atmosphere. Its scify...yes but it's so much more. So many connections yet so subtle.
The music, the production design, the frames and the lencing everything is perfect. The flow,
pace , continuity is so consistent that one doesn't realize it's eight different directors.
Hats off to the show runner/ producer.
I Don't Think She Wanted To Be A Mother
wandernn1-81-6832746 October 2020
Warning: Spoilers
We start with an introduction to the LOOP, IN MERSA OHIO.
Everyone is connected to the LOOP in one way or another. These are their tales.
Little Girl has a mom that works underground. Little Girl finds a strange rock. Little girl meets a strange boy pelting a strange Robot with rocks.
So wait, little girl is looking for her mom. Little boy offers to help look. Little Boy goes to ask his mom if she knows where girl's mom is because little boy's parents also work underground.
So what is with the weird rock??? It floats in the air. It has some kind of anti gravity property. Cole, the boy, takes the girl to the LOOP office and they ask for ALMA? OLMA? I don't get what time period this is supposed to be in either. Why do they have rotary phones?
Wait so this little girl looking for her mom...is COLES MOM as a little girl?? Come back thru time or something? Or forward? I'm confused. Congrats on some weird looking chess pieces tho, that's for sure.
So Loretta, tracks the little girl, who is herself, to a farmhouse. Loretta tells herself, that she, didn't do anything to lose her mom. Her mom was conducting an experiment. So.... Loretta and Loretta, they go back to the LOOP, down the elevator, together.....
+1 Star for Total Creepiness Factor....
And they enter a chamber with a giant sphere which Loretta identifies as THE ECLIPSE. I think I saw this movie, SPHERE, a long time ago. Haha. So the mystery of the floating rock is that it is actually a piece of THE ECLIPSE. Well little Loretta touches the sphere, the ECLIPSE, she asks LORETTA where she goes now. The answer is home.
And then you have it, Young Loretta is gone, only Older Loretta is left. And then there's Russ, played by creepy Jonathan Pryce, for her to speak to when she is ready.
And at the end, Loretta explains to her son COLE, that she will always be there for him.
+1 Star for the story as a whole, kinda slow, but good.
Everyone is connected to the LOOP in one way or another. These are their tales.
Little Girl has a mom that works underground. Little Girl finds a strange rock. Little girl meets a strange boy pelting a strange Robot with rocks.
So wait, little girl is looking for her mom. Little boy offers to help look. Little Boy goes to ask his mom if she knows where girl's mom is because little boy's parents also work underground.
So what is with the weird rock??? It floats in the air. It has some kind of anti gravity property. Cole, the boy, takes the girl to the LOOP office and they ask for ALMA? OLMA? I don't get what time period this is supposed to be in either. Why do they have rotary phones?
Wait so this little girl looking for her mom...is COLES MOM as a little girl?? Come back thru time or something? Or forward? I'm confused. Congrats on some weird looking chess pieces tho, that's for sure.
So Loretta, tracks the little girl, who is herself, to a farmhouse. Loretta tells herself, that she, didn't do anything to lose her mom. Her mom was conducting an experiment. So.... Loretta and Loretta, they go back to the LOOP, down the elevator, together.....
+1 Star for Total Creepiness Factor....
And they enter a chamber with a giant sphere which Loretta identifies as THE ECLIPSE. I think I saw this movie, SPHERE, a long time ago. Haha. So the mystery of the floating rock is that it is actually a piece of THE ECLIPSE. Well little Loretta touches the sphere, the ECLIPSE, she asks LORETTA where she goes now. The answer is home.
And then you have it, Young Loretta is gone, only Older Loretta is left. And then there's Russ, played by creepy Jonathan Pryce, for her to speak to when she is ready.
And at the end, Loretta explains to her son COLE, that she will always be there for him.
+1 Star for the story as a whole, kinda slow, but good.
Great show. Will it hold?
pranderson0630954 April 2020
First episode holds good promise if the stories and writers can deliver. Direction and editing are well supported with strong edgy camera work. Viewers have to hang tight to the story line. Episode one ending became apparent appropriately. Cliffhangers abound.
"Turns out..., not everything in life makes sense."
classicsoncall13 February 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Some folks hold to a theory that all the moments of time that ever existed, past, present and future, are all taking place right now. However, there's also the conundrum of a person traveling through time and meeting his former or future self. This story appears to be tackling both concepts, with young Loretta (Abby Ryder Fortson) attempting to find her mother who mysteriously goes missing in the town of Mercer, Ohio, home of the Mercer Center for Experimental Physics. It's simply called 'The Loop' for short, and houses a huge spherical object called 'The Eclipse', which is the beating heart of the Loop according to the narrative. Disjointed scenes take up a good portion of this story, as Loretta and a boy she meets by the name of Cole (Duncan Joiner) experience a house that suddenly starts breaking apart and floating toward the sky. At one point, Loretta finds her mother in a local tavern, only to lose track of her all over again. There seems to be some importance attached to a black object that suspends itself in the air defying gravity; the fragment finds its way back as if a missing puzzle piece, to its location on The Eclipse. None of this really ties together when Loretta the girl, discovers that she's really her new friend Cole's mother, and they discuss the dichotomy of their existence with each other. They come to a semblance of a conclusion that perfectly describes the story once you experience it yourself. That conclusion is in my summary line above.
Beautiful and Heartwarming!
ikshulnew15 March 2021
Past and Present
clf-7399825 April 2020
This show is a meditation on the human condition. It requires patience and perhaps a little more life experience than the average television binger. Tales from the Loop is certainly not for everyone. For those who want to relate to characters ripped right from our daily lives but taken from a different perspective, Tales from the Loop will not disappoint. Those looking for the ecstasy of space battles and explosions can watch all the rest of the stuff that Hollywood churns out on the daily.
Anyone who proclaims to fall asleep...
GraXXoR3 June 2021
...twice during a show of this quality that is less than an hour long really needs to go to the doctor's.
I suspect narcolepsy or severe mental impairment such as crippling ADD or Tiktok brain rot. Said person probably loves Youtube Shorts or the new 15 minute stories designed for people who lack the mental faculties to concentrate for 50 minutes.
Refreshingly subtle... proper character development, eery setting...
Excellent, Connaisseur grade.
Not recommended for people who need their nasty CGI fix or require that the gaps between words of a sentence edited like an internet "influencer."
I suspect narcolepsy or severe mental impairment such as crippling ADD or Tiktok brain rot. Said person probably loves Youtube Shorts or the new 15 minute stories designed for people who lack the mental faculties to concentrate for 50 minutes.
Refreshingly subtle... proper character development, eery setting...
Excellent, Connaisseur grade.
Not recommended for people who need their nasty CGI fix or require that the gaps between words of a sentence edited like an internet "influencer."
Beautifully shot, thoughtful television making
R2H26 April 2024
This episode is very special. It works as a slow burning, retro-sci-fi mystery, but its true power lies in the portrayal of the emotions of the main characters. It hauntingly explores the fear that perhaps every child has, the fear of losing a parent. Since the story is set in an earlier time and due to the personalities of the main characters, there is less warmth and connection between parent and child. However, the sparse portrayal of both adult's and children's emotions only enhances the impact. To me, somebody from that era, it feels very authentic. I've watched this episode many times and each time it brings tears to my eyes. Great writing, acting and photography and a haunting score, what's not to like. Please, please make a second season.
A decent execution of an idea(s) too reminiscent of others' work
muhammadbintahirp-974224 April 2020
I''ll begin by saying that I don't intend to persuade you into forgoing this series or in particular this episode having watched only a single episode although I don't expect too much going forward. It's not as if I've to pay for it. Moreover, this isn't even a critique. I just wish to convey that I couldn't help but notice that there are some very obvious aspects of it that reflect influence and unoriginality from other well-known pieces of cinema.
I've been observing this for a while now, how Interstellar has vastly influenced the genre of sci-fi film and Tv-show alike. The concept of love or relationship between two people transcending space and time, or other variations derivative of this idea that has been made greatly popular by this thought-provocative blockbuster. I should add that the black sphere of mysterious origin is hardly a testament to their creativity and consideration for this script.
I may be reaching a bit far about this but part of the music in the 2nd half of this 1st episode reminds me of The Fountain (2006). Although I'm certainly glad that they didn't try to merge a bit of mystical/spiritual significance toward the plot with the scientific aspect of it, keeping it solely science-fiction was right and I've always been greatly irritated by the union of these two entirely different ways of looking at the world. Frankly I'm getting tired of having to repeatedly sit through these messages of love portrayed as the ultimate truth in life at the center of science-fiction which most of us are lured in to watch by. Not everyone can pull it off without seeming cliched and exhaustive. There is no intimacy in science, outer-space and all it's accompanying aspects. These are cold, characterless and neutral parts of our existence. So does our love for one another need aliens' approval to appear worthwhile and meaningful, why does there have to be a whole journey through time for it to mean anything? It's because it isn't about love, it's fundamentally about excitement and thrill disguised as false noble principles and inspirations.
There is no originality anymore, intellectually embarrassing themes made with extravagant expenditure. All to feed the entertainment machine which subtly sways you into their narrative and imagined life undeliberately and collectively. It takes strong will to view something from one's own rigid perspective and to stay true to it by not being swayed by sentimentality of things with utterly no connection to reality. How did we allow melancholy to become art and be viewed as sings of advancing civilization when it is no more than a sign of societal decadence. As Jung has alleged the Devil being responsible for the rise of western civilization and it's own illusory appeal for it. Thank you for your patience toward my abstract, unorganized and perhaps irrelevant expressiveness.
I may be reaching a bit far about this but part of the music in the 2nd half of this 1st episode reminds me of The Fountain (2006). Although I'm certainly glad that they didn't try to merge a bit of mystical/spiritual significance toward the plot with the scientific aspect of it, keeping it solely science-fiction was right and I've always been greatly irritated by the union of these two entirely different ways of looking at the world. Frankly I'm getting tired of having to repeatedly sit through these messages of love portrayed as the ultimate truth in life at the center of science-fiction which most of us are lured in to watch by. Not everyone can pull it off without seeming cliched and exhaustive. There is no intimacy in science, outer-space and all it's accompanying aspects. These are cold, characterless and neutral parts of our existence. So does our love for one another need aliens' approval to appear worthwhile and meaningful, why does there have to be a whole journey through time for it to mean anything? It's because it isn't about love, it's fundamentally about excitement and thrill disguised as false noble principles and inspirations.
There is no originality anymore, intellectually embarrassing themes made with extravagant expenditure. All to feed the entertainment machine which subtly sways you into their narrative and imagined life undeliberately and collectively. It takes strong will to view something from one's own rigid perspective and to stay true to it by not being swayed by sentimentality of things with utterly no connection to reality. How did we allow melancholy to become art and be viewed as sings of advancing civilization when it is no more than a sign of societal decadence. As Jung has alleged the Devil being responsible for the rise of western civilization and it's own illusory appeal for it. Thank you for your patience toward my abstract, unorganized and perhaps irrelevant expressiveness.
The challenge of patience
williamcity10 April 2020
Aims for evocative and poetic but lands on slow and nonsensical
brianberns-112 May 2020
I'm a big sci-fi fan, but found this disappointing. The time travel plot itself is very basic and there's nothing in the acting, writing, or production that elevates it in the slightest. Most of my attention went into noticing the numerous plot holes instead of feeling immersed in the story, which tells us very little about either the universe or human nature. Based on this episode, I won't be watching the rest of the series.
Eureka without the comedy
Roddingham5 April 2020
First episode was interesting but predictable. Some of the casting is great, some feels wrong. Production is good but Direction is boring. This is not hard science fiction but rather more how some unexplained phenomenon impacts personal stories. Nothing new to see here but I might watch more......or I might not.
Writers should watch some old Twilight Zone episodes
petewood-599518 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
There is a special place in hell reserved for writers and producers who take an hour to tell a 25 minute story. Want to know how to do a good efficient time travel story, take a few lessons from Rod Serling. The big twist in this episode is that the little girl travels to the future and meets her older self. The story drags and drags with characters acting almost drugged in their reactions to everything. Only the security guard seemed to have any life to him. Want to see a good time travel episode from an anthology show that tells the efficient story of somebody meeting his older self? Check out Walking Distance on the Twilight Zone. You may want to fast forward through parts of this, speaking of time travel. I've heard good things about this series. Hope it gets better.
Too misrable and depressing
bestford4 April 2020
This holds promise but whether it gets better I'm still unsure. First impressions and all that. The music misrable and depressing this is sci-fi...or I'm a missing the point due to arty farty elements I dislike. Reasonable acting and the concept is brilliant all let down by the delivery.
Wow, what an annoying sound track!
Opinion0212213 June 2020
It's not bad enough that the story is painfully slow and confused, but the sound track is beyond awful! The entire plot could be summed up in a paragraph. I know that some people enjoy the "art" of a film, I do not. I watch films to be entertained and to take a break from the demands of daily life. Sometimes I want fun, sometimes thrills. Sometimes dramas, sometimes comedy. I love scifi, and ghost stories. I like documentaries, and educational films. But, I do NOT like being bored! And this bored me to the nth degree! Yawn! WHY can"t Amazon do what they initially promised, which was to let Prime members view pilots and vote which ones to continue? They had some very entertaining pilots, with LOTS of votes, and yet they dropped them. And this artistic bore they supported! Wow!
Boooooooooooring....
supernovaws8 September 2021
I like slow burning movies/series. But this one is just boooooring. At 15 vinutes mark I feel like it was about an hour. About 30 minutes NOTHING HAPPENS (from about 1 hour of episode length).
Ten minutes more - and a glimpse of story appears.
And THEN in about 2/3 of episode you get exposition dump and kinda-of explanation. Both - bad ones.
May be this episode will look better in the middle of season - but as a pilot it failed to grasp my attention. I will look further for 1-2 more episodes to see if anything changes.
Ten minutes more - and a glimpse of story appears.
And THEN in about 2/3 of episode you get exposition dump and kinda-of explanation. Both - bad ones.
May be this episode will look better in the middle of season - but as a pilot it failed to grasp my attention. I will look further for 1-2 more episodes to see if anything changes.
Loop
Prismark1031 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Based on a book by Swedish artist. This is Scandi sci-fi on Lithium.
Jonathan Pryce is Russ Willard who gives an introduction about Mercer Center for Experimental Physics. Everything is connected in the loop.
The story is about a little girl called Loretta who begins a search for her mother who has gone missing. She works in an underground laboratory.
A boy helps in her search and there is some kind of floating rock.
It was all pretty hard going and slowly paced. The story which has shades of Interstellar could had been done in half the time.
Obviously Tales from the Loop, with everything being connected is meant to be a puzzle box adventure. I expect other episodes to be pacier and more action packed.
Jonathan Pryce is Russ Willard who gives an introduction about Mercer Center for Experimental Physics. Everything is connected in the loop.
The story is about a little girl called Loretta who begins a search for her mother who has gone missing. She works in an underground laboratory.
A boy helps in her search and there is some kind of floating rock.
It was all pretty hard going and slowly paced. The story which has shades of Interstellar could had been done in half the time.
Obviously Tales from the Loop, with everything being connected is meant to be a puzzle box adventure. I expect other episodes to be pacier and more action packed.
See also
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